I've had a new Passat 2.0 TDI Sport DSG now for 6 days, and after doing ~700 miles in it, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on it.
Looks
In my opinion, it's nasty looking from both the front and the back. It just looks awkward from lots of angles, especially the front, and is just... well, boring! I guess it's a love it or hate it thing, though.
Driving
Quite how this got the 'Sport' title, I don't know. According to the spec list it has "Sports suspension, lowered by approx. 15 mm". All this seems to do is make the ride harsh and bouncy, because it doesn't handle, at all.
I'd forgotten how rubbish front wheel drive was since having the BMW, you can feel the torque steer tugging at the wheel when accelerating hard. For some reason it also feels really unstable when braking hard.
The steering is awful, it's some electrically driven system which equals zero feedback and some weird tendancy to feel lumpy when going slowly.
The engine is the 2.0 TDI with 140PS, which doesn't actually feel too slow and seems to have plenty of torque. However, it's very noisy, as with all VAG TDI PD engines, at times it can be very obtrusive.
Other highlights include the DSG gearbox, which I still find the most irritating transmission I've ever used - it's dimwitted and slow when you want it to react quickly, which at times can be bordering on dangerous. The only thing it does do is change gear really quickly when you're driving normally, but on a diesel repmobile, is this really necessary? I would never spec DSG on a car unless it was seriously improved, because in my opinion it's very flawed.
In the Cabin
The old Passat used to have a good quality cabin, and VW seem to have taken a step backwards here. Parts of the dashboard are good quality, but other parts (like the climate control, and the sunglasses holder) feel cheap and nasty, which is a shame.
The seats are quite nice, and they have part electric adjustment, including full lumbar support.
Specification
In general, it's pretty good, but for a car that costs nearly £23k new, you should expect that.
It has the usual climate control, CD player, remote central locking, alloys, as well as part electric seat adjustment and an electronic parking brake. The only problem is that it's missing some vital equipment for a repmobile - cruise control and steering wheel controls. Why these are options on a car like this, I do not know - every Mondeo has both of these as standard.
One thing I really miss is parking sensors, it's quite big and the visibility isn't great, so I don't find it that easy to park
To Sum Up
On the plus side, the stereo isn't bad for a stock system, it'll do 40mpg+ and give a range of 600 miles on a tank of diesel.
But on the flip side, it's boring to drive, the lack of cruise control is frustrating, it looks bad, the engine is noisy and intrusive, and the gearbox is over hyped.
It makes driving a chore, rather than something enjoyable. Most people will probably have these as company cars, and I guess as a motorway mile muncher it isn't TOO bad, but I'd rather have a Mondeo.
Looks
In my opinion, it's nasty looking from both the front and the back. It just looks awkward from lots of angles, especially the front, and is just... well, boring! I guess it's a love it or hate it thing, though.
Driving
Quite how this got the 'Sport' title, I don't know. According to the spec list it has "Sports suspension, lowered by approx. 15 mm". All this seems to do is make the ride harsh and bouncy, because it doesn't handle, at all.
I'd forgotten how rubbish front wheel drive was since having the BMW, you can feel the torque steer tugging at the wheel when accelerating hard. For some reason it also feels really unstable when braking hard.
The steering is awful, it's some electrically driven system which equals zero feedback and some weird tendancy to feel lumpy when going slowly.
The engine is the 2.0 TDI with 140PS, which doesn't actually feel too slow and seems to have plenty of torque. However, it's very noisy, as with all VAG TDI PD engines, at times it can be very obtrusive.
Other highlights include the DSG gearbox, which I still find the most irritating transmission I've ever used - it's dimwitted and slow when you want it to react quickly, which at times can be bordering on dangerous. The only thing it does do is change gear really quickly when you're driving normally, but on a diesel repmobile, is this really necessary? I would never spec DSG on a car unless it was seriously improved, because in my opinion it's very flawed.
In the Cabin
The old Passat used to have a good quality cabin, and VW seem to have taken a step backwards here. Parts of the dashboard are good quality, but other parts (like the climate control, and the sunglasses holder) feel cheap and nasty, which is a shame.
The seats are quite nice, and they have part electric adjustment, including full lumbar support.
Specification
In general, it's pretty good, but for a car that costs nearly £23k new, you should expect that.
It has the usual climate control, CD player, remote central locking, alloys, as well as part electric seat adjustment and an electronic parking brake. The only problem is that it's missing some vital equipment for a repmobile - cruise control and steering wheel controls. Why these are options on a car like this, I do not know - every Mondeo has both of these as standard.
One thing I really miss is parking sensors, it's quite big and the visibility isn't great, so I don't find it that easy to park
To Sum Up
On the plus side, the stereo isn't bad for a stock system, it'll do 40mpg+ and give a range of 600 miles on a tank of diesel.
But on the flip side, it's boring to drive, the lack of cruise control is frustrating, it looks bad, the engine is noisy and intrusive, and the gearbox is over hyped.
It makes driving a chore, rather than something enjoyable. Most people will probably have these as company cars, and I guess as a motorway mile muncher it isn't TOO bad, but I'd rather have a Mondeo.
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