11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
ARGH!!!
Date of Review: Jan 15, 2003
The Bottom Line: Buy it if you have a good sense of humor.
I wrote a review about my 99 Passat at
http://www.epinions.com/content_63908187780 My feelings/emotions could be related to how I feel about my 99 Passat.
My 99 V6 Passat is a company car. I bought a Turbo 03 Passat for my wife in Q4'02 even though my own 99 didn't bring me a lot of joy. I basically bought the 03 because of safety features.
The Bad:
0) On the day we collected the car, the rear passenger ciggarette lighter broke. We're not smokers so that didn't bother us much. What bothered us is we picked up the car on a Saturday and had to come back on Monday because that's when the technician's in.
1) 1 wk after collecting the car, the sunroof failed. Went back to the dealer, had to get some computer stuff replaced. The keys had to be reprogrammed because of that.
2) My 99 was ding resistant. No dings after 3 years of abuse. My wife's 03 had a ding within a month! Argh!
3) At 2500 miles on the odometer, the rubber seal on the sunroof started to swell like an ugly zit. I'm sending it into the dealer next Monday.
4) The 03 sound system suck even though it's a premium. My 99 sounds better or is my mind playing tricks on me?
The Good:
1) The cup holders have improved! My 99 cup holders suck but the 03 cup holders are nicer.
2) I love the flat torque curve, I love how the 03 turbo feels. My 99 V6 is sluggish or is it simply because it's old? Or is it because of the leaking cam seal?
3) The 03 looks grows on you. The 1st time I looked at it I swear my 99 was better looking. Now I feel otherwise.
4) The remote control's nicer now. Instead of 2 separate devices, the key and the remote's integrated into 1 rectangular piece of switchblade.
5) There's the trunk & fuel cover releases are on the driver side door on the 03! My 99 trunk release was in the glove box & the fuel cover release was at the central console where the hand brake lever is.
6) They used the Audi "interface" for the "information console" that's below the speedometer. You can now see the engine running time, outside temperature, etc... from a single LCD.
7) The fog lamps are no longer integrated with the main lamps as in my 99. The 03 fog lamps on the front lower spoilers.
8) The 03 cruise control is better designed than the 99. I don't know how to explain that one but you have to try both to understand what I'm saying. The 99 control was confusing, the 03 control less.
I'll update this when I can think of more things.
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