VW Passats

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this.

B5.5 Passats are an amazingly well built car.

6 speed box is great on the motorway - I've seen over 50mpg on a run from London to Cardiff through use of 6th and cruise control. Not sure about tip-tronic, as there's a bit of an economy hit on it - I'd certainly avoid the traditional auto. I suppose if you're mostly on the motorway the auto hit won't be too bad, but if that's where you're spending most of your time, you don't really need an auto anyway.

Things to watch - the MAF can play up, causing rough running (see thread on the Golf TDI), cambelts should be done on 60k miles - ensure the waterpump and tensioners are done at the same time.

Also watch that the 'comfort control module' is working properly - so check all windows and interior lights work as they should as well as the central locking and alarm system. I've posted a full run-down of this in a recent thread (should be able to find it on google).

If it were me, I'd be looking for a 2.5 V6 TDI with leather and all the toys.

"Simon Finnigan" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

Dunno about the Passat, but according to the specs for the current Mundano, the 6 speed 2.0 TDci (115) model actually has slightly worse consumption figures than it's 5 speed counterpart. I suppose that the main advantages are greater driver flexibiltiy and reduced engine noise when cruising. Although I tend to find that wind is the predominant noise factor when motorway cruising in a large saloon.

Stu

The Vectra had a 2.0 engine and had nothing there at 70mph in 5th gear, I had to change to 4th to accelerate! The Passat I was in, with it`s 1.9, happily pulled away quite nicely. Plus the Passat was a nicer car to sit in, it seemed more roomy and comfortable, and if i`m spending hours a day in a car, I want something nice :-)

How fast was that run though? Ignoring any aspects about the legality of going over 70mph, I simply can`t afford to get done for speeding due to my job. The next door neighbour who has a V reg 1.9 diesel Passat reckons on a

70mph run motorways all the way they`ve had over 50mpg. The auto is more for being lazy when driving normally - got used to it in work and it`s nice for when you`re in a traffic jam. but it really is just being lazy. And the 6 speed would be useful on a motorway to hopefully increase economy, but it`s hardly a deal-breaker.

MAF? I seem to be missing some posts in that thread (of course :-) )

Cheers, i`ll dig it out with Google.

How much would you be expecting to pay for it though? :-) I`ve seen quite a few with reasonable mileage, with a 1.9 diesel for around £5k. This is pretty much what i`d be looking to pay for a car now. Leather and toys would be very nice, but the bigger engine wouldn`t seem to be necessary (certainly for the speeds i`d be driving at) if the ones i`ve driven so far are anything to go by.

I get a Passat more or less by default - we can also pick from a Vectra (but it's some base model dog) a Mondeo (same again), Merc B-Class (silly MPV-like thing) or pay lots extra to get a 3-series, C-Class or A4. At least with the Passat I get the 2lt TDI (140bhp) and SE spec.

People may laugh, but I like my Passat for the quality of the interior - they're a nice palce to be for 5 or 6 hours a day.

That run was at an average of 60mph. I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere, so there were spells of sitting at 75mph with some stretches done in the 50mph roadworks.

I *think* it turned in 54.5mpg on that run. Not bad for a relatively powerful, big and heavy car.

I ran a previous shape Passat on my own money for 12 months - mine was a

1.8T - bought with 130k miles on it, sold with nearly 180k miles on it

- all it cost me in that time was tyres, a cambelt and brake pads. Not bad, really, considering it cost me less than £2k and was sold for £1700.

2.5s are a bit rare - they were expensive when new and most company car buyers chose a lower spec A4 instead of a loaded Passat. They're nowhere near as economical as the 1.9s. You probably won't find a 1.9 with leather, but the facelift SE models were pretty well specced. I don't know what the definitive check is, but make sure you're getting what's advertised - silver TDI badges denote a 90bhp car, a red 'I' denotes 110bhp and red DI is for the 130bhp model. I wouldn't have anything less than the 'red I' model as it's a big car for a 90bhp engine.

Not looked at prices recently - really early (pre-facelift, B5 models) start at £1500. I'm sure you'd get a 130bhp SE for a lot under your budget. Don't worry about mileage so long as everything works and it has service history.

The 2.0 vectra is the old one, the new 1.9 150 is as good as anything 4 cylinder with VW on the plastic cover.

Vectra 1.9 150 Sri manual would be my choice of passat/vectra/mondeo. However as has been stated by myself elsewhere - there's better engines from the other Germans, and really if you can afford it a 320d or a C220CDi, especially if you want an auto, has to be the better choice. The C is a little smaller than the VW as is the older shape 3 series, but the intangibles (rear drive, better gearbox etc) make up for it.

I was deliberating between Mondeo/vectra or E-class/5 series / Volvo, the lack of diesel auto meant a big no for the ford, the Vectra would have been the choice had I not been able to raise the finance for what I got which was an E270 on an 03 plate, costing as much as a new Vectrondeossat but way better to drive, and huge. Volvo got ruled out because having owned one the parts costs were a constant reminder...

And make sure the carpets are dry, as that's what starts the problems.

Thanks for the tip :-)

The Vectra just felt "cheaper" if you see what I mean, not as nice as the Passat. It`s a lot of personal preference though.

Nice! They just seem to go for sensible money, run well and basically offer what I`m looking for in a car.

I did find a 1.9 with leather, but it was in carcraft (and before you say anything, it`s a nice easy place to look at and test drive as many cars as I want in one place :-) ). IIRC on a 52 plate they wanted £9.5k, which seemed a tad excessive to me :-) Pretty much identical spec without leather seems to be £5-£5.5k from a trader.

I`m looking at spending £5000-£6000 to get a really nice comfortable car in good condition that will do me for either 5 years, or 2 years before being replaced with a newer model. I fnacy a nice car with lots of toys, I spend quite a while in the car and I want to do it in comfort for now.

Having said that i`ve just tried looking for cheaper ones on AT. £4k would get an X-reg with lots of toys including climate control, an estate body (which would keep the dog from making a mess of the car), under 100K on the clock and full VAG history. Decisions decisions! :-)

I know exactly what you mean - but the Vectra is bigger, cheaper (unless buying new and paying list) and has more choice of trim/engines. And specced right (SRi, nav, changer, leather etc) is a very nice place to be.

In message , Simon Finnigan writes

I've had a V reg Passat 1.9 TDI manual from new. I can confirm that a fuel consumption of a little over 50mpg is easily achieved on long steady runs.

The only real problems have been with the electrics:

1. The direction indicator flasher unit failed. As I recall it was quite expensive to get the unit replaced. (Parts cost: pennies. Labour cost: astronomical).

1. The nearside front door lock does not always lock with the others. The door locking knob drops down with the rest, but then pops up again all by itself.

2. The doors do not always deadlock (i.e. the indicators do not always flash on locking).

1. You have to go to the garage to get the headlamp bulbs replaced!

2. The alarm sometimes goes off all by itself, particularly if the boot lid is open.

1. The brake fluid level sensor failed.

However, that said, the Passat is my absolute favourite of all of the cars I have ever driven over the last 40+ years, and my next car will probably be an Octavia.

I'd love to know where the labour cost came from - the flasher is on the back of the hazards switch - mine played up but was fixed by pulling the relay and plugging it back in again.

Sounds like corroded terminals on the 'comfort control module' box under the passenger seat. Check the carpet to see if it's damp and have a look ASAP - if you catch it before the terminals are completely corroded or water gets into the box then you'll save yourself a lot of grief and money.

Hmmm, is this because the front bumper needs removing to replace them? - if so, it's quite a simple job to do at home - the bumper is hinged at one end so you can easily swing it out of the way.

See above, ref: CCM.

Why? - they're based on the Golf. If you want more of the same, look at a Superb.

Presumably the interim ratios are shorter and given that the Government official fuel consumption has the speed almost constantly changing, the engine will be running at a higher engine speed for most of the test...

It's also a sales feature too... :)

Yes.

That's *not* the drive, that's the turbodiesel nature of it. The vast majority of Mondeo and Passat sized, modern or modern-ish, four cylinder turbodiesels can tick both the "50 mpg at motorway trips" and that wonderful "surge of acceleration at 70 in top" boxes. Then you just have to find the best combination that suits.

Multivalve diesels _tend_ to rev better, too, the older generation 1.9 TDI is an eight valve design, the newer 2.0 is a sixteen valve design. All four cylinder TDI engines (that I've tried, and that's lots and lots from the 90 to the 150 PS versions) excel at low down thump (under 2,500 rpm) and I can't think of anything else with four cylinders that pulls as well, but once you get beyond 3,500 rpm, plenty of engines respond much better. The

2.0 manages a better compromise of it, but the likes of the Fiat / General Motors multivalve donks of recent years (from the Isuzu-designed DTI Ecotec to the current Fiat engines) pull much better at higher engine speeds and still manage decent pull under 2,500 rpm.

Even if you're set on a Passat, I'd recommend you try some of the competition to see how they feel on the motorway and on the slip road.

Taking three examples, the Passat TDI, Mondeo TDCi and Peugeot 406 HDI are all expensive as a used buy because of the diesel factor (less so the Peugeot).

"Ewwww" is all I'm going to say... red rag to a bull of course. :-) What else have you compared it with?

The previous generation Passat non-DSG automatic (whatever it's called) isn't as economical as the manual. It isn't all that close either, nor smooth, nor reliable: "avoid" springs to mind. The folks have one. Yeuch transmission.

Come to think of it, the rest of the machine hasn't been what you'd expect of a VW product either in terms of build quality (rattles) and reliability (it's broken down several times in the first eighteen months). Hopefully once out of the initial few months (!) it'll settle down.

It will help economy a little, subject to the driver, the style and similar. Most cars, most drivers and most routes, there's no real difference in fuel consumption. That said, in most machines, an economy-minded driver keeping with the flow of traffic will be able to squeeze lower consumption out of the manual compared with the automatic - but there are exceptions for every rule. Like most Mercedes...

It'll also hurt consumption by a decent chunk too. The 1.9s will typically return around 8 to 10 mpg higher than the V6; if you achieve 50 mpg from the

1.9, you'd be looking at low 40s from the 2.5. The 2.5's greatest asset would appear to be the better equipment.

I once had that with a B5 Passat I owned - the dealers replaced the lock door lock under warranty. The only difference being it was on a rear door.

Does that coincide with when funky lock unlocks itself?

Really?

Is yours a B5.5 (can't remember when the facelift occurred) or a B5? I had a couple of B5s, and I'm fairly sure I changed the odd headlamp bulb whilst I had them.

I thoroughly enjoyed owning them when I had them - they were well put togetther and solid. Not exactly the most dynamic handling, but a nice environment to be driving in.

I've only ever been a passenger in Octavias (taxis), and for that matter the previous shape Boras (given a lift in one). The Octavias' interior trim didn't seem quite the same quality or feel as the (B5) Passats - but that's just fairly quick judgement, really. I recently was a passenger in a previous shape Bora, though, and that seemed to have an interior finish more like the B5 Passats.

I`ve had a look but I can`t find it - I don`t suppose you have it handy do you to email to me. i`d really appreciate it, i`m going looking at cars tomorrow!

Sorry, I forgot that it was in a thread about the Audi A4, which was essentially a smaller Passat with a posh badge and higher price tag.

I knew there`d be a reason I couldn`t dig it out. My Dad was telling me to go for an Audi rather than the VW, but it looks to me like I`d get more car for my money going the VW route. Maybe in a few years time :-)

No. Seemingly unconnected events.

As I remarked in another reply, the handbook says that you need to have the garage replace headlight bulbs, so I didn't pursue it.

Thanks Douglas.