What Else?

[Autopia]

Hi All

I'm curious if you R36 owners considered any other cars before you bought the Passat. When I went for the very brief test drive I was very impressed. Did any of you compare it to anything else before you signed on the line?

I dare not write this here but I've also driven the Ford G6E Turbo (please don't ban me ) and was completely mind blown by the sheer velocity of the thing. It's stupidly quick but it's a Ford (should that matter). Admittedly it's actually very nicely put together for a Ford and 75% of me REALLY likes it but..... ahh crap I don't know.

I'm not for one moment comparing the Ford to the VW but the speed of the thing is so intoxicating. The R36 was surprising quick during my brief test drive but not to the same extent as the Ford. I could also spend a meagre $5K extra on the Ford and get a genuine 300kW at the rear wheels. And there's no "go fast" kit for the VW at all. But it's built like a bank vault, has all wheel drive, DSG, superb seats and the versatility of a wagon.

I know I'm kinda rambling here but this is the first time I've found myself in a real conundrum over which car to buy. It's alway been so straight forward in the past.

Cheers
Sean

[olcoop]

Hi All

I'm curious if you R36 owners considered any other cars before you bought the Passat. When I went for the very brief test drive I was very impressed. Did any of you compare it to anything else before you signed on the line?

I dare not write this here but I've also driven the Ford G6E Turbo (please don't ban me ) and was completely mind blown by the sheer velocity of the thing. It's stupidly quick but it's a Ford (should that matter). Admittedly it's actually very nicely put together for a Ford and 75% of me REALLY likes it but..... ahh crap I don't know.

I'm not for one moment comparing the Ford to the VW but the speed of the thing is so intoxicating. The R36 was surprising quick during my brief test drive but not to the same extent as the Ford. I could also spend a meagre $5K extra on the Ford and get a genuine 300kW at the rear wheels. And there's no "go fast" kit for the VW at all. But it's built like a bank vault, has all wheel drive, DSG, superb seats and the versatility of a wagon.

I know I'm kinda rambling here but this is the first time I've found myself in a real conundrum over which car to buy. It's alway been so straight forward in the past.

Cheers
Sean

I also considered the G6E Turbo. Other cars I considered were the G6E, BMW 135i, BMW Touring 323i and 335i, Holden Sportswagon V8 and V6, R32, 3.2V6 Highline wagon, Passat CC V6 and TDi, and even a turbo Volvo wagon (shock horror ).
For my needs (and wants) the R36 wagon was actually a pretty easy choice when I considered price, size, performance, features, style and fuel economy.
I didn't really take into account depreciation as I do quite high milage and I have found that all of my cars a pretty worthless when I'm finished with them anyhow and without any depreciation history on the R36 yet, it would have all been guess work anyway IMO.
I currently have 5 diesel VWs, 3 diesel Peugots, 3 LPG Ford utes, 1 Landrover TD5, Merc M series van and an old convertable Merc in the fleet. A grey R36 wagon coming in the next 2 weeks.

[3Putt]

2000-2002 Audi RS4 Avant - R36 Killer!

Anyone in the market for an R36 has to check out one of these...

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...rticleID=37903

They are rare, but they do pop up from time to time at around the $60K-$70K mark, with relatively low km's (60-100000km).

And look at the numbers! Staggering perfromance! Imagine the bragging rights back in 2001.

[ChrisR32]

IMO, the G6E turbo is a quick thing, but seriously at the end of the day it's a falcon. I've driven a G6E non turbo at work and while it was a step up from the falcons of old, they seriously are still cheap and nasty. The leather is like vinyl, the dash materials are laughable, and it still feels like a boat. When I drove it and got back into the R32 the difference in quality (performance aside) was massive. I think you'd be crazy to take a G6E over an R36.

[gead]

for me it came down to a choice of the car i already have and the r36...if the r36 wasn't such a blast to drive i would have kept my MY06 liberty STi for another few years....nothing else on the market was remotely tempting me...

[vwrallycar]

im selling my 06 XR6 to buy a new diesel passat, and i have thought about it long and hard and it boils down to the ford having an extremely low resale value, which is a shame for such a good car. Also further to that is the quality between the 2 cars, the quality in the ford is nowhere near where it should be, e.g. poor paintwork, rust in only a couple of years etc, things that wont happen on a vw. buy the vw, you wont be disappointed

[Autopia]

Thanks for your feedback guys.

I thought long and hard about it last night and whilst I really like the Ford I don't love it. A car needs to offer more than merely the thrill of super fast acceleration.
If my leasing company can show me that the R36 is affordable it will be my next car. Although the CC is cheaper and has the same motor.

[R36 Dreamer]

Thanks for your feedback guys.

I thought long and hard about it last night and whilst I really like the Ford I don't love it. A car needs to offer more than merely the thrill of super fast acceleration.
If my leasing company can show me that the R36 is affordable it will be my next car. Although the CC is cheaper and has the same motor.

I had a Holden SS and loved it initially, however it takes no time from it feeling brand new to old. After a couple of months I thought it had lost a great deal of tightness and felt really loose. Rattles etc. were pronounced.

Conversely the VW GTI was fine after 2 years, and the R36 has had no problems. There are some rattles, but at least when they are fixed they dont come back.

I cant recommend the 36 highly enough.

Just my two bobs worth.

[First VW]

I had a look at BMW 325i, lexus IS250 sports, Subaru Liberty TB STI, and deicded on the R36. I previously owned accord euro (the first generation) and MY07 liberty GTB. The R36 is so much more of a car than the rest, with the value, it offers so much more than the rest, from power, handling, small stuff like dynamic headlights, heated seats etc. The build quality is also up there, it feels solid. So in terms of power and performance, I would say R36 is a good balance, very good handling, drives nothing like a big car (it is a fairly decent sized car), easy to drive, power is there when you want it, gearchange is awesome, and in terms of comfort and luxury, its all there. I did consider the passat CC but personally I think its more towards luxury than performance and it looks more 'mature' so I went for R36. Having said all that, its my 2 cents anyway, so the decision is still yours. =)

[gregozedobe]

It is important to consider what the car will be like after you have owned it and the "thrill" of the test drive has worn off. What is impressive at first may become tedious after a while, or just not very important.

Back-to-back test drives over your regular roads can sometimes help you decide.

If resale value is a serious consideration then you will probably be better off buying a 1-2 year old used car and letting the first owner pay the depreciation slug that goes with a brand new'un.

[Lance B]

After the delight in having the extra power that the Ford affords (sorry about that) has worn off, the real benefits of the R36 will show through, like the brilliant DSG gearbox - man I love that gearbox and it is the one thing I doubt I could now live without, the AWD, the build quality, superb seats you will never rue your decision.

[Cro]

I was in car limbo for a year not knowing if the R36 was comming to Australia or not...so I tried a large range of cars to see if I could do without.

3.2L V6 Passat - Too slow
Golf R32 - Too small
Subary Libery GT - Too slow & not enough luxury features
HSV Senator - Nice car but Australian build (depreciation & lack of quality) & only 4 star safety
FPV Force6 - Not enough luxury features, depreciation & lack of quality, after sales service is pathetic, handles like a boat & only 4 star safety (at the time)
BMW 335 - Too small
Lexus IS250 - Too small & way too slow

For my requirements there just wasn't an equivilent car on the market..

A word of advice on the Ford, if the shoddy build quality doesn't turn you off the 1 wheel drive (no LSD on G6E Turbo) and after sales service will.
I have been to over 10 Ford service centres, and still couldn't find any genuine customer service when it came to warranty repairs.

[Autopia]

Thanks again for all the opinions and feedback. It's been very helpful.
The Ford dealer gave me the G6ET for 3 days to "get a good feel for it". Very generous but in the end it hasn't fully lived up to what I expected.

I take it back tomorrow at 4pm and I'll need to be polite, grateful and diplomatic.
R36 here I come. I hope the waiting list isn't too long for a Biscay Blue wagon with Nav, Dynaudio and power tailgate. Might even look into some after market 19's (see pic)


Cheers
Sean

[Steve]

There wasn't a whole lot on the market that did what we wanted when we ordered the R36. Criteria were a mid sized wagon, comfortable, European (my parents got confused when they drove my Commodore), all wheel drive, and more fuel efficient than my Commodore.

The regular Passat was the right size, but the seats were horrible and the options needed were fairly pricey. The Liberty wasn't large enough or European enough, and had a fairly cheap interior.

That left a few expensive Volvos, a couple of Audis (A6 allroad, Q7 - but we already have one) and very little else.

The dealer didn't know much about the R36 back then but we placed an order on the expectation that the diesel and V6 Passat seat problems would be fixed and more fruit would come as standard. Sure enough, two weeks later VW Australia forwarded the details of the "soon to be announced" R36 to the dealer and we decided to go ahead with the order.

[vwrallycar]

i have to disagree with the ford handling not being very good, try one thats 10 years old, then try a new one, they really are awesome in that department, as with the engine and the 6 speed auto, its the body's build quality that lets the car down.
im looking forward to having a new vw though