2003 Volkswagen Passat

We purchased a 2003 VW Passat GLS wagon in November of 2002 as a replacement for our trusty old 1993 Subaru Legacy L wagon.

The Passat has been mostly a joy to drive and own, but there are some small issues with it that tend to take away some of the luster from an otherwise fine car.

The engine is a dream so far. The 1.8T is a small but powerful engine, with plenty of power on tap to handle highway merging and accelerative duties. While the gas mileage isn't fantastic, it is certainly good considering the power of the engine, returning a solid 24 mpg city / 27 mpg highway. Trouble-free to date. The transmission is a 5 speed, and works well. The shifter is extremely short, but provides solid and consistent shifts. The clutch engages very late in pedal travel, and could probably be adjusted to deal with that situation.

The interior is where this car starts to show some weaknesses. We opted for leather, and the leather is everything we hoped for. However, I notice that the front passenger seat tends to be uncomfortable for me (6'1"), in that my feet feel like they sit at an extreme angle on the floor, like the seat pan is tilted too far back and I have to point my toes down in order to get my feet to sit flat on the floor. I've never experienced this issue with any other car. The seat pad tends to be a bit short on thigh support for my legs, but is fine for my wife. Controls are logically laid out and easy to read and reach. Heated seats are a godsend during Northeastern winters. However, the wipers struggle to deal with freezing precipitation, and tend to go stiff and leave patches on the windshield uncleaned. The wiper blade replacements are amazingly $75, which is outright robbery, and VW adds insult to injury by using a very proprietary connection system so that getting aftermarket wiper blades for the Passat is near impossible. Storage space is pretty much non-existent in the vehicle. Sure, it has map pockets on the front doors, and a center console storage bin, and a glove box, but they are ALL too small to be of much use. I recently traded in my 1999 Honda Accord and my wife STILL bemoans the loss of that vehicle for its ultra-friendly storage. CDs are too big to be stored in the Passat's center console - my old Accord could hold 12 of them. The owners manual is a very voluminous binder that takes up all the available storage in the glove box. VW touts that the glove box is chilled, but who cares if you can't store anything of size in it? The lack of storage really takes away from the enjoyment of the vehicle. The wagon has plenty of space in the back - in fact, we've taken to storing the owners manual in the back in one of two cubbies that are designated for emergency supplies, just to free up some room in the glovebox for some tissues, napkins, an other stuff. There are some power outlets sprinkled in the front, the back, and the trunk area - very handy, but if they expect you to make use of electronics, don't they think you might like to have a place to store some of the CDs, games, etc, that you'll use with those electronic devices?

Handling is very good for a car in this segment, and the ride is excellent as well.

Unscheduled maintenance has consisted of a replacement of the driver's seat (squeaked), and bodywork to fix up the front bumper from an incident involving the base of a parking lot lamp post. Our VW dealership has been friendly enough, but not very good with communication. Estimates for work being completed have been missed, as well as misinformation concerning the status of parts orders, progress of work on the vehicle, etc., have added to the level of frustration. Luckily I didn't need to pick up a set of $75 wipers on any of those occasions.

The real make-or-break moment for this car will be in another 3-4 years. If repairs are kept to a minimum, we'll still be mildly happy with the vehicle, but if it proves to have some reliability issues, this could very well be our last Volkswagen.

If I was looking again today, I'd take a serious look at the Subaru Outback wagon and it's turbocharged 250 HP engine.