B5.5 Passat in US though 2004 or 2005?

I believe it's late fall 2005 for the B6 sedan intro and spring 2006 for the wagon.

From what the instructor said in VW class today the 2005 will be new. Now it maybe like previous versions such as the 2001 and 2001.5 cars. Only time will tell.

aka Woodchuck live from Jessup MD!

The dealer I've been talking to about Passat TDIs got 8 2004s, and has about 25 2005 TDIs in allocation. He had one that was already completed production and waiting to ship, 4 in manufacturing, and the rest just pending. The only change he knew of was that the side curtain air bags become standard (Canadian models anyway). He said he didn't expect any price change, except to add the cost of side curtain airbags to the base price.

Interestingly, he said he can now change the option mix on any of the cars that had not started manufacturing without any trouble.

The next "new" Passat is going back to transverse engines, and will not have a TDI available, at least in the first model year. Given the number of "old" Passats that dealer is getting it looks like they're not expecting the new model for 12 months.

I can't find any signs of a new model anywhere on the net yet. No photos, no stories. If it was close to starting production I'd expect there to be some news of that.

At least since VW sells them overseas first (usually), by the time they get here it means they've already been on the road and there should be less bugs.

I have heard though that there are no plans (yet?) to bring the next Passat with a TDI option to the US so if the TDI thing is the really important deal maker/breaker for you, get a TDI now instead.

I did find pictures of the new Passat somewhere on the web several days ago, but I can't find the url now and it seems to have evaporated from my Explorer history. It's certainly an attractive car although I'm not sure about the big headlights. The main problem is that I wouldn't want an early one. And, as you said, the TDI would be unlikely in the first or second year.

I just found a short Passat B5.5 TDI road test report from a clubb5er:

He says VW estimates fuel economy at 38/27. Although that's good, it's not nearly as impressive as the Golf/Jetta TDI numbers. Heck, our 1.8T Passat gets 32 mpg on the highway. Can any Passat TDI owners on this NG share their experience with fuel economy?

Bill

78 Rabbit...10/77 - 4/02 82 Convertibles(s)...since 93 95 Golf GL...since 11/99 02 Passat 1.8T Tip GLS...since 4/02

bigger engine, bigger car.

But not that much bigger. I'll bet my daughter's 1.8T Tip Jetta doesn't get more than 2 or 3 mpg better mileage than our 1.8T Tip Passat. Well, maybe VW's Passat TDI numbers are just real conservative. As more of these cars get on the road some of the folks here or on clubb5 or vwvortex can share their Passat TDI mileage. Like lots of things, time will tell :-)

Bill

Hey, isn't that where the Maryland House of Corrections is located? Have a nice stay. Hope it's not too long :-)

About 250 pounds, given similar trim/engine options.

-- Mike Smith

But in your case, the engine in both cars is a 1.8T. The 2.0L TDI in the Passat puts out a lot more horsepower and way more torque than the

1.9L TDI used in the Jetta does. I bet if you put the 2.0L TDI in a Jetta it wouldn't get near the economy of the 1.9L.

Well, no - but I still think you may be *on to something* there... A Jetta with ~135 hp and ~250 lb-ft? That'd be interesting.

-- Mike Smith