Volkswagen Phaeton
The people's limo |
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By Richard J. Newman
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NITS: The digital display on the dash is angled away from the driver and is too low, an unfortunate oversight since it handles many of the car's controls and the driver spends a lot of time glancing at it.
G-FORCES: It sounds blistering, but the 420-horsepower 12-cylinder engine, which Volkswagen calls a W-12 on account of the pattern the cylinders are in, expends a lot of its muscle simply moving this 5,200-pound vehicle. Still, there's no shortage of power, and there's usually more than you know what to do with. The base engine is a 335-horsepower V-8. Handling is confident and precise but a step below that of the best sports sedans—still, about the most you could expect from such a big car.
GIZMOLOGY: There are more doo-dads on this car than I could investigate in a week's worth of testing, and I consider myself to have fallen down on the job by failing to notice the in-seat back massagers. What I can say is that the basic presentation of controls is quite good, for such a complicated car. There's redundancy in basic systems, for example, that allows you to work the climate or audio system through the central digital display or through steering wheel controls and a smaller display near the gauge cluster. Cupholders and other features are cleverly integrated into interior surfaces. Armrests for all seats can be manually adjusted for comfort. One oddity: The power window switches in the front seats are situated far down on the armrests and require a stretch.
KID MARKS: Kids are sumptuously comfortable in the back, but there's almost too much space for them. There's so much legroom, for instance, that it's hard to reach back and wipe a nose. And all those back-seat buttons are built-in playthings, which is nice until they bust. I'd worry in particular about the optional rear climate monitor, which simply invites a size-2 shoe to kick it over.
HOT OR NOT: Hot. The Phaeton is taut and yet expansive, like a yacht. On one expressway a stranger even rolled down his window at 50 miles an hour to tell me what a beautiful car the Phaeton was.
ENVIROMETER: Rates 6 out of 10 on the EPA's green-vehicle scale. Mileage ranges from 12 mpg city to 22 mpg highway. Details: www.epa.gov/autoemissions/
E-VOLKSWAGEN-Phaeton-04.htm
Note: The government assesses the 12-cylinder model a $3,000 "gas guzzler" tax.
CRASH COURSE: Not yet crash tested by the government or by private testing organizations.
PRICE POINTS: Base prices range from $65,215 to $95,215. Price as tested: Approx. $103,000. (All prices include delivery fees and a mandatory "gas guzzler" tax.)
MORE INFO: www.vw.com/phaeton
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Model year tested: 2004
"James, would you bring the Vee-dubya around?"
Somehow, I can't quite imagine a country lord, or his lady, summoning a Volkswagen instead of the beloved Jag or Bentley. But the folks at Volkswagen have an active imagination, and with the new Phaeton they are swinging for the fences. So at the opposite end of the spectrum from the humble and generally beloved little Golf there is now a luxury liner starting at $65,000, and going as high as a cool hundred grand for the 12-cylinder flagship. Believe it or not, Volkswagen markets this as the sensible person's version of wretched excess, calling the top-line Phaeton the "most accessible 12-cylinder German luxury car ever" and boasting of a vehicle that delivers luxury without "stuffy, traditional pretenses."
I'm not sure what pretenses Volkswagen is improving upon, but here are some of the mainstream features you get in the 12-cylinder Phaeton: 18-way power seats (do I hear 24? 30?), a 270-watt sound system, a heated steering wheel, and a 420-horspower engine that goes from 0 to 60 faster than a Hellfire missile. OK, it all sounds like a stretch for Volkswagen. But it's worth recalling that this is also Audi's parent company, and that VW even bought Bentley in 1998. So there is reason to take Volkswagen seriously as a luxury carmaker. And once you do, the Phaeton is, well, something to behold. For a couple of days, I puzzled over the Phaeton's staggering price. Then I started noticing what you get for the money. All the ashtrays and cupholders recess out of sight, an elegant nuance that adds to the purity of the interior design. The shoulder-level heat vents in the front even hide behind walnut wood panels that withdraw into the dash when you direct the air to flow at that level. The rear seats, like those in front, are both heated and cooled. And many of the car's functions are cleanly sorted via a digital display that, unlike competitive systems, is helpful without being overcomplicated.
On the road, the Phaeton is impressive, but not stunning. The ride is firm and stately, to be sure, partly because the Phaeton is a heavy vehicle that handles its weight adroitly. (The big 12-cylinder helps.) But it's not quite the sporty handler that, say, the BMW 7 series is. Cornering, for instance, is not quite as crisp as in more nimble sports sedans. The serene performance, however, glibly invites one to plop down in one of those form-fitting rear seats, while somebody with a natty cap handles the wheel. The version of the Phaeton I drove, in fact, was perfect for passengering, with a four-seat configuration consisting of two huge, first-class-style rear seats with a console between them. The console turned out to be an overblown affair, with a pop-up screen that looked ideal for movies or TV but was nothing more than a readout for the rear climate system. Still, I felt majestic sitting back there, even when the car was parked in the driveway. If only I could have afforded to pay somebody to drive me around.
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