I picked up my new Passat on Monday and thought I would share my first impressions.
Model: 2.0 140 Tdi SE saloon (extras: leather, pearl paint, front fogs)
Overall I?m very pleased with my choice. It looks lovely in deep black pearl paint and the finish is superb (shut lines etc). Build quality is excellent ? the doors, boot lid etc are heavy and solid-feeling and are a pleasure to use. Chrome looks impressive against the black.
Interior ? very nice, roomy, well-finished, lots of thoughtful touches, plenty of storage space (esp for drinks!). The leather is not the best I?ve ever seen but is ok, and I?m looking forward to trying out the heated front seats when the weather gets a bit cooler.
Good stereo ? easy to use and nice sound, powerful. Big boot.
On the road ? assured, comfortable and solid feeling. Obviously, I?m running it in and taking it easy (controversial, I know!) but it seems to have plenty of power. It comes into its own on the open road, and cruises nicely at 2000rpm at 70mph in 6th gear. Gear change a little notchy but this will hopefully improve over time. Nice feel to the steering, speed related pas apparently.
The deal ? brilliant as far as I?m concerned. I used drivethedeal.com who put me in touch with a VW dealer about an hour?s drive away and all money went to them. All dealings by phone/letter until the day I took delivery. Excellent service and a saving of £2k. UK car, not a dodgy import! And by way of comparison it cost me £200 more than my Audi A4 1.9TDi SE six years ago!
I?m obviously tempting fate but so far I?m over the moon with it!!
Cheers
Pat
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>>I?m obviously tempting fate but so far I?m over the moon with it!! >>
I'm very envious...:-)
No doubt your thread will upset the BR's VAG bashers who will, almost to a man (and woman) will probablly be forecasting woes galore within the next few months.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Congratulations Pat.
Gearboxes are notoriously notchy on new cars. Should improve quite quickly.
At last it sounds like VW have grasped how to engineer PAS with feel! Rejoice!
Cheers
DP
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good to hear you are pleased with it. I'd have plumped for a DSG box over the leather and fogs though!!
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I thought about the dsg box but I've never been a fan of autos (though I didn't actually try the dsg version). We need fog lights in this area and I was surprised they weren't standard given the general level of equipment.
I've still got the Audi and both of these cars are long-term purchases, so things like galvanised bodies are important to me.
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Pat L - chief BR VAG basher here (and well qualified in my opinion to be so - there is not smoke without fire Stuartli)
I hope it goes very well for you and congratulations on your deal and purchase.
Keep us informed of how you get on with it.
There have been a number of threads recently on this class of car with people buying Avensis and Accord.
It would be good for us compare notes as you get more miles under your foot.
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It would be good for us compare notes as you get more miles under your foot.
I hope that Pat's new car will be reliable enough that the miles can be completed on wheels rather than on foot ;)
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>>(and well qualified in my opinion to be so - there is not smoke without fire Stuartli>>
Apart from driving many examples of VAG products, I've also owned two Jettas and my current Bora (all acquired secondhand) since 1992 which have covered thousands of miles with minimal problems.
Certainly I've always been able to jump in one, drive to wherever I want in the Uk and come back without ever having been let down once.
I'm certainly not going to claim that all VWs are the same - or any other marque for that matter - but I did decide to stick with VW for very good reasons originally
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I've still got the Audi and both of these cars are long-term purchases, so things like galvanised bodies are important to me.
I was under the impression that all cars had galvanised bodies these days. Is it that some cars are better galvanised than others?
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In repsonse to stuartli above, lets let Pat L enjoy his new car and use this thread to discusss the pros and cons of the new passat & keep us up to date with his ownership experience - which I hope is a good one.
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>discusss the pros and cons of the new passat >>
He's only had it three or four days - needs to get some miles under his belt for other than first impressions....:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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"I was under the impression that all cars had galvanized bodies these days" - Some cars are not (e.g. Last model Civic - HJ "Body not electro galvanized so only has a six year no perforation warranty") , some use zinc coated metal that's welded afterwards (e.g. Fiat , Vauxhall, BMW!- I did the Munich factory tour) and some are dipped after welding (VAG group I think). I have a five year old Skoda Octavia that excluding suspension& Exhaust etc. looks like new underneath. I did have a five year old Punto HLX that was rusting badly where jacking points and sills etc were welded on (as well as the sump!) I saved it with a thorough wire brushing (angle grinder attachment) and rust proofing session. (Had to do the same on my Father-in-law?s Punto Sporting). On both Fiats the rust pitting was quite deep, especially around the jacking points. My Father-in-law's previous Fiat Tipo did not suffer in the same way appart from some visible rust on the engine subframe.
Is it that some cars are better galvanised than others? - Yes
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BJ - thanks for the reply - interesting.
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If it's built anything like my '94 Passat 1.9 Tdi estate car (164,000 miles) you should still be able to admire its gleaming paintwork in 12 years time!
Your problem might be at trade-in time when you decide you want to keep the car....and keep the car....and keep the car!!!
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