Volkswagen Transporter 2009 News

Volvo Cars Australia has given its refreshed S80 a visual edge by making the company's R-Design package a specific model in the refreshed S80 lineup. The sassy look is just cosmetic at this stage with no engine tuning part of the enhancements.  However, full-blown factory-fitted R-Design engine performance improvements are destined for the S80 and other Volvos and are likely to replace the Heico Sportiv-inspired cars here. Initially the more driver-focused R-Design S80s will get 18-inch wheels, lowered, sports-tuned suspension, colour-matched rear spoiler, matt silver grille and exterior mirrors, and chrome exhausts.  VCA spokesperson, Laurissa Mirabelli, says R-Design is aimed at enthusiasts who now have families. "The luxury sedan segment is also so competitive the S80 needed some differentiation," she says.  C30, V70 and XC90 buyers can already specify the cosmetic R-Design enhancements, which are optional.  Prices for the 2010 S80 remain unchanged, starting at $79,950 for the D5 and twin-turbo T6, topping out at $98,950 for the V8. Adding R-Design to a D5 or T6 costs $1500 extra over the standard car and $2500 more in the V8.  Visually the 2010 changes bring the big sedan inline with the XC60 and new S60, with a new grille and larger Volvo insignia. The D5 gains a new 151kW twin-turbo diesel and adds all-wheel drive as standard, the same as the T6 and V8.  The range-topping V8 adds lane departure warning with driver alert control, blind spot information system, adaptive cruise control with collision warning and auto brake function as standard. Inside there is a new four-spoke steering wheel with deco inlay, more ergonomic switchgear and alloy cabin trim.  Like the XC models, the S80's all-wheel drive system employs a Haldex clutch to distribute power between front and rear wheels according to road and driving conditions. The system can automatically move a small amount of torque to the rear wheels when starting on slippery surfaces.  As with all Volvo's the S80 has a comprehensive active and passive safety features. The car's navigation system is now more user friendly.  Volvo is hoping for a better year with the revised S80 and expects the D5 to be popular.  Last year it sold less than 100 S80s.  The company is hoping that the R-Design will make up 50 per cent of S80 sales this year.

...and could even be dangerous to other drivers — a Volkswagen expert says. But Mercedes-Benz responds that such statements are ‘rubbish’.Prof Horst Oehlschlaeger, head of concept development for Volkwagen’s popular Transporter van, says getting a five-star crash rating for the upgraded model due here next year is ‘not so important’. “I think if you look at the question of injuries, there is very little difference between five-star to four-star,” Prof Oehlschlaeger says. “It’s not a big difference at all.”He says that while it may be a little safer for the occupants, a five-star van can be more dangerous to passenger vehicles it crashes into. “In reality, if you make the van stiffer and stronger for five-star, you will do more damage to the smaller passenger cars they come into contact with in an accident,” he says. “You have to look at crash compatibility with small cars, so as well as crashing Transporter with another Transporter, we crashed it with a Golf and a Polo.”Prof Oehlschlaeger says the Transporter, the current model of which has four stars in Europe’s NCAP ratings, is expected to be ‘borderline’ between four and five stars – but not reach five — when the new model is tested, although there have been no structural changes.He says any extra points will come mainly from the addition of side curtain airbags, while the inclusion of ESP and ABS as standard features — rather than options – will also be attractive safety points for the market.However, Mercedes-Benz, which gets a five-star rating on its Viano and Vito vans in a segment where most get just three, says the highest crash rating is just as crucial for the light commercial segment as for passenger vehicles. “To say it’s not important is – quite frankly – wrong. And you would only say that if you can’t get them,” Mercedes-Benz spokesman David McCarthy says. “The difference between four stars and five stars is significant. “Safety in these vehicles needs to be lifted, not reduced or kept the same. Vehicle crash safety is just as important for people who drive commercial vehicles. “To say otherwise is very regrettable, and it’s a generalisation that does not do credit to a brand such as Volkswagen with a very good tradition of safety – a company that makes predominantly five-star passenger vehicles.”McCarthy says the same logic about impact between larger and smaller cars is not applied to Volkswagen’s passenger vehicle ranges. “If Volkswagen is concerned about the damage large, five-star rated vehicles do to smaller ones, can we assume they are going to stop making Touareg, Phaeton and Bentleys, and just stick to making Polos,” he says. “To anybody – anybody — saying that safety is not important in that segment, I would prescribe a couple of reality pills. “And I’m sure Worksafe and the Transport Accident Commission would be happy to supply a glass of water to swallow them with.” 

...when Volkswagen in Australia debuts its 2010 Caravelle and Transporter models. The art of transporting people and cargo gets even more sophisticated early next year when Volkswagen in Australia debuts its 2010 Caravelle and Transporter models.To be first shown at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show, the people movers and commercial van range will appear here in much the same line-up as the existing model. But Volkswagen Group Australia spokesman Karl Gehling says unlike most markets, there will be no California model.Volkswagen claims its new van range comes with a 10 per cent fuel saving and has the latest technology, comfort and safety features. The vans are based on the architecture of the current model though externally pick up Volkswagen's passenger car — predominantly the Golf — look in the nose section. There's also new tail lights and mirrors.Bigger news is the latest generation electronic stability control system that comes with hill-start assist and an emergency brake light function. Available as an option will be a side-assist lane change system — which warns the driver of anything in the vehicle's blind spot — and a new tyre monitor display to alert the driver to any decrease in tyre pressures.Drive trains in Europe include the latest 103kW/220Nm, 137kW/250Nm, 188kW/340Nm and 242kW/400Nm turbo-diesel engines that meet the latest Euro-5 emissions standard. VGA is yet to specify engine choices for Australia.The new models also get the choice of the seven-speed DSG automatic transmission. This will also be available later in 2010 with the 4MOTION all-wheel drive system that will incorporate the fourth generation Haldex coupling.

However, of seven vans rated by ANCAP, just three, including the iLoad, have four-star ratings.The others are the Mercedes-Benz Vito and Volkswagen Transporter. By comparison, the best-selling Toyota Hi-Ace gets a three-star rating.ANCAP manager, Michael Case, said many work vans and other commercial vehicles still lacked proven lifesaving safety features like anti-skid brakes or electronic stability control. Few vans have them fitted as standard, he said."No commercial vehicles currently have a five-star rating, which requires excellent crash protection plus head-protecting side airbags and electronic stability control," Case said.He praised the iMax and iLoad results but said other carmakers still need to lift their game. The iMax and iLoad were crashed at 64km/h to simulate an off-set head-on collision with another car. He is also urging businesses to put safety ahead of penny-pinching when purchasing work vehicles."It's a question of occupational health and safety," he said."The OHS requirements on employers to provide a safe work environment do extend to work vehicles and that often means the commercial vehicles we're talking about." Fleet managers no longer have any excuse to buy unsafe vehicles, Case said."ANCAP is seeing mixed safety performance in its recent crash tests of van-style vehicles and the Hyundai results are good to see," he said. "It has put considerable effort into improving the safety of its vehicles and the results reflect that effort."Case also said parents who also use their work vans as family transport at weekends are risking their families' lives. "That's of particular concern," he said.Both the iLoad and iMax get dual front airbags, anti-skid brakes and electronic brake distribution as standard. The iMax also gets stability control but it is still optional on the iLoad.