May issue closing date -> March 17
Volkswagen Santana (1982). VW's flagship for Erik
A red VW Santana stands in the Volkswagen museum in Wolfsburg. This beautifully styled and remarkably spacious sedan is known there as the “Stufenheckversion des Passats”. Not without reason, as the Santana is technically closely related to the Passat B2, but it positioned itself clearly higher in the market. With its distinctive sedan body, spacious trunk, and higher equipment level, Volkswagen aimed for the upper middle class. The Volkswagen Santana therefore held a serious top position in its segment in its time.
Driving pleasure at its best
Erik: "What really appeals to me is that this is a classic car with the high-quality finish and luxury amenities that were truly cutting-edge in the early eighties. And I haven't even mentioned the handling of my Volkswagen Santana, which has a powerful five-cylinder engine. Every drive is a wonderful experience."
Stiftung Automuseum Volkswagen
The information accompanying the car in the Volkswagen Museum correctly states that the Santana was launched in China and produced in enormous numbers. From 1983 onwards, it was built by Shanghai Volkswagen, where the Volkswagen Santana became one of the country's leading mid-size cars, with production figures running into the millions. However, it failed to achieve success in the Netherlands. The Santana was relatively expensive, faced stiff competition, and quickly disappeared from the streets. This precisely explains why the Volkswagen Santana is now so rare on Dutch license plates.
The story behind the car
Erik: "The joy of buying a classic car began with a 1976 Mazda 1300. It was a wonderful car for the first year, until hidden defects surfaced that were simply not visible when you bought it. Good advice was expensive, and after seeking expert advice, repairs proved unprofitable."
The quest
Erik: "The search could begin again. A Mercedes-Benz 230 Coupé came into view, but a good, beautiful model proved out of budget. Due to the renovation of our house, the desire for a classic car temporarily faded into the background. A phone call from my brother-in-law, who had discovered a VW Santana, proved this could change quickly. After a test drive, I fell head over heels for this car. Now, fifteen years later, we still enjoy this beautiful and reliable Volkswagen Santana classic. My son drives a 1986 Audi, so we now even have two wonderful five-cylinder cars in the yard."
For Erik, the Volkswagen Santana is a magical car, equipped with a rare specification of which only a handful remain in the Netherlands. It's no surprise that it's cherished like a treasure. Thanks to its nostalgic feel and understated beauty, both the Santana and his son's Audi still play a central role in the family.
(Below are some more pictures)
Well, my father bought a new dark blue Santana 1600 diesel in the summer of 1982. (HZ-09-NT) Two months later, he went to the South of France with some friends. (I drove many more holidays with this car later). Fortunately, it had a five-speed gearbox, so the revs were somewhat limited. Super reliable, not a speed demon, and certainly not sporty (understeered), but what do you expect without a turbo with 55 hp and 100 Nm... the legendary VW diesel engines of that time. Once the thing was running on the German Autobahn, the top speed was a maximum of 145 km/h, which was also cruising speed. The car was solid, well-finished, fortunately well insulated against diesel noise, and spacious with those typical Audi-VW gearboxes of the time, suspended very smoothly with a ditto gear lever. I still remember a friend of mine saying on holiday in Hungary in 1983 (nice and cheap for students): a truly stately body. Prophetic words in retrospect, many years later, in China, the Santana was used for that purpose.
I had the Passat model, the difference between the VW and the Audi, the engine capacity.
The Audi was a 2.2 5 cylinder and the VW a 1.9 5 cylinder.
With a manual transmission that's not a problem, but with an automatic like the one I had it would be if someone had replaced the 1.9 with the 2.2.
The automatic transmission of the 1.9 had weaker clutches and therefore burned out after some time.
The thing drove awesome.
If you're happy with it, fine!
But rightly one of VW's failed projects.
Just like, for example, the overpriced Bugatti, which only came onto the market thanks to ego trips by bosses with excessive salaries, and which now cost hundreds of millions. It's madness.
Wasn't that the model that was mercilessly criticized in the Euro crash test...? Not five stars, but only two or so?
Selling an Audi for a VW price is still possible, but the other way around it becomes more difficult.
The Santana is a fantastic car. I've driven it and worked on it. My cousin had one, and the carburetor, choke included, had been assembled by someone, but the adjustment wasn't right. It started poorly, if at all, when cold. That hurdle was overcome successfully, as it was a piece of cake with the specs listed. After that, it was just pure enjoyment. Extremely comfortable. A fantastic car with beautiful lines. Beautiful!!