1. Home
  2. Volkswagen, everything else
  3. passat cabin space

passat cabin space

I currently drive a 2000 Hyundai Elantra GLS, which has worked out fine for me, but I'd like something roomier and nicer, and I can afford it now.

The thing is I'm 6'3", 275 lbs. I fit in my Hyundai alright, but my hair brushes against the top sometimes, and my legs get cramped from not enough width on 1+ hour drives, which I do quite a bit. I've sat in the Camry, Accord, Passat, but the Passat seems to have the most space, plus I've always like the way the Passat looks, and I'm under the impression German engineering is good. My Mom owned a VW bug in the 70's which lasted 13 years no problem.

Can anyone else think of a car in the 20-30K price range that has as much or more space than the Passat? Or is the Passat it?

One thing I'm not quite into are American cars though, so don't recommend it unless you think I'm really missing out on something.

By the way, I like the Touareg, but 40K, you've got to be kidding. Ouch.

Thanks!

Alex

Reply to
Alex Lazarevich
Loading thread data ...

VW Passat is quite roomy and it's a nice car to driver - I am considering one for myself next year, or a new Jetta V if they are almost the same size... I'm in your position, I find my current car (a 1999.5 Golf) to be just a little too small and uncomfortable for me. Tho the fuel economy will be missed - If you're looking a the base engine Passat with an automatic, watch out... there is a turbo lag and it's quite easy to spin the tires if you are caught unaware - tho it makes the car feel more powerful then it is... It's a fairly quick car, I could definately see myself driving one every day, tho I think i'd need the sport shocks (I have upgraded shocks on my Golf, and it's the best investment I have made so far as far as ride comfort - the stock shocks on the Golf and Passat have too much dive/squat/body roll in transitions).

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Great, thanks for the Volvo recommendation, I always heard they were goodcars, I'll check them out.

As far as the Passat, I'm leaning towards the GLS 1.8T 170hp in a manual transmition. I don't know how to use an automatic. ;) I would certainly spend the extra money and get a V6, but from what I can tell the 2005 Passat GLX V6 doesn't come in a manual? What the heck is that all about?

Alex

Rob Guenther wrote:

Reply to
Alex Lazarevich

Well the W8 had a manual option (W8 is no longer in production), but it was a special sport model... The V6 is Tiptronic-only as far as I know (luxury oriented theme maybe)... I'm with you, why no manual on the V6?? But the same is true for the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry tho - no standard tranny on the V6's only the 4 cylinder models (but have you ever seen a manual Camry of recent vintage??)

The 4 cylinder with the manual tranny is supposedly much easier to live with then if you have the automatic - this is what the salesman told me when I commented on the non linearness of the acceleration in the automatic.

I wish I could tell you more about cost of ownership of VW vs Volvo... but we have new VW's and an older Volvo (right now... looking at an XC70 in a year or two)... the older Volvo's aren't too costly to run for their price, whereas my Golf is getting expensive to maintain because it's 5 years old and needs new tires, brakes, timing belt, automatic transmission fluid change, coolant flush etc etc etc all in the past 12 months... I've only owned it for 18 so it's been tough to live with, but the expenses are coming to an end.

I'd say Volvo's have a realistic cost of parts/ownership and they have very good service intervals, and their OEM parts are top quality and long lasting (again.. at least they used to be for our 960... The new models look as good tho)

Reply to
Rob Guenther

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.