Passat owners - how do you like them

I have a 99 V6 Passat and get 21mpg local & 30mpg on a trip!

Brakes - I'll throw cross drilled rotors on the car, since I love having them on my Golf now, once you have them you don't want to go back to just plain "vented" front disks...

Suspension - that's what new struts are for ;-) I've got Koni adjustable struts on my Golf now, as my original shocks wore out - best investment yet, even better then those brakes I think.

Tires - yes... I noticed 195s on a big Passat this worries me, are the alloy rims wide enough to handle say a 215 tire?

How is your MPG in "spirited" driving... I tend to like to get the revs up when I drive, at least until I hit the speed limit or a couple clicks over it.

I had a 99 Passat for three years. Brakes were an issue - hard to stop when wet - there aren't any splash guards over the front rotors so check for that. The front suspension was soft, didn't like that much. I also upgraded tires from stock 195s to 205s - the golfs get 195s as stock.

Also didn't like the gutter at the bottom of the windshield emptying on the battery!

In general, everything else was OK.

Tony

On a trip I usually drive about 75mph on our interstate highways. My daughter's 99 1,8t Passat get 2mpg less than mine for local driving, never had it on a trip.

Jim B.

We have an 02 Passat 1.8T and IMO it is an excellent car. I've owned at least one VW continuously since 1968 (and a Porsche before that!) and to tell you the truth I wouldn't have even considered a new VW (ie an expensive car combined with VW's poor reliabilty ratings, short warranty and a car too complex for me to fix myself). However, my wife just plain liked the way they looked and what with the newer longer warranties we went for it.

I recently drove 16 hours in my daughter's 03 1.8T Jetta and there is no camparison...the Passat is head and shoulders above the Jetta in confort and ride. And, strangely enough, the Passat beats it on mileage by about 1 mpg (highway).

The new 2.0 TDI is much more powerful than the 1.9 in your car - 134 hp and 247 lbs of torque. The 1.8T in our Passat is 170 hp and 160 lbs of torque. I'm considering trading ours in for a TDI, but the TDIs are so popular that our dealer doesn't even have one available for a test drive.

You are describing a GLS...except for the wheels and maybe the heated seats. The GLS has 15" wheels and the GLX has 16" wheels. Actually I prefer the 15 inch. The look better and ride better.

Well, ours is a Silverstone gray model with the dealer applied light gray fender stripe. Initially, I balked at the extra cost of this stripe, but it's amazing how it improves that appearance of the car. There are several Silverstone Passats around town without the stripe and they look dumpy in comparison. But the main thing to watch for in a used Passat is oil change history.

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

I figure if my parents old Volvo wagon is pretty good with 195 tires (actually they are the exact same size/load/speed rating as my Golf) then

FWIW I drive a GTi 1.8T, and love it to bits. My dad drives a passat wagon, with the same motor. Obviously I'm underwhelmed by the wagon, as the added weight really does make it feel sluggish compared to my little hatch. Not all that surprising I guess.

Still, the wagon is pretty well adorned, and has a metric buttload more space than the GTi.

The other thing that irks me in the Passat is the waistline, I perpetually feel like I'm sitting too low - the dash feels high, as do the windows. Like I'm engulfed by car, or something. I'm sure it's not as bad as a new Chrysler 300, but I still can't shake that "deep" feeling I get when driving the Passat.

Good luck with your decision.

- AL

Cross-drilled tend to crack then its bye-bye wheel. I have a 96 S6 and have recently replaced stock rotors with slotted and PBR pads. Major difference.

Also have replaced stock Boge suspension with Bilstein/Eibach combo - major improvement. I think VW/Audi soften the suspension for the NA market.

Tony

96 S6 2001 Golf

I'm not too impressed with the mileage of the passat at the speedlimit, but where most cars start burning fuel at higher speeds, my '99 Passat gives me about 27 mpg at 80-100 mph, but that's the 1.8T. A little bit of wind really increases the fuel consumption though, in strong winds, even normal driving can bring the mileage down to 25 mpg.

For 195/65R15 size tires on recent VWs, VW specifies the versions with the 91 load rating (instead of the more usual 89). Choose and order carefully when replacing tires.

I can only say one more time. FORGET CROSS-DRILLED ROTORS. They may look good BUT THEY WILL CRACK - not matter how many holes. And if your not watching then blingo.

I've seen the pics of Audi TT race cars and the ALMS R8s and they use slotted only. Not sure if I've seen any cross-drilled on racing cars, only slotted.

Tony

96 S6

The V6 is only incrementally more powerful then the 1.8T (170 vs 190HP if memory serves me). As a result, the mileage is only a little worse. I think you are right on that it will be difficult to find a manual in with the V6. I don't know when it started but the V6 in

2004 is only offered in GLX trim packages, so it basically costs $5000USD if you want it (and a boatload of other gadgets).

Hmmm, My 2004 has a height adjustment that puts me PLENTY high. I stop cranking when I think my noggin is close to the roof (I'm 5'11" though).

As one other person mentioned, you need to watch the oil on the 1.8T or the engine will sludge up.

I think the recommendation is 5k miles (8k kms). I changed to synthetic and drive about 10k miles before a change and at that point the oil still looks fine. These 4 oil changes a year still end up being more expensive than the

8 with dyno, but it's either too hot or too cold here to crawl under my car.