New VW Passat

[Harvey1512]

In the press this weekend I have seen near universal praise for the new VW Passat. Some of the figures quoted for how many of these have been sold since its inception are phenomenal. Clearly this has been a great car for VW. My question is are there are people on here who have had one before and what were your views? I have looked in the past and found them to be expensive for what you get and more importantly, mind numbingly dull. I have never felt impressed or inspired inside a Passat. Am I just missing what they are about?

[volvoid]

My sister had the sport version diesel estate.
Always had a job keeping up with her, it went well, handled well, became the family lorry when kids came along, did everything with minimal hassle. Kept it till it was 15 years old with nearly 200,000 miles. Often got 60 mpg out of it too.
Shes bought a brand new one.

[tt82]

I used one for a few days, good economy from the engine but otherwise very forgetfull. It lacked quite a few of the extras that were standerd on my V40 (which was about 9 years older).

I think the main draw of the Passat is it being part of the VAG group. You can get near Audi level technology, build quality, reliability etc but with none of the Audi inflated prices or snobishness!

[GrahamBrown1]

My work uses new passats as company cars. I find the ride hard, seats aren't comfy, and I just don't like interior, as others have said very dull! When ever i have to go away with work i allways find my self wishing i could of taken my s60 instead!

[Harvey1512]

Originally Posted by GrahamBrown1

My work uses new passats as company cars. I find the ride hard, seats aren't comfy, and I just don't like interior, as others have said very dull! When ever i have to go away with work i allways find my self wishing i could of taken my s60 instead!

My experience as well.

[volvoid]

Thats to be expected, this isnt a vw forum

[Harvey1512]

There are lots of brands out there that I like, Skoda, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus to name only a few but VW's tend to leave me cold. The success of VW is huge so my feelings on the matter are not going to give them sleepless nights. I was just trying to get a feel of what people liked about the Passat. This was not an attempt to bash them in an anti VW moment because frankly that would be a bit pointless.

[Paul Fife]

Many moons ago my father sold his 240 DL and bought a Passat, jade green with the Audi 5cyl engine. Went like a train. Fantastic car. He had until it did 250,000 miles and he sold it to a bloke down the road. The engine block was going rusty because it didn't drip oil anywhere !

It's still going now by all accounts, dad bought a 960 turbo after that and wrote it off blocking the m4 at the tunnels outside Newport. He greatest achievement was making the traffic report on radio 2.

[tickedon]

Originally Posted by Harvey1512

I have never felt impressed or inspired inside a Passat. Am I just missing what they are about?

Nope. My dad has had one of each of the last generations. Interior is very dull and only minor changes / improvements between the last couple of models. It's a workhouse but that's about it.

I also think it's quite expensive. The new basic Passat S with the 150bhp engine is £50 less than the Volvo S60 D4 Business Edition, but you'd need to add so many extras to the Passat to make it equivalent (Passat doesn't even have automatic air conditioning or cruise control)! Also can't match the 99g/km co2.

[oragex]

I had a 1999 1.8T model before. Great driving position (if a bit low to the ground), very comfortable suspension, good seats. Weak engine overall (with auto transmission). Very solid drive on open road. After about 8 years various electronic parts in the cabin were giving up.

The newer Passat however is only a stretched version of the Jetta. Nothing in common with the refinement of the original model.