Wagon Wheels
China’s best selling car last year was the Shanghai Volkswagen Lavida, a people’s car for the Middle Kingdom. Back in 2008, along with the new Bora, it was one of the first Volkswagens to be completely designed for the local market. Last year saw the debut of the Gran Lavida series of what are essentially estate versions of the original car.
Few manufacturers have had much success selling estate cars in China. However, Volkswagen was one of the forerunners with the original Santana wagon. Initial sales of the Gran Lavida, with advertising aimed at young families, show that China may be ready to embrace the concept.
Whereas the Lavida saloon comes across as being a bit boring, the Gran Lavida looks sportier and has a hint of Audi A3 in its design. As one would expect from Volkswagen, it is put together well.
Inside, the plastics are a bit harder than one would like, but the overall feel is of good quality with highlighting features such as faux wood or brushed aluminum. Our top of the range, luxury trimmed model was equipped with black interior; there is also a two tone grey available. The fairly low mounted touch screen infotainment system provides a rear view for reversing and a navigation system. Despite being in Chinese, it is relatively easy to use – we did however have problems trying to stop the radio playing while using the GPS!
As can be expected, most gadgets are electric, although, this does not extend through to the adjustment of the leather seats where a dial rather than a lever clumsily controls the reclining function. Heated front seats are a nice touch for when winter bites.
In the rear, headroom is good and legroom is more than adequate. Volkswagen takes a commendable attitude to safety with Isofix points for child seats and rear curtain airbags. It goes without saying that the middle passenger gets a proper three point seatbelt. The boot is capacious with a sturdy floor and the seats can fold down for added space. One disconcerting feature is that the doors automatically open when the key fob is nearby. Equally, they lock when the key is taken away but it does make it difficult to check whether they really are locked.
There are two engine choices available; a 1.6 litre and a more powerful 1.4 TSI unit. Both are available with five speed manuals and the 1.6 litre gets a six speed automatic whereas the 1.4 TSI gets Volkswagen’s seven speed DSG unit. Unlike older automatic gearboxes, the DSG dual clutch system gets almost the same fuel economy and acceleration out of the 1.4 TSI as the manual.
On the road, the TSI unit is for the most part tame but provides more than enough power when called upon. There is a manual mode with the DSG transmission controlled by the gear selector, which can give the driver more control if required.
Like many cars in China, the steering is on the light side, and the ride is quite soft soaking up bumps on the road in Jiading district. Thanks to the straight nature of roads in the area, handling was not fully tested but the car seems composed enough.
There is a Gran Lavida Sport edition but apart from superficial differences like a fancier interior, sportier alloy wheels and a twin exhaust, there is no real difference in performance. A Cross version is also available, which is slightly longer and higher with the addition of cladding and a roof rack. Prices start at RMB 118,900 and range up to RMB 172,900. With the Gran Lavida, Shanghai Volkswagen has managed to create a practical car for those with an active lifestyle.
