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Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

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neexis
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Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » October 14th, 2012, 12:19 pm

The price, performance and features truly make this car extraordinary value, especially considering other manufacturers' offerings in this class.
From my research so far:

Pros:
-Lower initial price for fully loaded model vs Toyota Camry, Subaru Legacy, Honda Accord and other Euros
-1.8 TSI engine 160HP, 250 Nm (184 lb.ft) @ 1500-4200 rpm, 35mpg combined
-7 speed DSG for improved fuel economy
-Good safety features (front, side, curtain airbags)
-Good handling, solid feel on the road
-10 speaker sound system with touch screen, 6 CD changer, iPod/AUX connectors and SD card reader.
-Numerous features standard (rain sensing wipers, immobilizer, keyless entry/start, front & rear parking sensors with proximity displayed on radio screen, auto hold, etc)
-Comfortline and Highline versions, plus Diesel engine available in Highline model.
-Some options can be special ordered (eg sound system)

Cons:
-Premium unleaded gasoline (95 RON) recommended costing approx $380 per tank (but can use super with some performance loss)
-Body styling not the prettiest on the market (still getting used to it)
-DSG transmission potentially problematic (only time will tell)
-Potentially higher cost of ownership including insurance
-Dealer service/support questionable
-Approx 6 month waiting period if special ordering features
-Still $70k to $100k more than the current Jetta

From specs and test drive, the vehicle is amazing. While I've also been looking at the new Jetta, the extra features of the Passat have me somewhat biased, however with a price difference of 70 to 100k depending on the model. The 1.4 TSI engine of the Jetta delivers the same 160HP and promises better fuel economy.

Thoughts?
Last edited by neexis on December 6th, 2015, 12:22 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby Allergic2BunnyEars » October 14th, 2012, 7:48 pm

What is the difference between comfortline and highline? Also do you have the specs and prices for the 2.0T option?

Have you considered the golf gti which is cheaper than some trims of the passat? It comes with a 2.0T engine. Higher build quality than the jetta. A 6 speed dsg which seems to be have fewer potential issues than the 7 speed one. More unique than a passat, jetta or most euros in Trinidad due to low numbers. It's $350K according to Best Auto prices on FB.

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » October 14th, 2012, 10:00 pm

From what I've been told by the rep, the highline has the following features over the comfortline

-Leather interior (Nappa.... very nice and durable feel) vs fabric (also of durable feel)
-12 way electric front seats (with ability to save 3 preset positions) vs 6 way electric plus manual controls
-LED daylight running lights with Xenon headlights vs Normal DRLs and headlights
-17" Alloys (Minneapolis) vs the 16" (San Jose [i think]... but they look much better)
-Slightly more chrome trim on the exterior
- ~$340k vs ~$310k

The 2.0T engine is available only through special order, but the price difference is significant. One guy paid close to 400k for his, but then again he put every possible upgrade.. from sound system to park assist.


EDIT: 2.0TSI is available through special order for about 25k extra


Haven't really considered the Golf cuz I'm not really looking for a hatchback. But apparently they'll be bringing in it soon.
Last edited by neexis on March 24th, 2013, 8:46 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » October 14th, 2012, 10:30 pm

Image
comfortline with 16" wheels
Image
comfortline with 16" wheels
Image
comfortline with 16" wheels
Image
highline rear (same as comfortline)
Image
highline interior (leather is only difference here)
Image
comfortline with 16" wheels

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » October 23rd, 2012, 11:37 pm

Went back for a second test drive today, this time pitting the Jetta (with Sunroof) and Passat (Comfortline) against each other.

While the Jetta has a nice smooth and quiet ride, the Passat's feels more solid and heavy on the road, with much better insulation from engine and road noise.

That said, the Jetta's engine has a bit more pep to it [still amazed at the power of this 1.4 engine] due to its twincharger, and also due to the fact that the Jetta is a lighter car than the Passat. The Jetta just always seems ready to go, and this is made even more aggressive in Sport mode. The Passat is a bit calmer and smoother, but this can also be changed by shifting to Sport mode.

The interior of the Jetta is quite comfortable with decent build quality, but again the Passat has a more solid feel to it, and just seems more tightly put together. This is taken up a few notches on the Highline version of the car.

Feature-wise, they both pack similiar dual zone AC control, optical parking systems and RCD 510 headunits. While I did listen more closely to the Passat's 10 speaker system, the Jetta's was actually quite capable for a factory install. Overall, there were far more bells and whistles on the Passat.

Funny enough, two features that were notably absent on both trims of the Passat were cruise control and Sunroof.. These were found on the fully spec'd Jetta however. Considering everything else available, I thought these features could have been standard on at least on of the Passat trims.

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby Krystal Car Part Imports » October 24th, 2012, 10:43 am

you cant compare a new passat to a Jetta. both cars in two different weight categories.
anyway, id advise anyoen to buy the 1.8T only and avoid the 1.4 or the 2.0 turbo completely. nobody needs sunroof or cruise control in trinidad, but definitely avoid cloth seat (always take leather) get Bi-Xenons with autoadaptive headlights. that is a must because the i dont think halogens are very good.

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby Allergic2BunnyEars » October 24th, 2012, 11:08 am

I dunno bout you but i use my sunroof and cruise control alot. Leather sounds nice until you hop in a car with leather that has been parked in the sun. Fail. I wish Bi-Xenons were available for the Jetta at the time of purchase. May retrofit with this in future though.

What's the issue with the 2.0T? I would be more worried about the 7 speed DSG rather than the engines.

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » October 24th, 2012, 12:02 pm

kantoine wrote:you cant compare a new passat to a Jetta. both cars in two different weight categories.
anyway, id advise anyoen to buy the 1.8T only and avoid the 1.4 or the 2.0 turbo completely. nobody needs sunroof or cruise control in trinidad, but definitely avoid cloth seat (always take leather) get Bi-Xenons with autoadaptive headlights. that is a must because the i dont think halogens are very good.


I compared both cars, weighing the pros and cons of each as I was in the market for one of them.
Both offer exceptional value for money and great features all around compared to the asian options

As for sunroof... nobody needs it (or half the other features for that matter), but my argument is that at $100k more than the Jetta, why wasn't it included. Cruise control is actually quite a useful feature, esp for economical highway driving. On many of the vehicles I've driven on the highway(as short as our highway is), I used the cruise control whenever it was available.

I didnt see a problem with the fabric interior, as it seemed to be of good quality. Both leather and fabric have their pros and cons. The leather feels richer and might be easier to clean, but needs to be maintained with cleaners/conditioners etc.... and the heat in yuh ass after parked whole day in the sun is another issue.

As for the bi-xenons... the auto leveling is a neat feature, but i couldn't compare them to the halogen side by side in the well lit showroom.

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » October 26th, 2012, 8:13 pm

Allergic2BunnyEars wrote:
What's the issue with the 2.0T? I would be more worried about the 7 speed DSG rather than the engines.


I think he might be referring to the 1.8's ability to run super, while BA says premium for the 1.4 and 2.0

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » January 22nd, 2013, 12:31 am

decent review of the uk passat (similar to what we get here.. except for automatic boot release)


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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby ronz_6 » June 20th, 2014, 2:16 pm

Hey whats up does anyone know the cost of service for the Volkswagen Passat 1.8Tsi and VW cc 2.0Tsi. Regular and higher service cost.

Regards

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby jhonnieblue » July 7th, 2014, 10:59 pm

Well I have my first euro vehicle as of today..hopefully don't get any trouble with it
Passat B7, used but was taken very good care of..hope to continue that trend

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby Allergic2BunnyEars » July 7th, 2014, 11:04 pm

Congrats. Hopefully it goes well for you.

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby jhonnieblue » July 7th, 2014, 11:32 pm

One issue I do have is the phone menu isn't coming up at all..I got the phone to connect MD have recieved call after pairing but no joy with the screen menu coming up.

Any idea what to do?
It the RCD 510 unit
No menu in dash noted

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby Allergic2BunnyEars » July 7th, 2014, 11:42 pm

Hmmmm not sure. What phone are you using?

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby jhonnieblue » July 7th, 2014, 11:44 pm

Tried with both iPhone and nexus 5 ..same issue

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby Allergic2BunnyEars » July 7th, 2014, 11:55 pm

Hard to say without seeing it nah. When you press the phone button on your steering wheel what happens?

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby jhonnieblue » July 7th, 2014, 11:59 pm

Just goes to mute...same thing when the phone button on the deck is presses..been doing some reading up and they said could be the Bluetooth module needs resetting
But checked under the passenger seat and not seeing it there

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby Allergic2BunnyEars » July 8th, 2014, 12:18 am

Bluetooth module might be under the driver side seat. It is in the Jetta so might be similar in Passat. Black styrofoam container

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » July 8th, 2014, 6:59 am

Yea it's under the driver's seat.

When you start the car with the phone in it, does it automatically connect and say new phonebook available on the headunit?

Did you remove the previous owner's bluetooth devices?

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby jhonnieblue » July 8th, 2014, 7:18 am

Well checked it this morning. Not seeing anything under either driver or passenger seat. Just seeing the wires leading to the seat motors and Senors.
But the Bluetooth capability is working. So I know the module must be present..question is jut where

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » July 8th, 2014, 1:13 pm

jhonnieblue wrote:Well checked it this morning. Not seeing anything under either driver or passenger seat. Just seeing the wires leading to the seat motors and Senors.
But the Bluetooth capability is working. So I know the module must be present..question is jut where

It there man... under a kinda grayish/silver covering.
Will post a pic later

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby jhonnieblue » July 9th, 2014, 8:02 am

Still no joy

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » July 9th, 2014, 9:10 am

Image
Excuse the mess.. didn't realise it was so dirty
Therein lies the bluetooth module... or at least that's where it should be. Nothing like that under your seat?

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby jhonnieblue » July 9th, 2014, 3:23 pm

Will check it out.. Also auto close mirrors on door? Is that a feature or not?

I've read on forums of VCDS used to enable features not factory enabled.. Anyone care to shed light?

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby EcoTune Trinidad » July 10th, 2014, 12:36 am

jhonnieblue wrote:Will check it out.. Also auto close mirrors on door? Is that a feature or not?

I've read on forums of VCDS used to enable features not factory enabled.. Anyone care to shed light?


Gimme a call...maybe I can shed some light on alot of the unanswered questions you may have with the car...6897477...Free Saturday after 9am

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby jhonnieblue » July 10th, 2014, 2:53 pm

Thanks man
One thing I did notice. The headlights seem to be a little dirty on the inside.. Like seeing condensate build up in the night...on both

Anyone ever got this?
Know I probably nitpicking but what can I say..I'm a perfectionist lol

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby Allergic2BunnyEars » July 10th, 2014, 3:24 pm

If it's moisture you might have to remove the screw cap behind the headlight to let it dry out then screw it back tight once it does.

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby jhonnieblue » July 10th, 2014, 5:23 pm

Anyone uses fuel treatments?

And if so which ones are recommend

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Re: Pros and Cons of the new (B7) VW Passat

Postby neexis » July 10th, 2014, 7:58 pm

Haven't used any fuel treatments, mostly because they advise against using any with these engines.

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