What are the reasons for the raised floor in the rear of Volkswagen cars?

[MacAlessandra]

Here are the reasons for the raised middle section in the rear of Volkswagen cars: 1. To protect the car's driveshaft: The car adopts a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, requiring space in the middle to accommodate the driveshaft. The front-mounted engine transmits power to the rear wheels via the driveshaft. If the driveshaft is too low, it may easily scrape the ground, affecting the car's off-road capability. Raising the vehicle height would impact the car's center of gravity. Therefore, a locally raised floor is designed to protect the driveshaft, enhancing the car's stability, off-road capability, and handling. 2. To provide space for the exhaust pipe design: The car's chassis is designed to be low, and even if it is a front-wheel-drive car, it still needs to accommodate the exhaust pipe, hence the raised middle section provides the necessary space for the exhaust system. 3. To increase chassis toughness: The final reason is that even if the car is front-wheel-drive, its chassis may be based on a rear-wheel-drive platform or shared with higher-end models (rear-wheel-drive platform), resulting in the raised middle section in the rear. Generally, the raised floor can significantly increase the body's strength several times. This design enhances the chassis's toughness, as many cars without such a raised section tend to break upon impact. The semi-circular raised floor acts like a protruding steel beam installed on the floor, reinforcing the structure.