Bill Collins wrote:
>
> > Isn't the Sharan being replaced by the VW Touran which
VW has no plans
> > to sell in North America (as opposed to the VW Toureg
SUV which is on
> > sale here now)?
>
> I think so.  The showroom across the street from my hotel
has Tourans but
> no Sharans.  I'm not sure there's any difference other
than the name.

Hi Bill,

The Touran is a new model and is completely unrelated to the
VW Sharan, which is also sold in Europe as the Ford Galaxy
and SEAT Alhambra.  I believe the Touran is built in
Germany.  The Sharan/Galaxy/Alhambra, which are identical
except for small trim details and engine options, are built
in either Spain or Portugal - I cannot remember which.

As Andrew Grebneff said in another posting, the
Sharan/Galaxy/Alhambra has a very bad reliability record.
However it is still a popular buy because of its
size/price/equipment ratio.  The Touran is unrelated except
for the fact it shares some mechanical components with other
VW Group products including the Sharan.  I think the Touran
body is based on the Passat floor pan but I'm not sure.

Regards,

Tony