Update: we got a new one!

Since I posted last, Volkswagen came to me in October of 2012 and said they could give me a new Routan with no change of payments with a trade-in of my 2009 Routan. I was skeptical, but they did it.

The new Routan is a 2012 SEL in white. We negotiated for running boards on it, which are really useful.

We loved the dark blue Routan, but it was out of warranty and had been in an accident in a parking lot where someone with a trailer hitch backed into the front and pierced the valance panel/bumper cover. My wife had also backed into our mailbox, so there was a dimple on our liftgate.

We made some trade-offs, and there are a few manufacturing differences. The old had Rear Seat Entertainment--where we could play DVDs for the passengers, and there were wireless headphones so you could potentially have two different audio tracks going at a time. When we told the kids that it was going away, they said, "We only used it once or twice a year. No big deal."

Instead, we have Navigation, which is pretty cool. My wife and I have started working in a Chinese ministry. (We're learning Mandarin, but that's a whole different story.) There are about 30,000 Chinese that we identified through public databases, but we often only have a name and street address. The Nav has helped immensely.

Another trade-off is the engine. The old had a 4.0L engine. The new one has a 3.6L engine. I was a little concerned, but have found that the new engine has as much power (both by feel and by spec) as the old, and it delivers better gas mileage. Additionally, we had found that the 4.0L ran better on mid-grade gasoline. In fact, it would through a "Check Engine" light for the first 1/4 tank of regular as well as not run as smoothly. The new engine is perfectly happy with Regular grade gas.

There are some minor changes to the interior. One little irritation is that the old seats were all leather. In the new, some of the seat panels are vinyl. However, all of the other upgrades we got far outstrip that disappointment.

The new one has a sunroof. We missed that in the old, and are happy to have one back. The new one has power folding 3rd row seats. The old had manual seats. And, the new one has a roof rack. In its stowed position, the cross bars nest flatly in the support rails on either side of the roof. When a roof rack is needed, it takes just a little time to loosen the cross rails and fasten them down across the roof.

The killer feature of the new one is remote start/keyless ignition/keyless entry. The remote start turns on the heater and the driver's seat heater in the winter. In the summer, it starts the air conditioner. If you dawdle getting out to the car, it automatically shuts off after maybe 10 minutes.

With the fob in your pocket, you just have to touch the door handle like you're going to open it, and it unlocks all the doors. You can use the fob like a key in the ignition, but they also provide a push button that you install in the ignition notch. As long as the car can sense the fob, it'll start at a push of the button (with your foot on the brake.) To lock the doors from the outside, you push a button on the handle.

We've had the new one for a year and a half and are totally pleased with it. Our Volkswagen dealer did a bang-up job selling the Routan during the 2012 and 2013 model year. We have 4 or 5 Routans in this part of town. I understand why VW got out of the mini-van market, the mini-van is going the way of the station wagon. With all of the grumbling that "it was just a Dodge," I think VW added enough of their own touches and selected the options they offered well, so that the Routan provides a different driving experience compared to Chrysler's products.