Pick up for 4 cylinder is great. Triptonic transmission

Everything else.

Great when we drove it home. Fun to drive but...Problems problems and more problems. Going on it's fourth secondary air filter. Maybe something else is causing them to go bad? Loved the car at one time. Just because it was rated the safest doesn't mean its reliable.

Similar Products Used:

suburau

Everything! My opinion, car of the year!

Small wheels/ tire, on standard model.

I have been a new and old VW owner for years. I recently parted with a 1990 Golf that was basically problem free for 13 years. My 03 Passat so far has been the best car I have ever owned. I average 30 mpg with the 1.8T / 5 speed. I love the nice heated seats. The car has plenty of power, I have a hard time not exceeding the speed limit. Very smooth but some wider wheels/tires would help out in the corners. Traction control works well along with the ABS. I strongly recommend this car. I am talking my wife into getting a 4motion wagon.

Luxurious interior, Unpretentious exterior, amenities galore....Very roomy, good design overall.

Accelerator should not be computerized...shoud be by cable, for a predictable acceleration. Alignment issues..

My 2nd VW. Nothing but a nightmare since I brought it home. Have had it in for sudden-accelerations (which they told me was NORMAL with computerized acceleration-unlike traditional Cable), and for alignment pulling to right. Here it is 7 visits later to the dealership, the alignment STILL isn't right! I have got an attorney to help me get rid of this...I've had enough. Should've bought the BMW 325 like I originally planned.....Shoulda, coulda, woulda......

Similar Products Used:

Mercedes E Class, Cabrio '02(loved!)

Performance, handling, and creature comforts.

Reliability, reliability, reliability. Not the best value either. It's nice, but you pay through the nose. If you MUST buy a VW, I guess try the V6 Passat - my brother bought one just a few months later and has had only one recall (wheel well) and one repair (rear door handle inop). 2.8 V6 immune from ignition coil problems. Above all choose you dealer carefully! Warranties are only wothwhile if they ACTUALLY REPAIR the problem (and are still in business).

My experiences with my VW dealer and my 2003 Passat led me to trade in my car and vow to avoid both VW and the dealership in the future. A few months after purchasing the car, I noticed sluggish acceleration. I drove the car approximately 1.5 hours to the dealership where I purchased it, and waited for the car to be repaired. Smith VW told me the problem was a Purge Valve (fuel system) and that I might as well drive the car home because the part was not in stock "in this hemisphere". I got on my cell phone at the dealership and found the part at a dealer 45 minutes away. Hemisphere must be smaller than I thought. At the same time, I asked about ignition coils and was told there was insufficient stock to replace in my car at present. Several months later, I took car back to dealer to have wheel well recall work completed, bra and flaps replaced. When I picked the car up, the alarm didn't work properly (intermittently, and differently with every key). The service department claimed that the ignition coils "had already been replaced" although they couldn't find any record of this work being done. I drove the car to another VW dealer who mostly fixed the alarm problem (worked consistently, although differently with each key). At the same time the dealer confirmed that the ignition coils in the car were the original H-series coils, and replaced them with the new coils, which were J-series coils. Finally, several months later (at 18,000 miles and approximately 1 year from the purchase date) my check engine light came on. Drove the car to the same dealership as previous problems - Smith VW (I needed the loaner). This time they replaced the J-series coils with an L-series coil. I discussed a trade with the sales department, but sensed no real effort to work a deal. I was called the week after and made arraingements to pick up my car from sales after the service department had closed. Drove the 1.5 hours one-way to find the dealership had closed early for the evening. The final insult was that I can't recover the balance of the the extended warranty, because "SmartChoice", the extended warranty the dealership sold to me(how incredibly inaccurately named), had gone bankrupt. Told by the dealership that they'll "get back to me". Not holding my breath. Final insult was comment by Jason Smith (GM) that his employees' actions "weren't his responsibility". Too bad, because I enjoyed driving the car, although too large a portion of the miles I put on the car were driving it to the dealership for repairs!

Similar Products Used:

Honda Civic - flawless for 96,000 hard miles, then kaputt. Ford Tempo - nightmare. 1991 Ford Escort (Mazda powertrain) - unstoppable except for head-on collisions. 1991 Dodge Pickup - ugly, uncomfortable beast that has outlived 4 cars!

engine power, sporty look, breaks, power options, display, quietness, all the girls going: take me!

bit high on gas

I have driven this car for a week now and love it. All the options are working properly, it's basically fun to drive and race other cars. The look is sporty and all my friends are jealous big time.

Similar Products Used:

Accord 2003, Jetta 1.8T

Good acceleration

REAR BRAKES & ROTORS REPLACED AT 24k CHEAP INTERIOR BODY HARDWARE EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN

Car is fun to drive but too expensive to maintain. At 24K, the rear brakes and rotors had to be replaced. NO WAY. VW was horrible to deal with. Typcial runaround form VW and the dealer. They said it's normal to replace real brakes & Rotors at 24K. They can keep the car. Cup Holders and center arm rest are VERY cheap and broke several times.. NEVER AGAIN!! KEEP AWAY FORM THE PASSAT AND VW.

Similar Products Used:

Camery & Accord

Freeway acceleration Quiet ride Service at Desert V.W.

Creaking of dash in tight turns

I'm Writing My second review on this car. First one was when I had only had the car for 9 months. Now I have had it for 18 months, First review was all good. This review will be the same. I can't understand all the negative comments on this vehicle. It has been an excellent car for me with no-0-nada problems for me. Routine maintenance at 5 thousand miles is all that has been required for it. Now have 25000+ miles on it and it still drives like it's brand new.

Power,handling,braking.

Lack of storage space. I don't care for the automatic door locking system locking all my doors everytime I put the key in the ignition. Is frustrating to go open the hatch and find out it is locked as are all the other doors (not the drivers, which you exited from).

What a value this car is. The V8 engine is hot! The car holds the road like it is on rails and the brakes take hold like a carrier arrested landing. The chassis is tight and the body is personally attractive. The interior with real wood accents and leather suits my taste. Normally I end up adding accessories to my rides but this model Passat comes with only one option and that is the Sport Package which I have. The only thing I can think of adding are rubber floor mats for our winters and a rear spoiler to keep the back hatch window clean. The only negatives I have are there is the size of and lack of storage in the arm rests, side panels and spare tire well. I have the Forest Green paint and it looks like a custom application. All of this from the factory? We'll see if I can comment positively on the dealer service in the coming months. They told me that the Passat ignition coil problem has been remedied on this years model.

Similar Products Used:

Volvo XC Suburu

IT IS A REALLY NICE LOOKING CAR FROM THE OUTSIDE. COOL DASHBOARD.

POOR QUALITY BUILT,EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR, POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. TECHNICIAN LACK KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE. BEWARE VERY LOW RESALE VALUE. THE DEALERSHIP WOULDNT EVEN LET ME TRADE IT IN FOR A NEWER ONE, CLAIM THEY HAD TO MANY ON THEIR LOT COULDN'T GET RID OF THEM. BUT WAS NICE ENOUGH TO LET ME KNOW THAT IF I WAS TO SELL IT SOMEWHERE ELSE THEN I COULD COME BACK AND BUY A NEWER ONE. GO FIGURE I WONDER WHY SO MANY ON THEIR LOT.

I BOUGHT THIS CAR WITH THE INTENT OF IT BEING A DEPENDABLE CAR THAT WOULD LAST ME AT LEAST 7-10 YEARS. I HAVE ONLY OWNED THIS CAR FOR APPROXIMATELY FOR 12 MONTHS AND ALREADY I HAVE PUT $1500.00 INTO IT FOR A COMPUTER CHIP THAT MAKES THE CAR GO OVER 40 M.P.H. FOR A TOTAL OF $600.00 AND CONTROL ARMS FOR $968.00 AND NOW MY CAR IS USING A QUART OF OIL EVERY 60 DAYS NOW REMIND YOU I ONLY PUT 1000 MILE ON IT EVERY 60 DAYS. SO FAR IN ONE YEAR OF OWNING THIS VEHICLE I'VE ONLY PUT 6,000 MILES ON IT AND HAVE ALL THESE PROBLEMS,NOW VW TELL ME THE OIL IS DUE TO THE PISTON BEING SCRATCHED AND TO EVEN LOOK AT IT WILL BE $1200.00 THIS IS THE FAR WORST VEHICLE I'VE EVER OWNED. I AM IN THE PROCESS TRYING TO TRADE IT IN RIGHT NOW FOR 04 HONDA ACCORD. I NEED A RELIABLE AND LOW MAINTENANCE CAR AND THIS CAR DEFINITELY FAIL ME IN THIS AREA.AFTER READING ALL 274 SUMMARY I WISH I HAD READ THESE BEFORE I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE I WOULD NOT HAD BOUGHT THIS LEMON. BEWARE TO ALL BUYERS STAY AWAY FROM ALL VW!

Similar Products Used:

MAZDA 626 - 86 LOVED IT OWN IT FOR 5 YEARS, PUT $1200.00 INTO IT. NISSAN ALTIMA - 95 LOVED IT TO DEATH NO PROBLEMS AT ALL OWN IT FOR 5 YRS. WISH I HAD KEPT IT WOULDN'T BE IN THIS SITUATION. BMW 528i - 98 LOVED IT NO PROBLEMS UNTIL IT WAS IN AN ACCIDENT NEVER DROVE THE SAME.

Excellent fit/finish and quality (sorry folks, there's not an American car company that can build cars that are finished as nicely or have the quality of an import). Kick-ass stereo (and I don't even have the Monsoon system)! Plenty of cargo room, tall people fit in rear seat with room to spare. Leather interior is VERY cool and is a must-have. Fair price for how the car is specd. I get a lot of positive compliments on the car's sharp appearance. In conculsion...solid, solid, solid. Oh yeah, and it's cool to tell people that your glove box is air conditioned too (I store my lunch and drink in their on hot days...sounds goofy but it really works well)!

The turbo can be a pain in the butt when you're in busy traffic, so I just tap it over in to the Tiptronic and that usually solves the issue. Every now and then the car lags when stepped on and accelerating in to 2nd gear. VW needs to add another power outlet up front to accomodate cell phones, radar detectors, etc. Also power seats and a Homelink should be included in this price range. Definitely more storage space needed up front as well. Middle arm rest/console needs more space and not does not extend far enough forward for the shorter drivers.

This was the last car I test drove. I was sure I was going with an oh-so-common SUV until I drove this car. This car feels solid and handles great. The ride is awesome on both smooth and bumpy roads. Quality all around, very solid car overall. So far, so good (please don't let me jinx myself!)

Similar Products Used:

Owned a Subaru Outback (AWD was nice but poor overall quality compared to the Passat), drove the Volvo V40 and the XC(both cars are very cramped inside and seemed to be WAYYYYYYY overpriced).