Fit & finish; silky smooth V6; fun and practical 5 speed Tiptronic trans; blinding list of standard features, including side-impact airbags, traction control, anti-slip, 4-wheel disc with anti-lock; safety, reliability.

Count me in on the funky cupholder bandwagon, however, I undserstand that VW make a aftermarket cupholder that fits into center armrest. May be better.

Very solid car. For the money, you would be hard pressed to find anything that compares. Definitely a driver''s car, so if you are more into function over form (Japanese makes), this probably is not the car for you. Very crisp, responsive, powerful. 190hp may sound low, but is equal to 220+ Asian and American makes when you factor in the flawless German transmission. A few quirks that warrant stating: -Cam oil seal went bad @ 47k. If this happens to you, expect 2-3 day repair. -Outer CV joint boot craked, prematurely in my opinion. Did not catch it before joint started making noise = $275 parts to replace joint. -There apparently is only ONE VW dealership in the entire country that is worthy of a pat on the back... Golden Gate VW, San Francisco. Unfortunately, I now live in the Midwest, and the VW dealerships here are absolutlely ridiculous. We aren''t talking about VW North America issues, just dealership... hassels, respect, reliability, ability. Damn shame, if VW would revamp it''s frontline, it could truly showoff what a great product it really has.

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Maxima, Grand Prix, Accord

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SERVICE SUCKS. LOVE THE CAR BUT AS YET TO FIND A DECENT DEALER IN THE AREA WHO GIVES A DAMN. I AM SELLING THIS CAR SIMPLY BECAUSE VW REALLY DOESN''T BACK IT''S PRODUCT. I SAY FOR RELIABILITY AND SERVICE...STICK WITH THE JAPANESE. I WAS A HONDA OWNER PRIOR AND REALLY STUCK MY NECK OUT ON THIS ONE. I GOT BIT REAL HARD...AGAIN, DON''T DISMISS THIS...THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE YOUR COMMIT TO A 5-YR LOAN AND NO DECENT SERVICE COMMITMENT TO BACK THE PRODUCT UP...SERVICE SUCKS!!!!!!!!!I AM IN THE ATLANTA, GA AREA...

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IT IS FUN TO DRIVE WHEN ITS ALL WORKING. COCKPIT DOES LOOK COOL AT NIGHT.

IT''S A NICE LOOKING CAR BUT THEY JUST HAVEN''T GOT IT FIGURED OUT YET AT VW. I READ THAT THE 2002 MODEL HAS 2300 CHANGES THAT OUGHT TO TELL YOU SOMETHING.

BOUGHT THIS CAR NEW IN 2000. INITIALLY VERY IMPRESSED. LOOKED GOOD VERY QUICK FUN TO DRIVE. 40,000 MILES LATER IT''S A HEADACHE. POWER STEERING PUMP, OIL PUMP WATER PUMP ALL AT DIFFERENT TIMES. TIRES WERE RECALLED THOUGH WE NEVER HEARD ABOUT IT UNTIL AFTER ONE BLEW OUT GOING 70 ON THE HIGHWAY. MOONROOF BASICALLY SELF DESTRUCTED THE FIRST MONTH FOR NO REASON. TURBO SEIZED. ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. BRAKES AND ROTORS GONE AT 40K. WE''VE PAID OUT OVER 3500.00 IN REPAIRS AND REQUIRED MAINTENANCE NOT COVERED BY THE WARRANTY. NEVER AGAIN VW.

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HONDA ACCORD,BUICK REGAL.

smooth and strong acceleration

CD player is optional.

Feels like Luxury, good power and value. Smooth handling and acceleration. Good for young professional with or without family. Sporty and class for a reasonable value worth at least $30000 if it had BMW on it. Rated very highly on safety. Best warranty on the market, bar none. and with German engineering.. Gotta love it.

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much better value than higher priced luxury

Handling, rides well, can get traction control and limited slip (Electronic Differential Lock) with a 4 cylinder. Lots of fun to take through corners and upgraded turbo has little lag. Classy touches inside. Can't wait to try the Tiptronic.

No power seat with base velour seats and no in-dash CD changer available.

I found a very fair VW dealer and lease rate. I have heard that is unusual for this car. This is my first VW product. I have gone with Nissans for more than 10 years but my driving needs changed forcing me to do more business travel to cold weather cities. I wanted a roomy, economical and sporty car with safety features and traction control.

This car looks more expensive than it is. I would love to get an A-4 Quattro with the V-6, but can't handle the costs now. This gives me all but the Quattro package, which is fine.

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Maxima-much more expensive, traction control hard to get, impossible without getting leather seats which I did not want
Subaru Legacy GT-liked all wheel drive, but seats were uncomfortable and residuals are lousy
Accord-my wife already has one. Don't want two of the same car
Volvo S40-handles nice, great seats, not so great price
I switched from an Altima, which I liked and considered waiting for the '02 but found out that you could only get traction control with the V-6 and no limited slip is available
Mazda Millenia-nice car, but lousy lease deals even with good incentives

Fit and finish. the black leather seats and interior rival the BMW325i wagon and Audi Avante wagon I looked at in my comparisons. Ample amount of power under the hood.

The arm rest between the two front seats is aggravating and not useful. My 1999 sedan had a longer arm rest that was great for leaning on.

I purchased a 1.8 I4 wagon in Silver Blue metallic. What a car! This is a smooth riding perfectly finished car. A real value for the money. Though we have had the car only for a month or so, it proves to be a high quality, well engineered car. I just traded in a 1999 passat 1.8 sedan so I'm not unfamiliar with thsi model. The 2001.5 wagon runs circles around the 1999 model.

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Like I said, I owned a 1999 passat 1.8 sedan that was quite nice. the 2001.5 tops it in all ways imaginable.

Fun to drive. Trip tronic shifter. German engineering. And you pay for it.

Expensive Maintenance!! At 50,000 miles had to replace breaks. All four roaters. Battery had to be replaced. In all the breaks, battery and 50,000 service cost 1235.00. Three weeks later (today) The oxygen sensors had to be replaced. Another $600.00. No one but VW can work on car.
Bad place for cup holders. My wife keeps spilling coke in on the radio.
Hesitation when you first give it the gas. 1.8 is underpowered.
Did I Mention I can't afford the maintenance.

Great Driving Car.
Breaks noisy and squeak from day 1. At 50,000 miles had to replace breaks including rotors at a cost of $700+.
Battery only lasted 3 years. Replaced at a cost of $110.00.
Total for 50,000 maintenance battery and breaks 1235.00. You need one loan to pay for it and and another to maintain it.
I had a Subura before buying the Passat and today I am going to trade it in on another Subura.
If you make a Doctors salary maybe you can afford the maintenance and upkeep.
Had to have radio replaced under warranty.
Sometimes radio quits. The only way I have found to fix it is pull the fuse out then stick it back in.
Takes forever to get maintenance done. Right now they are running two weeks behind on maintenance.

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Subura Legacy, Toyota Camery. I am fixing to go trade it on a Subura.

Interior is top quality, especially with leather and luxury packs. Monsoon sound is better than you might expect for resonable cost. I am happy with the performance from the 1.8T with auto, as it always seems to have passing power when needed. There's no reward for revving it to the redline, just relax and drive it like a V6. Unfussed, smooth, quiet driving is this car's major strength. Other bonuses are the tracion control, eight airbags, solid breaks and adjustable seats and steering wheel.

Quality control / glitches. My car has been back to service dept. a couple of times already for an intermittent fault with the speedometer (speedometer fluctuates wildy, then stops after a few minutes of driving). After waiting a week for a replacement unit, VW discovered that the fault is with wiring harness or connections. Apparently, a service bulletin has come out about this particular fault. Mine was supposedly fixed again according to this, but noticed last night that fault has returned. I will wait until first oil change service to have this looked at again. VW can experiment on someone else's car in the meantime. The fault is not that big a deal, it's just that it is frustrating to take the car back to the dealer each time and not actually have it fixed. Seriously consider the extended warranty options.. 2 years BTB is starting to look a little weak.

Solid, elegant and well-finished. In the mid-25K range, there are many choices on the market and I've driven or owned many of them. With the VW, you end up paying a couple of grand more than a similar spec domestic or Asian car (eg. Honda Accord EX with leather etc.). My personal feeling is that none of the other cars in this range give the same sense of pride that comes with the Passat. Obviously the Passat is giving away a bit of power to these cars, but cruising down the interstate listening to a CD in that sesational leather interior, who cares? My dream car would have been a BMW 330i with all the options, but honestly, this car offers 9/10ths of the driving experience with all the luxury of the BMW and more and saves you $15K.

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Nissan Maxima, Honda Accord V6 and 4cyl, Acura Integra GSR. Maxima and Integra offered a more sporty/powerful package, but were not as luxurious as the Passat.

- 1.8T + 5 spd. manual
- responsive steering and very confident handling
- fairly good ride quality
- styling and overall package (interior volume, trunk capacity)
- heated mirrors, washer nozzles, and seats (must have here in Michigan)
- conservative & highly functional dash design (leather seats a plus)
- monsoon sound system

- rattles (roads around here do not help)

Great car for the money. Puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. Great winter car as well. Rattles in the dash and the package tray/rear suspension area need to be fixed. Hoping to find a good dealer around here.

Overall would recommend the car to anyone. This is my first German car and based on my experience thus far I may never switch to anything else.

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A4 more sporty less room; Ford Focus handles better but also smaller; Honda Accord lacks the options and "cool" features and not as much of a blast to drive; Toyota Camry simply boring

-VR6
-excellent seats
-fast, especially on the highway, after 3,00 rpm you better hold on.
-looks great

-expensive to fix
-not great gass mileage (even though it needs premium)
-back end is prone to rust because it collects a lot of dirt and salt.

Although I haven't owned the car for long, I love it. I hope to have this car through college, at least 3 more years. It drives like new, is fast as hell (which is really important to any real man), and holds its value. People respect this car. It will always be cool because it is a VW. I have a freind that ownes a ferrari mondial cabrio, and drives a Yukon Denalli in the winter. He took it for a drive with me and said that the car sounds awesome and feels smoother than silk. What can it say. I got a good deal.

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2000 Passat 1.8t. The 94 passat has more power looks and coolness. But the 2000 sticks to the road like a lawndart.