WHEN it was launched 15 years ago Volkswagen's people carrier took some stick because it's name sounded so much like that of a typical Essex girl.

But the Sharan - pronounced with heavy emphasis on the final "a", and definitely not Sharon - has gone on to notch up an impressive 600,000 sales.

Now, however, after a surprisingly long period without major changes the Sharan Mk2 has gone on sale and packs an impressive list of features to woo the family man and woman who traditionally buys this type of vehicle.

VW has given a lot of thought to how to improve what has been one of its most successful vehicles and has come up with a host of surprises.

For starters the newcomer now has sliding side doors rather than the traditional hinged ones, which makes life easier when you are parking in a tight spot in a supermarket car park or a multi-storey.

There's also been a major re-think on making the seating more flexible and easier to operate.

Seating in the Sharan always gave owners plenty of options but often it was heavy work to change things around.

With the  all-new Sharan, however, it couldn't be simpler. In fact a mum with a baby in one arm can transform it from a seven-seater people mover to a two seater space waggon with all but the front two seats completely flat in seconds with no effort whatsoever.

Pull a lever and the seat squabs of the rear row of seats spring out of the way. Pull a second one and the seat backs disappear into the floor to give a completely flat load area.

If you need even more space it's just one gentle tug on levers on each of the seats in the middle row to dispatch them to floor level too, to give you the equivalent of a rather large van.

But perhaps the best feature of all, for some people at least, is a new system which will automatically park the car for you end on, in the sort of line you normally find in a car park.

The Sharan - and its smaller sibling the Touran - have been available with a system which will park the vehicle for you in gaps parallel to the road for some time but "end-on" parking has not previously been available.

Now for just £200 on Sharan SE and Sport models (£625 on the entry level S model) you can add a parking system which covers all eventualities - even managing gaps on severely curved bends.

As with the earlier system you have to work with it, controlling the accelerator and brake, but all the steering and manoeuvring is done automatically by the car. In fact it's probably best to sit with your hands clasped together so you are not tempted to grab the wheel when things look tight.

This latest system not only offers end-on parking but has reduced the gap that the car can be parked in when parallel parking.

The new system will also - unlike the earlier one - get you out of your parking space.

VW has listened to customers who said it's all well and good getting into a small gap, but what happens when I need to get out of it again?

In fact the VW boffins have been particularly cute here. For while the automatic system will park your car in a gap equal to the length of your vehicle plus 80cm, it will get you out of a gap equal to your car plus just 50cm. #

The thinking being that when you return to your Sharan the vehicle now parked in front or behind it might be even closer than the one previously there.

The new Sharan is available with either a 1.4-litre or 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine plus two 2.0-litre diesels offering 140bhp or 170bhp.

And while you might not think a 1.4-litre would be sufficient to pull such a large vehicle this one is both supercharged and turbocharged and can definitely punch above its weight.

Up to 3000 revs it utilises the supercharger and above that the turbocharger takes over, effectively reducing turbo lag.

On the road the most noticeable difference on the Sharan is how quiet the car is in both petrol and diesel form after a lot of work to make it even more refined. And for a vehicle of this size it's remarkably car-like to drive.

Prices start from £22,980 for the 1.4S TSI  to £30,580 for the Executive 140 TDI model with DSG gearbox.