I had the 'pleasure' of using one of these this weekend as a hire car - did 750 miles across various types of terrain.
First of all the engine; pretty ...
I had the 'pleasure' of using one of these this weekend as a hire car - did 750 miles across various types of terrain.
First of all the engine; pretty characterless but oh my, could Alfa learn some things from VW about economy!! I absolutely ragged the tits of this car and it returned 45mpg on the mway and 36 mpg cross country, I was frankly astounded. A similar session in my Spider would see me getting about 21mpg. This was the 170bhp version that gave similar performance to the Spider in a car weighing about the same as the Spider (im not sure if it had a DPF). Power delivery from the turbo was more peaky than Alfas and 1st gear was a bit of a nightmare.
Handling; awful!! Safe and predictable with ESP, bags o'understeer and completely lifeless below 10mph - it also weighted up at weird moments. Brakes were good enough.
Interior; cool blue lighting but ergonomics were awful. Centre console actually angled away from driver. Good cup holders though. Alfa kick VWs arse in this respect.
Plenty of room and a huge boot - a capable family wagon with a good engine but I wouldnt take one over a 159. If it wasnt for fleet buyers I honestly think VW would struggle somewhat with this car.
I have driven 159s extensively (particularly the Ti versions) and they really are like chalk and cheese. I think people who buy the VW without even looking at the Alfa miss out horribly. The VW has no sense of occasion and is in no way special - just the opposite of the Alfa experience!
Had the same hire car recently and would agree with all that. It actually drove a lot better than I was expecting. Build quality/finish is not as good as the 159. Hated the daft electronic handbrake and the auto wipers are even crazier than Alfas - frequently operating for no apparent reason.
Best mpg I ever got was 35. What was I doing wrong?
PS. And you don't get any admiring glances when driving it either!
I have the Estate version of the 170TDI as my current motorway cruising/windsurf kit lugger as it is big and has a decent turn of speed. (I could have had an A4 but too small and the A6 is too big & expensive)
It is no dynamic ball of fire, handling is soft compared to the Audis I normally drive but comfortable all the same.
The Passat is not aimed at the same market as the 159 which is trying to compete with the 3 series and the A4 as a sports compact exec.
It is more of an aspirational model for owners of Mondeo's/Laguna's/C5's/Vectra's.
Thankfully I have the Spider for fun, but the Passat is my means to other speed pursuits outside the petrolhead world...
Get past using one as a hire car then try to own one for a couple years with a few miles under its belt. They are a frickin nightmare, VW electrics make Alfas look state of the art.
Check out the Passat tech forums and see what they talk about,its very busy But shhh .....they're German so they must be good, right?
Interior; cool blue lighting but ergonomics were awful. Centre console actually angled away from driver.
Sounds like it was designed for lhd markets with no thought given to reversing the centre console for rhd buyers.
Typically arrogant, and similar to the single rear side door on the 'wrong' side of rhd Mini Travellers where BMW couldn't be bothered to change the design for the UK market, even though it is one of the biggest markets for the car and they are made here!
The Clubman has been out a while now, several months at least. I've seen a few, although now I come to think of it they've all been brown so maybe I've just seen the same one over and over again. Seeing it once was too many times to be honest.
VW Passat 2.0 TDi
so maybe I've just seen the same one over and over again. Seeing it once was too many times to be honest.
