by "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
Published 03/03/2017 at 10:09
by "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
Published 03/03/2017 at 10:09
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STARS: 5
A few months ago I bought a new Passat to replace my Jetta TDI that was on its way to being bought back. I got to keep both cars for a few months when finally it was bought back about a month ago. I plan to do a full post on that later on.
Anyways this car I bought new about 4 months ago since I spend so much time behind the wheel. I wanted comfort and style with a little bit of driver focus.
Disclaimer: Volkswagen wanted me to review this car so bad that they cheated diesel emissions and had to purchase my jetta back so that I could buy the new passat.
So at this point I have had the car long enough to give a bit of my feelings about the car. I’ve but 12K miles on the car in 4 months and has not missed a beat yet. At first there were a number of things that seemed weird to me about the car and I was not sure how I would feel about them but now that I have put this many miles on the car it seems I have learned to live with the quirks and some of them seem to have gone away in driving.
Things I like:
1. The Styling - I think this car is really good looking for being a basic midsized sedan. The color is nice and it is handsome, I can only hope it will age well, but for now its not as beige as the big Japanese makes.
2. The Handling - I would say 60% of the reason I went with another VW is because I love how much fun they are to drive, even their “regular” cars like this. It has a number of driver focused elements that make it really fun on a twisty road but it is also incredibly composed and comfortable on the highway. All of the other cars I looked at just did not have any sense of wanting to be driven to me.
3. The Engine - Now let me put this in context, when I say I like the engine, I don’t like it for its power, I like it for how refined it seems for just being a little 4 cyl. It makes acquitted power for what it is, the power delivery is nice and it revs smooth and hard. This little engine is also very efficient for how large of a car this is. I average about 34 MPG but I’ve seen as high as 45 MPG (that was only once)
Things I don’t like as much:
1. The Transmission - Now my problem here is not that I don’t like it. I just have spend the last 7 years in manual only so going to an automatic is hard for me. I don’t like the lack of control. One thing I do think they did right though is the gearing in “Sport” mode, it actually does better than the “Manual” mode. The Manual mode is one thing I really don’t like because it feels so un-natural, while it is quick it just feels pointless except when trying to maintain a gear for snow or something along those lines.
Now all in all I really have loved the car for the past 12K miles. It drives great. The power delivery is good. It is reliable. It looks good. And its efficient. I really don’t have much to complain about at this point. I think its really an underrated car partly because the MSRP on this car was too high but I am really happy with what I was able to pay for it. I also beleive now more than before that the Passat is one of the most over looked sedans on the market. I have a hard time figuring out why everyone goes with the Accord and Camary ?
"BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo" (bluemazda2)
03/03/2017 at 10:23, STARS: 2
It’s a great car up until something goes wrong.
I’m on my second Passat. This Passat, like my last one, turned out to be a lemon. I refuse to go back to another Passat. Although I’m very disappointed with VW, I might still consider a Golf or a GTI because everybody I know who has one has had no problems with theirs. They’re also relatively inexpensive. I really hate my Passat, but then again, it may just be shit luck here.
Here’s a small part of my problems
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/a-typical-day-in-the-life-of-a-vw-owner-1789652397
I’m glad to hear yours had treated you well, though.
"Vicente Esteve" (vicente-esteve)
03/03/2017 at 10:29, STARS: 1
That Passat will not look aged in a good number of years to come, that is why VWs look “plain” and “boring”. That blue in person looks excellent and I dislike blue in cars.
My guess is the V6 DSG is the one to buy, but I agree the modern VW 4cyl are extremely refined and give great fuel economy.
"OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
03/03/2017 at 10:46, STARS: 1
I think 12k is rought around when JKM’s Jetta shitting shitting its pants on a weekly basis
"TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
03/03/2017 at 10:54, STARS: 1
Yeah I remember reading that a while back. That really is a shame. I feel like there are two types of people who end up owning VW’s. People who have endless problems, and people who have none at all. My Jetta was flawless and this seems to be the same so far. I hope it remains that way.
"haveacarortwoorthree2" (haveacarortwoorthree2)
03/03/2017 at 10:57, STARS: 0
12k miles in 4 months — holy cow!
"TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
03/03/2017 at 11:00, STARS: 1
Yeah I think the V6 DSG is a good one to have but to be honest I don’t think the car needs that kind of power and it is just too expensive with the V6. I agree it probably will look super boring in just a few years like most VW
"TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
03/03/2017 at 11:16, STARS: 0
I sure hope that doesn’t happen !
"TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
03/03/2017 at 11:17, STARS: 0
Yeah I drive a pretty good bit !
"CompactLuxuryFan" (compactluxury)
03/03/2017 at 13:18, STARS: 0
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
I think you mean adequate , but I think this could be a new expression. Make it happen!
"TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
03/03/2017 at 14:09, STARS: 0
Yes that is what I meant haha, I am not great at spelling, I’ll just take what spellcheck gives me and run with it