A fine Volkswagen Sharan MPV, seen in the far east of the Chinese capital Beijing. It was covered in a heavy load of China’s famous dust, painted in green, and standing on sporty five-spoke wheels.
The first generation Volkswagen Sharan (Typ 7M) was made from 1995 until 2010, with facelifts in 2000 and 2003. Our Beijing car is a post-first facelift example.
How many buttons on that center stack..? A few dozen at least! Gear lever with a classy shiny knob. Leather seats are a bit worn. And it is equipped with a CD-player and a cassette player.
The second generation Sharan was available with various petrol en diesel engines. The biggest and best was the 2.8 liter V6, which actually is a VR6, but Volkswagen didn’t brand it that way. Output was 172 hp and 235 Nm. The engine was mated to a 5-speed tiptronic automatic, sending horses to the front wheels.
The V6 badge with a red 6. How sporty…
The second generation Volkswagen Sharan was officially sold in China by Volkswagen. There were two engines: a 1.8 turbo and the 2.8 VR6. Price in 2003 of the VR6 model was 383.800 yuan.
That was a lot of money, especially compared to the locally produced Buick GL8. Volkswagen didn’t sell many, and seeing one on the road is pretty rare.
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