Fancy a change from the A4 and quite like the look of the Passat estate. Other options are another A4/A6 avant or 5 series estate (the 3 isn’t big enough). Not a fan of Mundano or anything Jap or French.

Any (ex-)owners on here? Consensus so far is that the good ones are very good but there are a fair few dogs about. Must have DSG. Would prefer leather but strangely not many of those around.

Bikes are all L/XL and am not expecting to get them in the back, so a rack it is.

Ta

I’m on my second Passat estate. You can easily get 3 people + 3 bikes inside and 4+4 is possible if two of them are smallish. The Passat is more spacious than an A4 (which I had before and didn’t like) and much less blingy inside. My brother is a chassis and powertrain engineer in Detroit and he hired a Passat Tdi estate on a recent trip to the UK; he said he thought it was one of the best cars ever made for driveability and practicality. If you get one with the winter pack you’ll have heated windscreen and seats, which is verrry nice.

On Passats with over 40,000 miles check the rear tyres for sawtooth wear on their inside edges as they run slightly canted in and wear on the insides. Expect about 20,000 miles from the front tyres and up to 55 mpg on a run-in engine. B6 models are a litle noisy and will smoke on acceleration but the B7 is a far superior Passat; quieter, smoother, better equipped and altogether more pleasant to live with. B7s also have Auto-hold, which is very good. I’ve never driven the DSG but I’m told it’s superb.

3 people and 3 bikes = split seating?

Is the B7 really that much better than the B6? Can’t justify the extra cost TBH. Have driven a couple of DSG estates and they were pretty sound. Both had Auto-hold but didn’t know what it was for. Didn’t notice it as being noisy.

I have an 08 saloon which is the 2.0TDi manual. It is a fab car for munching miles. The electric handbrake is a bit weird and I would prefer a standard manual one but it works although their are a fair few horror stories of the cost to maintain them. My experience is 45mpg ish on a long motorway run at 80mph. Drop to 70mph and you can get up towards 50mpg but I have not managed to beat 50mpg on any journey no matter how gently I drive at any speed.

Yes, considerably better. I drove my old B6 last week as it is still in the car pool and I was a bit susprised at how agricultural it is in comparison. It’s still an excellent estate though and I enjoyed mine for four years. The B7 is just that little bit more civilised and looks less plasticcy inside.

Yes, the rear seats split 1/3 – 2/3.

Auto-hold actually holds the car on the brakes for a minute or so when you stop. You don’t really notice it until you drive a car that doesn’t have it.

Late 2010 model with blue motion – super economy (60+ at legal speeds, late 50’s at typical motorway speeds) usually fully laden, very comfortable, button handbrake is a PITA but you get used to it

My B6 has auto hold. Also, 2008 onward have common rail engines which are smoother than the 2006-2008s.

I’ve had 68mpg on a clear motorway-only run (saloon though) from Warwick to Cardiff at 70mph, I regularly get 60-65mpg on good motorway runs, I can beat 50 easily on long runs that include windy roads, and I get about 40-45mpg in town. It’s an auto too, but I do have Nokian tyres on which are energy saving. Electric handbrake is dodgy on earlier ones, they sort it out later though.

Otherwise – love the car.

I’ve seen 60 mpg but that was cruising at 50 on an A road, it dropped to 52 mpg when I got on the motorway and set the cruise control for 80 mph. It is said that the DSG gives better economy than the manual.

The car is very stable at motorway speeds thanks to the long wheelbase. This also gives it masses of rear legroom and a huge range for the front seats.

Footnote: have a look at the little device, which locks the front seats in position on their rails. I bet you’ve never looked closely at it before, it is super-trick and mathematically quite interesting!

Oh yeah, Passats are full of well thought out little features. I’ve never looked at the mechanism of which globalti speaks but I love the fact that there are many more notches in the rails than on most cars, so you have fine control over the position.

Another nice touch, of many – there are two LEDs that illuminate the cup holder and centre console area, so you can see stuff at night.

Footnote: have a look at the little device, which locks the front seats in position on their rails. I bet you’ve never looked closely at it before, it is super-trick and mathematically quite interesting!

Not seen that. Will takes a butchers on my next test drive.

@Molgrips: is this the car you had the mechanical saga with?

Late 2010 model with blue motion

Would like a BM but rare and pricier.

The electric handbrake is a bit weird … few horror stories

Yeah, defo weird. Saving centre console space I guess? Have read up on the costs too. Not good.

@Molgrips: is this the car you had the mechanical saga with?

I had a mechanic not mechanical saga with it – none of it was VW’s fault, it was all down to the idiot who attempted to fix the problem caused ultimately by an absent minded American woman in Munich.

Yeah, defo weird. Saving centre console space I guess? Have read up on the costs too. Not good

As above, newer ones are much better than the original ones. It does a few things – saves centre console space, but also it’s a safety feature – I dunno how it works in a manual, but if you turn off the car still in drive or for some reason in neutral, it comes on to stop the car rolling away. Likewise if you take your seatbelt off to get out when still in drive holding on the footbrake. I know of at least one life that would have saved.

Driving a Passat is a bit like getting your cash from the cashpoint – it’s full of interlocks, which prevent you from doing things in the wrong order. It has a fairly light flywheel so is easy to stall and when that happens I find my brain has trouble working out where I am in the re-starting sequence, although it will usually restart itself anyway when you dip the clutch.

I had an 07 Passat saloon (170 TDi Sport) and although it was great as a load carrier, it wasn’t very exciting to drive. Never had any problems with it and the most mpg i could get was between 45-50. My one was bog standard so no additional extras to make it more interesting.

Great car if all you are after is something to carry loads of gear but look elsewhere if you want something a bit more exciting.

it wasn’t very exciting to drive

People always say this, but I do wonder what the hell people expect from their economical comfortable family saloons. Dancing girls or something?

It’s like buying a road bike and complaining it’s not very good off-road. Passats aren’t marketed as being sporty, so why complain that they’re not?

People always say this, but I do wonder what the hell people expect from their economical comfortable family saloons. Dancing girls or something?

It’s like buying a road bike and complaining it’s not very good off-road. Passats aren’t marketed as being sporty, so why complain that they’re not

My god, that’s touched a nerve although dancing girls would be a great idea!!!

People always say this, but I do wonder what the hell people expect

My only take on this is that my 320D Sport was much more involving to drive than any similar car I’ve owned or borrowed (A4 Avant, Merc E-Class, Saab 93, etc). It felt better planted, more sure-footed, more grippy in the corners, and generally offering more feedback. I’ve had enough fast cars in my time to not be bothered about that these days – I’d rather have a car that does the job I expect. And I reckon the Passat is a likely candidate for that. Dancing girls would be a bonus though.

I love driving my Passat, but I don’t drive it fast. It’s just a comfortable cruiser – anything more comfortable as a cruiser would be out of my price range.

2005-2008 bunch with PD engine which is noisier than 2008+ onwards which all fitted with CR engine. All niggles had been sorted out by VW so no need to worry about injectors, electronic parking brake, or fuel pump hex shaft etc.

B6 58plated onwards engine is CR same as B7 so there wouldnt be any quiter or noisier.

Bluemotion versions are waste of space adding more complex things to worry about and rarely does it outperform standard car mpg wise.

There are plenty of -highlines- with leather seats, but personally i would stress out to have parking sensors front and rear fitted. Passat is long car.

If you fancy little more extra then there is -Sport- or higher still -SEL- versions. I would personally avoid S – SE trim as they re quite poor comfort wise.

For more info lurk on UKpassats.co.uk

B6 58plated onwards engine is CR same as B7 so there wouldnt be any quiter or noisier.

Engines are the same but supposedly the B7 has more insulation etc.

Bluemotion versions are waste of space adding more complex things to worry about and rarely does it outperform standard car mpg wise

There’s no extra complexity in a Bluemotion version as far as I know. You just get low RR tyres, slightly lowered suspension, slightly higher gears and a slightly different fuel map. And on the fully BM versions you get a slightly lighter car too. It does work, but not to the extent the fuel figures would suggest. My sister has a first generation 58 plate BM Golf Estate and they apparently got 72mpg from near Ludlow to Leicester on a recent run.

As for Sport, I dunno if that refers to the suspension or the equippment, but I tried a Jetta with Sport suspension and it was rock hard and extremely uncomfortable.

My 06 2.0tdi was appalling. Horrible to drive except on smooth motorways when it was brilliant. A ski trip from the NE of England to S of France was painless and effortless with probably 48mpg.

That ‘handbrake’ is diabolical though . . .

Horrible to dive in what way? The only thing that stops me gunning mine on country roads is the size. I have no complaints about handling, although I must admit it drives much better with the Nokians on rather than Dunlop Sport. They are XL rated so stiffer sidewalls, firmer ride I suppose.

As for Sport, I dunno if that refers to the suspension or the equippment, but I tried a Jetta with Sport suspension and it was rock hard and extremely uncomfortable

Phat rims? Almost always makes a noticeable difference to ride quality.

Dunno, it was the stock sport option I think, at the main dealer. It may have had some sort of low pro tyres, that could explain it.

There are few differences between PD and CR engine. PD engine delivering torque in buckets straight away while CR engine runs through revs smoother as well as being quiter. I am not sure where you come from with the facts that sound insulation was improved, as with older models it still is equiped with it anyway. But yeah, PD vs CR makes quite a difference. I wouldn’t say its a debate B6 vs B7, but rather PD vs CR.

Electronic auto hold brake is superb. It was invented by Mercedes and used, but VAG cought up with it and its superb.

So on the diesel- best to aim for 08 onwards?

I’ve just bought a VW Passat Estate, my first one ever after owning several Golfs and A4s. Have to say I absolutely love it. I got the highline with a bit of leather and some beeping noises when I reverse. Had it on the motorway to cornwall recently and it’s just ace. I’ve never owned a better car and there’s so many little bits to it that makes it clear every little touch has been considered, like for eg 2 cup holders. I’ll always have a passat now and I am sold.

PD engine delivering torque in buckets straight away while CR engine runs through revs smoother as well as being quiter

Hmm yes, broadly, but not quite in the case of later (I think) 2.0 TDIs. The advantage of PD is the extremely high injection pressures, higher than CR even, but the disadvantage is not being able to vary the injection timing because the injection event is driven from the crankshaft. So older PDs (which is most of them) do give a huge torque surge at 2-3krpm.

However, the later 2.0s also have electronic piezo control of the injection event, so the ECU has more control over the timing. This means that you don’t get all the torque in one go any more – it builds up more like a CR engine. SOME versions of the electronic injectors (made by Siemens I think) are the ones that would randomly stop working, which is why you hear about dodgy injectors. However they issued a recall for it, which meant my car had a new set of injectors for free at 80k miles, which was nice.

But yeah, 2008 on is best – the PD engine is a bit noisy at lower speeds (although quiet cruising) whereas the CR is nicer at all speeds.

58 plated onwards if you fancy B6 with ironed out problems. B6 vs B7 is a matter of taste rather tech superiority as its basically facelifted car with slightly lighter improvement touches cosmetically. But I do agree, this car grows on you well once you start appreciate extra touches.
But having a lemon, obviously would kill it off.

Like I wrote earlier my motor engineer brother from Detroit reckoned the older B6 was one of the most sorted cars he’d ever driven and he hasn’t tried the B7 yet. As molgrips writes above, the CR engine is quieter, smoother, doesn’t smoke when you boot it and has a smoother power delivery through the range.

What I like most about the Passat is its sheer competence and “sorted” feel. It’s not exciting to drive but it just handles everything well and feels very balanced and gives you just the right amount of feedback in feel and sound to let you know you’re doing the right thing. Oh, and it has a full-size alloy spare wheel and a jack!

When I took some scrap to the recycler recently I was surprised to find that the estate only weighs just over 1600 kgs.

Ok, so a 58 B7 onwards if one wants the CR and a few improved refinements? I’ll have another look this weekend.

BTW, I test drove a fully loaded 10 Skoda Superb Elegance estate yesterday and it was awesome. Genuine E-Class/A6/5 level of comfort and refinement and bucketloads of space. Can’t justify the extra cost even though it was a huge amount of kit for the money.

EDIT: I can’t believe how few Passats have leather. Seems odd.

I don’t think the B7 goes back to 58 does it? B6s after 2008 come with the CR engine, it should be immediately obvious when you start it up which one you are looking at 🙂

I don’t think the B7 goes back to 58 does it?

Ah, goddit. 2005-2010 B6 then 2011- B7.

So a B6 with CR should do the trick. Ta

CR also = 1.6TDI?

I had a 12plate 1.6TDI Altea on hire. I thought the engine was terrible. Loved the 1.9TDI, even in 105 guise it felt lovely, ditto the 2.0TDI.

I think so hora.. is the Passat available with that engine?

I test drove a 1.9 Passat, and I’m no boy racer but I really didn’t feel 105ps was enough for the car. It was slow enough to make overtaking difficult and even merging onto motorways at some junctions.

I assume the satnav/media unit (installed in 08+?) is identical to the Columbus model in the Superb? Which has started to have failures after 3 yrs at a cost of £2500, some of which the dealer will take the hit on.

They used to be the same, I think, not sure now. However you won’t find many with satnav – the built in one is nice but a stupidly expensive option.

Yep. nearly all integrated units are stupidly expensive. I also understand it doesn’t accept 7 digit postcodes. How dumb is that!

It’s not that integrated, actually. It’s a double din unit, it integrates with the steering wheel controls and a little panel between the speedo and rev couter that shows you turn arrows – which is rather nice actually.

You can fit aftermarket units and match them up to steering wheel controls with a little widget. You can buy the panel too but you can’t make that work with an aftermarket unit.

I had a 2001 B5 estate from 2004 until 2010. Loved it. We moved onto a car I shall not name as we had our third child. Then in 2011 I went back to Passats and got a company B7 estate, again, love it. Just been to Spain and back in it from Yorkshire with tents, camping gear, roof box, kayak, three kids in the back. And it just did it. The soft squidgy bit behind the steering wheel was the only weakness.

To be fair, most cars ‘just do it’. But for some reason the Passat seems to make it feel like it’s doing it really easily. It’s how I’d expect a car costing a lot more than the Passat to feel when just cruising along.

I hired a Citroen C4 Picasso MPV jobbie a couple of weeks ago. It reminded me why I like my Passat.. The C4’s clutch was really hard to be smooth with, the engine was slack at low revs, gearstick too far away, pedals to close and over to one side, seats not right, steering wheel not right, and then for some daft reason they put all the heating controls down by the driver’s right knee wihch meant you had to look well away from the road, and the passenger can’t operate them at all.