My car

With the more powerful diesel engine, the Sharan skips along nicely and is suitably responsive. The ride is good: smooth without being too wallowy and confirms that the optional Adaptive Chassis Control is an option which is best overlooked. There is predictable body roll when cornering on country roads - but nothing beyond what you would expect. Whether the Stop-Start system operates is something of a lottery - investigation of the owner's manual suggests it has fairly fine tolerances when using Climatronic. Insurance for this car is noticeably cheaper than for the car it replaced (a Citroen C8). Allied to a generous dealer discount and impressive fuel economy for a car of this size, running costs look promising. The cabin is beautifully laid out and gives a feeling of huge amounts of space. The dashboard and controls are of the quality you would expect from VW and the (optional) electric sliding doors work well. The rear seats fold easily: only the centre seat in the 2nd row requires two-handed operation; all of the other rear seats fold (and unfold) without difficulty using one hand - I am slightly baffled that the main Whatcar review suggests that the seats are fiddly to operate.