A few years ago I suggested that for those who didn't need a back seat the Jetta made more sense than the Passat. The smaller sedan handled better and cost less.
Last spring a thoroughly redesigned Jetta arrived. This fall it is joined by an all-new Passat. The two are actually based on the same platform, such that the new Passat is essentially a stretched Jetta. The big VW's engine is once again transverse rather than longitudinal. VW can't seem to decide whether the Passat should be an enlarged Jetta or a shrunken A6.
To see how the two cars compare this time around, I took a Jetta GLI and a Passat 2.0T for a spin back-to-back. An unfair comparison, given the GLI's sport suspension and the fact that the same engine must lug around extra mass in the larger sedan? Don't count on it.
Styling
The previous Passat was something of a classic. Its gracefully arched roofline and shear bodysides deserve at least as much credit as the Beetle for VW's resurgence in the late 1990s. People saw this car on the street and instantly wanted one. Competitors reacted by drawing heavily on the Passat for their own designs, some (Nissan) better than others (Ford, Saturn).
The new Passat is more trendy, especially the overly chromy nose. Like the latest Audi A6, the new Passat has much longer overhangs front and rear, to the detriment of the car's proportions. As with the Audi, you'll want the largest wheels available to visually shrink the larger fenders. The 16s on the base car I drove just don't cut it.
On the other hand, the new Passat is far, far more attractive than the latest Jetta. It has an elegance from some angles, particularly the rear quarter, thoroughly absent from its chunkier sibling.
It's actually quite surprising that the two sedans look so different. Unlike the previous Passat, which was based on the same platform as Audi's A4 and A6, the new Passat is essentially a stretched Jetta.
Inside the new Passat is a definite improvement over the old car, and far superior to the latest Jetta. The instrument panel resembles that in an Audi A8. Thankfully, it is much less imposing than the blocky affair in the Jetta. Even better, it lacks the wall at the base of the windshield that I despise in the smaller car.
In general VW puts out very upscale interiors. The rest of the industry keeps saying their latest interiors are just as good as VW's. But they aren't. Even in base trim with black vinyl seats, the new Passat has the feel and ambiance of a premium car. Yet there is a bit more hard plastic inside the new Passat than I recall in the old one, especially on the lower part of the instrument panel. And I found one piece that didn't measure up in both the Passat and the Jetta: the lid on the overhead sunglass holder feels cheap and flimsy.
Accommodations
The driving position is much better in the Passat than in the Jetta. As mentioned above, the instrument panel is less imposing and it is not topped by a short wall at the base of the windshield. As a result, I felt much more comfortable driving the larger car. Paradoxically, the experience was more intimate.
As in the Jetta the tach is numbered in tens rather than the ones found on most tachs. This led me to frequently confuse it with the speedometer. Just tell the cop you were looking at the wrong set of numbers by mistake.
The Jetta GLI is fitted with wonderful sport buckets from Recaro. With a less sporting mission, the Passat's seats are much less heavily bolstered. They are, however, generously sized and quite comfortable in the firm German way. Hardly plush, but likely quite good over long distances. Four-way power lumbar is always welcome, and it's standard here.
I have mixed feelings about the back seat. Legroom is up a bit, such that the Passat retains a legroom advantage over the Jetta. Yet the Jetta's seat is preferable in some ways. Likely owing to its racier roofline, the Passat's rear seat is mounted closer to the floor than that in the Jetta. As a result, thigh support is so-so at best and the view forward is largely blocked by the front headrests. The Jetta's rear seat is superior on both counts.
As before, the Passat has a usefully large trunk and its rear seats fold for even more cargo volume.
On the Road
The base Passat is powered by the same 2.0-liter direct-injected turbocharged four-cylinder I have praised in the Audi A3, Audi A4, and Jetta. It's a powerful engine, with the least boost lag I've ever experienced in a turbo. Quiet too.
Now about the Passat's weight disadvantage: there isn't much of one. Though the Passat is nine inches longer than the Jetta, and rides on a five inch longer wheelbase, it is less than one hundred pounds heavier than the smaller car in base trim, and roughly the same weight as the GLI. Shocking, but true. Seems the Passat team wasn't sharing weight-saving tips with the Jetta team.
With roughly the same weight you get roughly the same performance. The Passat comes standard with a six-speed manual, but the one I drove was equipped with an automatic. Blessed with six ratios, it did a good job of keeping the engine in its sweet spot. Acceleration should easily exceed the needs of the great majority of people.
If you want still more performance, the upcoming 280-horsepower 3.6-liter Passat should do the trick. The six should also make sweeter noises while going about its work. While the 2.0T is hardly a nasty sounding engine, its soundtrack doesn't exactly get the heart racing. Sadly the manual will not be available with the six.
The new Passat is no sport sedan, at least not in base trim. (A sport suspension will be available with the six.) Still, I found it a very pleasant car to drive. Though the steering could provide more feedback, the chassis has an enjoyable fluidity through the curves. As mentioned above, I connected more with this car than with the GLI. The previous Passat leaned a bit much in hard turns. The new one leans less and generally feels more composed.
At parking lot speeds the Passat has the tomb-like silence and highly-insulated ride of a luxury sedan. Get the car up to 40 MPH or so, though, and road noise can be a bit intrusive. No doubt the lack of noise from other sources makes road noise seem higher than it is, but perceptions count here. Ride quality is a bit shakier at speed, but overall the new Passat performs well in this area.
The character of the new Passat is closer than that of the previous one to a Toyota Camry courtesy of increased refinement, lower noise levels, and increased insulation from the outside world. That said, it remains clearly German, with a more substantial feel to the doors, seats, and body structure than you'll find in a similarly-priced Japanese product.
VW Passat Price Comparisons and Pricing
As might be expected, the Passat does cost more than the Jetta. How much more? About $2,300 when both are equipped with the turbo 2.0.
The Passat has tended to cost more than its Japanese competitors, and the new one is no exception. Compared to a 4-cylinder Honda Accord, the 2.0T costs about $2,900 more. Adding a V6 to the Accord--the 2.0T falls between the two Honda engines in performance--cuts the gap to a few hundred dollars. Good thing the turbo four performs so well, as I suspect it will frequently be cross-shopped with V6-powered Japanese sedans.
Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)
TrueDelta's page for the Passat:
http://www.truedelta.com/models/Passat.php
Last Words
This time around I much preferred the Passat to the Jetta. It's more attractive inside and out, lacks the odd driving position of the smaller car, and handles with greater fluidity.
All is not perfect, though. The new styling won't age as well. And this styling forced the rear seat to be mounted lower to the floor than it should have been.
Overall, a welcome alternative to an Accord or Camry, with the more substantial feel typical of German cars and the interior ambiance of a luxury car. Above all, it's simply a more interesting car.
Update: The Passat is getting mixed reviews in the press. I think this is because the press idolized the previous Passat, which was something of a classic, and now remember it as being even better than it was. The new Passat is a substantially different car, and the press is punishing it for this.
In a thread over at vwvortex one member, akuska, had a further insight. At the time it was introduced the previous Passat was a unique car with features no other car in the class had. But in the years since competitors have copied the styling and features of that Passat. So today the Passat seems relatively mainstream. Not so much because it has gone mainstream, but because the mainstream has copied it.
Full thread: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zeromodify?cmd=editpost&id=26577245
A Note on VW Passat Reliability
I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.
Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Passat rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in VW Passat reliability comparisons.
Before I can report results, I need data on all cars--not just the Passat--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive
free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.
For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.
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Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
VW Jetta 2.5 review
VW Jetta GLI review
2002 VW Passat VR6 review
Honda Accord review
Mazda6 review
Nissan Altima review
Subaru Legacy GT review
Toyota Camry review
Volvo S40 review
Volvo S60 review
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