Jack Forrest’s 1985 Volkswagen always manages to confuse the public. Some people believe it is an obscure form of Audi, despite the VW badges, while a few even believe it to be a Nissan. In fact, the Santana is a long-forgotten member of the Passat family – and on British roads.
The Santana debuted in 1981 and was essentially an elongated saloon version of the B2-series Passat. VW intended it to be sold in all its global markets and on 16 September that year reported “a deal with Nissan for the Japanese firm to build an annual 60,000 of the new big Volkswagen Santana saloons in Japan”. Two years later the Shanghai Tractor Automobile Corporation (STAC) assembled the first batch of Chinese-market Santanas.
British sales commenced in 1982, with the concessionaire deciding to import only the GX5 flagship. noted the Santana faced several challenges – it not only had the same 1,897cc five-cylinder engine as the Audi 80CD, but it was “within a few inches of having the same dimensions”. There was the further problem that the previous large VW saloon, the rear-engined Type 4 produced from 1968 to 1974, was not exactly a roaring success.
In 1982, the GX5 cost £7,974.58, compared with £7,600 for the Ford Granada 2.3L and £7,472 for the .
The VW’s specification included power-assisted steering, central locking, alloy wheels, electric windows, front foglights, head restraints on all seats and a height-adjustable driver’s seat – such equipment demonstrated how the Sa.
