Team-BHP - Driven: The 2011 Volkswagen Passat

Brilliant avant garde review with amazing photography! The best part I liked was the recap and the historical perspective, which added a new dimension in a team-bhp review.
The car has lots of gizmos but long term reliability is something VW has to prove for passat. The engine is amazing, coupled with a brilliant gearbox and with a brand image to back up, the passat should succeed unlike its predecessor. But its biggest rival is the superb itself. Now how many people will cough up 2-4 lakh rupees for a VW remains to be seen.
The highline pricing can raise eyeballs though as its a gamble for "people's car" brand VS premium brand (Audi).

Ajmat, thanks for the great review and photos!

I'm really sitting on the fence about its looks though - not really sure if I like it! Looks similar to the Honda Accord which somehow I like more.

Technically they've chosen to bring in the ideal engine, a reasonably powerful diesel and mated with the DSG, it's a sensible choice.

The main flaw (considering most people that buy this class of car are chauffeur driven) is the rear seat (space and comfort), something that sister Superb is much better at!

Cheers!

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPS (Post 2310237)

Nice Review! What happens if some of the sensors stop functioning during park-assist ?? Will the car let you know about it on the display or it will refuse to park by itself ? :confused:
The camera integrated into the rear logo is quite a cool feature! Can you open the boot by pressing the rear logo? Imagine the damages if the rear logo along with the camera is stolen !:Shockked:

I think you need to pray!!! You will get a warning. My skoda scanning systems does a check on the parking sensor so needless to say, there will be a failsafe plan for the Park Assist

The rear logo does serve as the boot latch. You cannot see the camerawhen depressing it. My guess is that the camera shoots out when engaging reverse

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinmoysc (Post 2310268)

It is a wonderful review. Any idea as to when the petrol version will be launched ? Thanks a ton.

They have no plans (or say that they have no plans!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat (Post 2310146)

Aurangabad is used for CKD operations

Thats what I meant, probably should have used "assembling" instead of "manufacturing".

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat (Post 2310146)

Actually, it is the accelerator, but you need to depress brake to select drive when moving from Park or Neutral, in the process, the engine starts up.

Thanks. Was thinking it should work like how you disable a cruise control using pedals.

Few more points, after reading the article for the second time.

1. Front seats have AC. That means it can be cooled? Nice, no more sweaty backs.

2. Gear lever looks like Vento's.

3. Outgoing Passat's tail lamps are super cool, specially the annular indicators. The new ones are, well, too common. How did they look at night.

4. Passat's protruding front grill ending with a neat cut is a prominent feature. Makes the car look very executive.

Superb review! Initially i hated the looks but over the day (when i finally managed to finish reading this review) it has grown on me :) AC needs to be sorted period has been always an issue with this model (atleast that is what i have heard) and hopefully will be sorted out soon.

This car has loads going for it, except their workshops! Hope they do insist on a comprehensive training for the technicians. And that particulate filter hmmm that is gonna be a real bummer!

Thats a fabulous review Ajmat. Love the attention to detail and history of the Passat added a nice touch to the whole write up. Though I loved the front of this car, I am disappointed with the rear. The first thing that came up in my mind when I first saw the rear was 'Skoda Superb' . Apart from that the car is really priced well and is loaded with features. Nice to see Attention Assist on the Passat which was first seen on the W212 E Class. Good on VWs part to offer these kind of features in this price bracket.

If VW doesnt do a Skoda with its Service part and ownership costs are kept in check, this car will do really well. The Superb might feel a slight pinch though.

Rating this thread 5 stars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 2309423)

Are you kidding? I'll take the Passat's looks any which day over the quirky Superb and it's character-less rear end. I prefer my designs clean & timeless, rather than flashy & disproportionate.

Although not upto your level, I do love clean designs. Case in point being Polo, which i simply love! Absolute lack of quirkiness is what sets apart VW design language from the rest.

But, Passat is a much bigger car. A hint of aggression would have gone a long way to make it a bit more pleasing to look at (Eg: The 5-spoke alloy wheels is a nice touch and breaks the monotony). IMHO, the car currently lacks a charecter in its design, and from the comments- i think atleast a few others feel that way too!

Anyways, looks are subjective and the Passat surely wont offend anyone! :thumbs up

To me, the Passat's positioning is not very clear. The ad communicates the technology and the eco-friendly nature, but somehow fails to convey a sense of 'premium'.

The problem also with VW is that their strategy of entering with high-end cars and then transitioning to small cars did not work very well. Both the Passat and Jetta were overpriced in their segment and already well into the life cycle. This did not help their numbers.

While VW has managed to create a premium feel among the mid and small segment, they have somehow not managed it in the segments above. The equity that a Skoda enjoys in this segment continues to be more than VW. And now, the pricing of the Passat vis-a-vis Superb is not helping either.

Good Review Aj. I agree, the outgoing Passat definitely had more character than this one. The front end styling is kinda un-imaginatory and reminds me of the cars used in bank ads (if you guys know what I mean). Rear is a lot better than the front but again missing the flair of the B6 Passat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat (Post 2309290)

BlueMotion comprises of various components:

Engine Start / Stop - Idling is where the engine is at its most inefficient. After all, you are standing in one place and still burning fuel! This concept is not new to VW. The 1981 Passat Formel E had the start-stop function, except that you needed to push a button to stop and start. In the Passat's case, if you stop and activate the handbrake OR select Park, the engine switches off. If you put your foot on the brake pedal, it starts again. While this will inevitably save fuel, it also begs the question : If I go for a high speed run and stop, the engine will potentially halt and thus my turbo will be cooked. VW says that the engine only stops if certain parameters like turbo temperature & inside temperature are within a specific tolerance band. It was a bit unnerving to have the engine cutting out on you, but the second nature of touching the accelerator to restart brings the car back to normal. The stop-start can be switched off if required.

Most other stop start systems I know of do this in D itself so that if you are at a signal, it would go off after a 3 sec wait and then restart as soon as the foot comes off the brake. Loss of AC during stop is a concern considering the already marginal cooling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat (Post 2309289)

The seats are air-conditioned and have circulating fans inside. However, I really did not experience any cooling from these!

Wow, I was just going to say that the Climatronic seats are a key USP over its competitors for a tropical market like India. But it looks like Germans design only for German climate.