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DRIVING in New York City is a matter of winning through intimidation, which can be done if you’re behind the wheel of a jalopy or a touch-me-and-die new car. Folks stay away from jalopies on general principle. They figure junk-car drivers don’t mind banging metal to get through gridlock. People stay away from expensive new cars since they might be occupied by lawyers — or gun-toters.

But what about worming your way through the Big Apple in something like the 1993 Volkswagen EuroVan MV? It’s a problem, let me tell ya.

The EuroVan has “family values” written all over it, which automatically takes you down a peg or two in the hierarchy of hostility that is New York City traffic. Other drivers think you’re not up to taking chances, which means they’re more likely to cut in front of you. Still others become irritated, sometimes nudging you from the rear, as if they are trying to push you and the van back to the suburbs.

I took such abuse for an hour before deciding to get even. After all, the EuroVan is no wimp. With its relatively small turning circle — 38.4 feet — it can whip around obstacles with the dexterity of a sedan. In first through third gears, it has enough oomph to pull away from most urban road warriors. Also, the EuroVan looks bigger than it is, a deception I used to squeeze into parking spots that drivers of smaller vehicles thought I would bypass in their favor.

“You’ll never get that thing in there,” one of those drivers yelled as I was trying to park on the city’s West Side. I did. The guy sped off in a huff.

Background: The EuroVan is the fourth and best generation of Volkswagen’s passenger vans, which have been around for 43 years. It might also turn out to be one of the best compact vans on the market. It has more versatile seating and cargo arrangements than the Mazda MPV or Toyota Previa; it also holds 201 cubic feet of stuff, about 73 percent more than can be carried in the regular Dodge Caravan.

There are three EuroVan models: the base CL, the upscale GL and the tested MV. The latter comes with two center-mounted, rear-facing seats and a wall-mounted, pop-out table. All EuroVans are front-wheel-drive, seven-passenger vehicles with 2.5-liter, in-line five-cylinder, fuel-injected, front-mounted, 109-horsepower engines.

Complaints: The EuroVan’s top competitors have at least a driver’s-side air bag. The EuroVan has none. Also, the cabinets in the EuroVan MV’s rear cargo area need better locking mechanisms to keep the doors from banging about.

Praise: Overall construction and presentation. What the EuroVan lacks in air bags, it makes up for in excellent side-crash and roof-crush protection. The thing is a steel cage with an ample supply of belts and shoulder harnesses. Also, the EuroVan MV has the most useful interior space of any compact van I’ve ever driven.

Head-turning quotient: High and positive among compact van lovers. Just another @#&*! truck to big-city drivers fighting for every inch of road space.

Ride, acceleration and handling: All excellent, although the EuroVan feels a tad more buslike than, say, the Dodge Caravan or Mercury Villager. Handling is helped by the EuroVan’s four-wheel-independent suspension system, which makes the vehicle more stable in cross-winds and on bad roads.

Braking is tops. The EuroVan employs power front discs and rear drums enhanced by an electronically controlled feature called LBS (load-sensitive braking system), that automatically distributes braking pressure based on cargo weight and position. This helps eliminate wheel lockup in panic stops. Additional anti-lock help, a dedicated anti-lock system to pump the brakes in emergency stops, is optional.

The EuroVan can tow braked trailers weighing up to 4,400 pounds and non-braked trailers weighing 1,500 lbs. or less. In addition, the van can carry cabin passenger and cargo loads weighing up to 1,50 lbs.

Sound system: Six-speaker, electronically controlled, AM/FM stereo radio and cassette installed by Volkswagen. Very good.

Mileage: About 20 to the gallon (21-gallon tank, estimated 410-mile range on usable volume of regular unleaded), combined city-highway, running with one passenger and 725 pounds of cargo. Tested van had a five-speed manual transmission.

Price: Base price on the EuroVan MV is $21,850. Dealer’s invoice is $19,268. Price as tested is $24,110, including $1,770 in options and a $490 destination charge.

Purse-strings note: A very definite buy, even for New Yorkers.