Reviewed: PassatTDI DSG

[steelwind101]

Hihi
OK so i got my hands on 2007 Passat 2.0TDI 140 PS DSG. After having a bit of a play with it i thought i would do a bit of a review on this car. I plan to run it up to Scotland this week too so that will be good to see how it goes on the motorways.


Its probably worth noting that the other cars i have include the well respected Honda Jazz CVT, a somewhat unknown Lancer Auto and 03 530d auto. In all honesty in height wise i doubt the Passat will eat more then the Jazz but its the extra space where when you lay down the seats that attracted me to the Passat.

First impression from the outside is that this a pretty nice looking car. Estates have a certain look that i like and all those this is boredom silver for car thats for load lugging it will do the job. On darker colours im sure the fake chrome on the front grill will stick out too much to be pleasing.



Inside the Passat was a bit of a let down. The only other VW i have spent any serious time in was a Bora and that was quite smart, dark and felt pretty solid. I cant help but think the Passat doesn’t build on those qualities. The dash between you and front window is quite short, it has strange channel cut in to it which is visible and bit ugly. The fake leather effect is pretty gaudy and just bit over done for my liking. Im not sure im all that keen on the dials not all being behind one bit of plastic/glass either. The consoles are faced with silver plastic trim, its bright, in your face and could do with being a toned down. It seems scratch proof but give it tap and its hollow. This isn’t the case in the Lancer which makes things seem a bit weird considering the retail on the Passat is a shade over £20K.




The interior seems to get dirty pretty quickly and certainly isn’t as family friendly as the Jazz though they seem about the same in terms of how well its all been put together. I cant help think it doesn’t have the upmarket look of the Lancer nor the upmarket feel of the BMW. A sad compromise in which must limit its appeal.

Buttons are well located for the radio but it was a bit of hunt looking for the fuel cap release which is located above speaker the drivers door. Seats are not leather, not heated but there is dual zone climate control and ESP. The digital displays are located quite low for the climate control. Nothing is displayed on that huge radio display about the car. This is a shame as again, it seems a bit dated and you have to look down for them. In middle of the day this hard, it would haven better to have large dials to turn or a display holding all in the info; big and clear. No conventional style handbrake, a more American feel with it being a button located under the head light switch. The material on the steering wheel felt nice its a shame it wasn’t used else where.



The Passat doesn’t feel big inside, looking in the rear view mirrors you can see a sizeable gap between the back seats and the rear view window. However the passanger next to you is very close, the cabin feels closed in. With the drivers seat in my driving position the gap between the back of the chair and the back seats is the same as the Jazz. Its much less then both the Lancer and the BMW. Large window pillars and raked back front screen mean you feel closed in.

The doors are quite chunky, there are tints on the rear windows and i think the window line is quite high. The cabin isn’t airy or overly high, it all feels a bit old school.



In the boot what you see is what you get there is drop to in to the boot which means you have to be lift things up and out. The exterior lip of boot is unprotected and is just paint. No plastic or rubber protection strip. Its a cheap thing to lay a bit plastic there, which you can even replace when it comes to seilling or gets tatty. But scratched up plastic bumper is unsightly and expensive to repair properly. There is no under floor storage, there is however a spare wheel, which is actually a 5th alloy. A nice touch, some will complain that its an abuse of space but anyone doing serious motorway miles knows that space savers and repair “gunk” just don’t cut it esp. When time is money.

The 2.0TDI unit seems to grunt and not be to “ticky”, road noise is kept low and you cant hear much going on when you are inside. Out on the road the car cruises quite well, on town and city streets it seems to perform less well.



In the pictures of the outside of the car you can see a small lip as you exit the drive way. Reversing up this requires you to slow down. Pressing the gas to push the car over the bump causes the car to feel like manual when you are going to stall. There isn’t any real shuddering but its an unpleasant intrusion. A far cry from silky smooth Honda box, of INVECS II. I suppose its b/c it does actually have a clutch as oppose to a torque converter or cone. Perhaps this isn’t the environment for this kind of car.

From the line, the car seems to be a bit flat, it leaves a visible black burst on heavy acceleration before delivering a big thump of power. Upshifts feel smooth though the turbo lag is very annoying, the car seems underpowered (empty) and if you actually want to get going you do have to smash it. The accelerator has a little gap about a cm from touching the floor where it clicks and activates kick down.

Crossing busy 2-3 land roundabouts from a stop are painful and you have to be planning a head more then im used too. There is no instant pick up and go, unlike the V70 D5s at work or 530d (i know both do have more power) there is nothing at the start when you want to get away, the power curve seems very short and there is no go with out the turbo kick.

The box seems to be annoying, again like its lacking the sweet flowing forward movements i am used too, and perhaps spoilt with. For example, if you are approaching a point where two roads form a flowing merge and step on accelerator while the car is slowing down you get a nasty “clunk”. Its like someone has almost brought the clutch up, hesitated then taken their foot of the clutch. Contact is made with a big jolt although pick up seems to be fine from that point its just a bit disappoint. Maybe this a bad example? Perhaps as I’m slowing down to ensure i have a gap the DSG is thinking I’m coming to a halt and goes to choose to the wrong gear. Then quickly changes to provide me with what i want and does it all bit quickly and a bit panicky?



A fill up isn’t cheap but the claim is 515 miles on a full tank. MPG around town based on a 40mi journey showing 36 MPG, VW claim 37.7 which is probably fair. If i didn’t want the space of laying down extra seats, im sure i could get a similar amount in the Jazz with the seats down and benefit with a bit of extra height and get 46 MPG.

Im not convinced by this car, some of its personal; The interior isn’t to my taste. I think i can get better else where or atleast something similar for less money. It needs more power to be competent performer and the MPG isn’t as great as you might think, the car isn’t all that cheap either. There is only a 60,000 mile warranty over 3 yrs, which isn’t all that fantastic esp. if you intend to use it for work. The gearbox seems to have some nasty manual traits which might delight those who prefer manuals. But for someone looking slick and smooth ride this has not delivered.

Next stop, Scotland!

[cruiser647]

The lack of go might be attributable to it being a big, heavy car with 'only' 140 BHP.

I have sat in a few of these without the silver trim (IIRC) and without the trim, it is a VERY nice place to be.


Well written review, and we await your extra review after Scotland.

[330dcoupe]

Originally Posted by cruiser647

The lack of go might be attributable to it being a big, heavy car with 'only' 140 BHP.

I have sat in a few of these without the silver trim (IIRC) and without the trim, it is a VERY nice place to be.


Well written review, and we await your extra review after Scotland.

2 questions buddy: 1) do you get a 'flappy paddle' steering wheel with the car and 2) what is it with VAG and them Horrible Auto' gear knobs?

[steelwind101]

Hello!

cruiser647; Thanks for the comments, do you get different coloured plastic around the dials?

330dcoupe; Unfortunatly there are no flappy paddles on this model, i do have them in the Jazz. The gearbox does have a + and - which allows you to make manual selections. The stick seems to slot in to the gears easily but the leather bit is a bit out of place b/c its the only place that material used!

Geoff

[Nelson_R32]

Nice review The 140TDi DSG was just about bearable in the A3 Sportback so the extra 150-200kgs the Passat adds can't help. Still a solid car though, but like you say definately needs improvement on the interior and also DSG paddles as standard.

[Chav]

Nice review. But that passat looks completely shiite/dull/drab/
I can't see one thing about it that justifies the extra few K in price over say a mondeo or jap equivalent.
Pretty easy to get 500 miles+ from a tank (63litres) in a 3.0tdi in a heavy cabriolet, so i guess 2.0tdi isnt much more economical.

I always wonder why people spend 20k on a pretty dull ****e boring car from new.
why not spend less and get a 2-3 year old much nicer car??
I can understand someone wanting a nice shiney new 335d with power/comfort etc...but a passat. arrggghh!!

[simeyfour]

Just got the wife one of these...07 plate 17K on the clock for 13K..At that price not a lot that can touch it.


Nice review, i know what you mean about the power, it seems to be all or nothing...However around town the DSG is spot on.....Effortless driving.....

If you got a couple of kids and a big dog this is the car for you

[guffy]

Great review.

My sister was looking at one of these, not the estate though, however, I will point her in the direction of your review.