Passat W8.... any good ?

86JR · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:10

I know everyone in here hates VW saloons because BMW is the best mainly because Fox owns one, but I am brand loyal to VW and every car has broken down on me except the three VW's I have owned.

They cost around £6k now and I would only get a manual. This seems cheap, and they seem reliable, the only bad thing is 20mpg vs the 50mpg I get at the moment. But I am moving house in Spring where my daily commute will be around 6 miles as apposed to the 60 i do now.

So, opinions ? They are fully specced, bixenons, full leather, etc etc...

Oh and i almost forgot, they sound like this: :eek:

edit: it refuses to imbed :

jamoor · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:12

Mondeo ST220.

Muffin` · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:12

Get one it'd suit you down to the ground.

iaind · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:18

They sound like that with a non standard exhaust, that said they dont sound half bad as standard from inside

They're quick, but 271bhp and 60 in 6.2 isnt spectacular from 4 litres. My concerns would be complexity/running costs and fuel economy - you've already said the fuel economy isnt an issue so look further into servicing etc.

Obviously the ST220 is the better choice and they are very reliable, but the W8 is a bit different I guess!

86JR · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:18

I was actually looking at the V6, ive wanted a vr6 for years but they are too old now and dont handle as well as new cars : my gti 8v felt like a bag of nails compared to my boggo 1.6 focus, both standard except for complete oem overhaul on the 8v. So i wondered if the passat v6 sounded anything like a vr6...it doesnt, and then i found the W8.

paradigm · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:23

twoblacklines said:
I am brand loyal to VW

So, you will blindly buy overpriced useless cars because you have an irrational bind to a single brand?

Madness.

iaind · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:26

Is noise the only criteria then?

A 330i or ST220 will sound better

86JR · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:31

how will a 6 cylinder mondeo sound better than a near-v8 ?

jigger · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:33

I come very close to buying one. It was a proper uber saloon.

v0n · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:35

W8 are insanely thirsty for what they are. Its only defense was that the old VW's V6's were not that good. That's been fixed in new lineup - Passat R36 is considerably faster (over a second iirc) while returning 30 mpg. Even "regular" 3.2 FSI is quicker and better.

Guys suggesting Mondeo ST220. Phleeeeze (shrugs)... let's keep the thread to under 7 second cars, if you keep suggesting old school rep 6 pots we might as well start pimping out 4 pot Skodas.

iaind · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:36

twoblacklines said:
how will a 6 cylinder mondeo sound better than a near-v8 ?

Near V8? It's only 2 more cylinders, there are a lot more relavant factors in determining the sound of a car

ajgoodfellow · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:37

One of the guys I work with has one - an automatic estate that he's converted to run on LPG

Seems nice enough but I can't see what it offers over a standard Passat really, save the noise!

Honest John doesn't like the manual though: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=618

Honest John said:
Manuals reported to be awful to drive with a slow, imprecise gearchange and an ECU/engine/gearbox mismatch that makes them difficult to drive smoothly

Clarkey · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:39

There really aren't. 8 cylinder = best noise.

Hxc · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:41

I want someone to buy a Phaeton W12 instead

86JR · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:44

I looked at that, but as an example, if your heating controls fail, where in normal cars you would buy a new switch or new heating control loom at most, in a phaeton your looking at £3k to fix a simple switch.

danza · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:44

http://www.churchsperformancecars.co.uk/detail.asp?StockID=1011

Woefully underpowered by some standards, but it's a real V8 this time. Still, has plenty of negative stigma and understandably so in some respects.

jamoor · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:47

v0n said:
W8 are insanely thirsty for what they are. Its only defense was that the old VW's V6's were not that good. That's been fixed in new lineup - Passat R36 is considerably faster (over a second iirc) while returning 30 mpg. Even "regular" 3.2 FSI is quicker and better.

Guys suggesting Mondeo ST220. Phleeeeze (shrugs)... let's keep the thread to under 7 second cars, if you keep suggesting old school rep 6 pots we might as well start pimping out 4 pot Skodas.

I guess there's more to cars for me than facts and figures

iaind · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:48

danza said:
http://www.churchsperformancecars.co.uk/detail.asp?StockID=1011

Woefully underpowered by some standards, but it's a real V8 this time. Still, has plenty of negative stigma and understandably so in some respects.

Good suggestion - I bet there's plenty you can do to get the power up too

Not even that underpowered compared to the passat - 4.0 with 271bhp or 4.6 with 260bhp, not a huge difference

One of the big problems with the passat would be finding one, there's only a handful for sale at the moment.

Although this TDI is 4.3L according to the ad

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...iceasc&anchor=advert200950348136833&logcode=p

mjt · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:50

i think they're an interesting proposition

but i can't really see the point in a passat W8 when you can get an S6
http://pistonheads.com/sales/1309332.htm

i was going to say you can even get an S8, but then that'd be like saying you can get a 740i.. irrelevant

danza · 13 Dec 2009 at 20:55

Surely the S6 is a league above the W8 in terms of general running costs though?