[ganeshtvpm]

@Ajmat,
Thank you for a wonderful review with a historical perspective. By the way one question. Will the air conditioner get turned off when the start stop system is activated and the engine is turned off while waiting at a signal for a long period or at a traffic jam.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by ganeshtvpm

@Ajmat,
Thank you for a wonderful review with a historical perspective. By the way one question. Will the air conditioner get turned off when the start stop system is activated and the engine is turned off while waiting at a signal for a long period or at a traffic jam.

It will make this feature pointless in summer. You will can disable the stop start.
Main reason for this feature is to get the emission level rating low under simulated testing.

Want to save fuel, use it

Bit like seatbelts

Want tosave lives, use it!

[exhaustpipe]

Originally Posted by ajmat

It will make this feature pointless in summer. You will can disable the stop start.
Main reason for this feature is to get the emission level rating low under simulated testing.

Want to save fuel, use it

Bit like seatbelts

Want tosave lives, use it!

However it’s been a while since the last message on this topic, I felt a strong exhort to post that the start/stop function of the Passat is also connected to the climate control (CC) module. The car monitors the difference between the CC and cabin temperature and the engine stops only if the difference is insignificant. Also, another interesting thing to note is that the engine will automatically kick in if the temperature difference between the CC and cabin become too high.

At the time of its launch last year, which was a few months before I bought one, I remember an anchor of a popular automobile review program on TV saying that the start/stop feature is pointless under Indian weather conditions because the car turns the engine and AC off while standing still in traffic – it’s all about quantity with no quality with most car reviews these days, call me cynical!

[vvb8530]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Better drive train and more equipment although brand image is not as good




It is pretty neat but it may not alway detect things like open drains, plants, people sleeping on pavement etc. Great for malls!

Hi Ajmat,

I am not at all sure of the reliability of the park assist feature.

A few days back I test drove the passat and wanted to personally check the park assist system as i had heard a lot about it. I was driving with the sales associate sitting next to me. We stopped a little ahead of a proper 90 degree parking slot with no standard Indian obstructions like potholes, stones, walls, humans, dogs, cows, etc available in between a Honda City and a Zen , the sales guy put on the park assist, gave it a few seconds to calculate the distance, etc and then I slotted into reverse and left the steering and took my foot off the brake and accelerator as instructed by the sales guy.

Suddenly some ghost took over the controls of the car and it reversed at a good speed missed the slot between the city and the zen which was identified by us instead it went onto park in the next slot which was after the zen and before a Mahindra Bolero Pickup, the steering turned on its own and suddenly bang.

The drivers side rear corner had struck in to the side of the Bolero pickup truck.

When the car started reversing fast and missed the first slot i asked the sales guy if i should brake but he tells me "No no dont get scared and do not touch anything the sensors have identified the next slot it will park on its own" and when the car crashed the first thing he uttered was "oh **** how did that happen?"

We got out of the car assessed the damage and here i have to compliment the build quality of the passat, the tail light cover had broken, the bumper had a big dent on the corner and had come off which was put back immediately by the sales guy and it fit back, one punch on the side of the dent and it just came out leaving no trace of a mishap. So just a big scratch on the side of the bumper and a broken tail light which was not bad at all from what i had assumed the damage would be when i saw the car hit into a tempo in the rear view mirror. No damage to the Bolero whatsoever.

The sales guy had no explanation as to what and how it happened, he did blame the kachra (dirt) in the sensor once and neither could i understand it, especially since the parking slot was a good one with no obstructions.

So i am not sure if i would have the guts to own a car worth almost a fortune and then leave it for the computers to park. In this case i got out of the car shocked but still smirking, I am sure that would not have been the case had i owned the car and worst had we banged into a private car rather than a Bolero pick up.

VVB

[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by vvb8530

Hi Ajmat,

I am not at all sure of the reliability of the park assist feature.

Suddenly some ghost took over the controls of the car and it reversed at a good speed missed the slot between the city and the zen which was identified by us instead it went onto park in the next slot which was after the zen and before a Mahindra Bolero Pickup, the steering turned on its own and suddenly bang.

The drivers side rear corner had struck in to the side of the Bolero pickup truck.


VVB

Hi vvb8530

I'm quite surprised something like this could happen. I've used the Park-Assist a number of times on my Passat and it has performed perfectly. Though it is useless when faced with 'Indian parking conditions' on the road, it works well otherwise. (It is a bit of a sales-gimmick kind of feature).

Auto-park is only handy when one is too lazy to park themselves, usually its quicker if you park the car manually.

But while using it, one has to be gentle on the accelerator and ease the car into the slot very slowly.

fordfreak

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by vvb8530

Hi Ajmat,



Suddenly some ghost took over the controls of the car and it reversed at a good speed missed the slot between the city and the zen which was identified by us instead it went onto park in the next slot which was after the zen and before a Mahindra Bolero Pickup, the steering turned on its own and suddenly bang.

I don't quite understand this point vvb. How did the car pick up good speed?

The park assist controls only the steering in the Passat. The brakes, accelerator and gears are controlled by the driver. You need to slot into R then press the accelerator gently for it to drive into the slot. The park assist just helps in turning the steering on it's own. It cannot pick up good speed on it's own.

The sales guy may not know but acceleration and braking has to be driver input based on recommendation by the park assist system on the display.

[dkaile]

Great Review Ajmat, though a little late in the day.

Though it has not been the success that VW hoped. Maybe the higher pricing didn't offer the customer anything special over the Superb which is selling about 4 times more than its sibling. Also the customer ultimately realised that the VW service too was nothing special to write home to. The rear legroom is very important for people buying this class of vehicle. I still feel that the Superb is a more complete package overall than this Passat at a significantly lower price point.

[vvb8530]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I don't quite understand this point vvb. How did the car pick up good speed?

The park assist controls only the steering in the Passat. The brakes, accelerator and gears are controlled by the driver. You need to slot into R then press the accelerator gently for it to drive into the slot. The park assist just helps in turning the steering on it's own. It cannot pick up good speed on it's own.

The sales guy may not know but acceleration and braking has to be driver input based on recommendation by the park assist system on the display.

Hi Guys!!

I do not think i was able to explain clearly what i wanted to explain. My bad

To explain in much more detail, when i parked in front of the slot i actually wanted to park initially, i slotted into reverse and did not press the accelerator and the car began to move in reverse very slowly as happens in any automatic car. Since the steering should have turned by now and it dint the SA asked me to accelerate and said that it will park in the next slot and not this one, so i did accelerate although not too much as i was a little skeptical since i was using this feature for the first time. Now when we reached the next slot the steering turned but not as much as it should have to fit in, if i remember clearly i realized this when i saw in the rear view mirror and i asked the SA if i should brake but he kept telling me not to and that the sensors will ask me to brake but before that could happen the car had already banged in to the pick up parked on the side. As i have mentioned earlier the rear of the passat hit the boleros front left passenger side where the spare wheel is placed, so the passat had hardly even turned into the parking slot when it hit the bolero.

I am quite surprised that this happened myself as i had seen the park assist videos on you tube earlier and was quite amazed with this technology. However all the videos showed the passat being parked in proper parking lots with cars on each side being parked within the marked lines. Maybe this did not work for me since i was trying this on a normal Indian road side parking with no markings whatsoever and maybe the bolero was not parked straight. Or maybe i did something wrong and the SA did not give me the correct advice. I do not know i am just guessing.

[ajmat]

If you touch the steering wheel, the auto park disables, may be that happened?

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by vvb8530

I am not at all sure of the reliability of the park assist feature.

Foreign manufacturers tend to pack in some quite useless features in their cars with respect to Indian conditions, maybe because that's how they come knocked down from abroad, and this is certainly one of them. Others that I can recall are cruise control, sunroof and heated seats, all useless in most Indian conditions and sometimes causing more harm than good.

[vvb8530]

Originally Posted by ajmat

If you touch the steering wheel, the auto park disables, may be that happened?

I am quite certain that i did not touch the steering wheel at all. But i do have a feeling that maybe on the insistence of the SA i accelerated more than i should have and picked up a little too much speed than required by the sensors to be effective.

[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Foreign manufacturers tend to pack in some quite useless features in their cars with respect to Indian conditions, maybe because that's how they come knocked down from abroad, and this is certainly one of them. Others that I can recall are cruise control, sunroof and heated seats, all useless in most Indian conditions and sometimes causing more harm than good.

Agree with you on this. Cruise control is utterly useless for Indian conditions. Auto-Park, though a nice feature; can't be utilised to its maximum potential under Indian conditions.

However, I find the Sunroof + Heated/Cooled seats pretty useful. I usually drive around with the sunroof open (during winters) and also tend to use the seat heating/cooling function quite often as desired.

It would be great if manufacturers offering models like the Passat, Superb, etc would also give the customer an option of omitting features that they feel would be useless to them (cruise-control, auto-park, etc), in order to reduce the final price paid by the customer. Wonder if something like this would be viable for large volume vehicles though.

[JayD]

Originally Posted by fordfreak

Agree with you on this. Cruise control is utterly useless for Indian conditions.

I get annoyed everytime someone says this. Most often ive noted that the people who are cursing cruise control have never used it properly. (not pointing at the quoted post, but generally)

I use it extensively on my highway drives, especially between, Cochin-Chennai- Chennai- Bangalore- Bangalore-Cochin.


Using CC does not mean that you have to drive at 150 constantly, it can be activated on lower speeds also. It is a great help when you want to get max FE, stick to the speed limit, or cruise long distances without fatigue to your foot.

[fordfreak]

Originally Posted by JayD

I get annoyed everytime someone says this. Most often ive noted that the people who are cursing cruise control have never used it properly. (not pointing at the quoted post, but generally)

I use it extensively on my highway drives, especially between, Cochin-Chennai- Chennai- Bangalore- Bangalore-Cochin.


Using CC does not mean that you have to drive at 150 constantly, it can be activated on lower speeds also. It is a great help when you want to get max FE, stick to the speed limit, or cruise long distances without fatigue to your foot.

I should have been more clear and specific in making my point .

What I mean to say is that CC isn't useful in city driving conditions (my usage is limited 100% to this). I haven't needed to use CC till date, thus the question of incorrect use doesn't arise.

It is surely useful on highways but since I have very limited driving experience on highways, I wouldn't know best. But somehow I wouldn't be too comfortable using it on highways in India after reading stories about cattle, bikers, etc darting out onto the road forcing sudden manoeuvres/braking (my personal opinion).

Hence my suggestion of enabling customers to de-select a certain standard feature that may not be useful to them.

Apologies for taking the review discussion a little off-topic.
Cheers,
fordfreak

[apurva512]

Took delivery of the Passat Highline yesterday. It's by far the easiest car to drive around the city. To get any power kicks out of it, you need to be in S mode, else the car changes gears far too quickly to get maximum fuel efficiency. Just a note, the car's ac(blower at least, cant confirm whether the compressor itself was on) remained on even when the car turned off due to auto start/stop. I need to go through the manuals thoroughly today, as the VW chap was insistent that you cant turn this feature off.