MY11/12 Passat TSI - Owner opinions - Pros/Cons

[willow]

Hey there VW crew, the Mrs and I are looking to upgrade from our 2005 Golf in the next couple of months as we are about to have a new addition to the family, and as such, a family wagon is now on the cards for lugging a pram around and all the other hoohaa babies seem to require.

Anyway, my wife loves VW so we've been looking closely at the new Passat TSI. We've test driven both the sedan and now the wagon and came away very impressed. It drove really well with good power, it was quiet and comfortable and well equipped for the money.

I've also looked at the Skoda Superb which also drove well, but my wife does not want to know about Skoda, and I did find the Passat the nicer looking of the two cars. I am eligible for a govt fleet discount which applies to both Skoda and VW so I stand to save about $5k on the Passat which is handy.

My question to anyone out there who currently owns one of the new Passat's, is what is it like to own? Has anyone experienced any teething issues with the car in terms of reliability, or has it been a joy to own?

Thanks for reading and hope to hear some replies in due course.

[clip]

Had mine since March and loving it. Very quiet on the road, reasonably comfortable seating, masses of space, good cornering manners, very easy to drive around town or on the highway. Nothing I don't like (except the Stop Start rubbish). No rattles, everything works (even bluetooth & iPod), and no DSG issues (so much smarter than I thought they were).

Have you tried the TDI though? I drove the TSI and found it a little wanting in power. The TDI was much harder off the line, smooth effortless overtaking, and pulling up hills of course where it doesn't seem to notice them. Also getting amazing economy around town and the highway, and I don't drive that quietly.

So no teething problems at all, and a joy to own (just as I fully expected)

[willow]

Thanks for the response clip, appreciate it. Have not driven the diesel yet, I am keen to drive it, but I found the power in the TSI fine for my needs and to be honest, I won't be driving more than 15000km per year, and most of it will be city based so at this stage I don't think the $5k premium for the diesel adds up. As it is I catch the train to work so my mother in law will probably drive the car a couple of days during the week and I'll just use it on weekends. If I could find a good deal on a diesel I may consider it, but at this stage the TSI is the one that makes the most sense.

[guthrie]

I have the 1.8TSI in the old shape Passat. FYI I get around 10l/100km if I have lots of stop start traffic. As soon as I do any freeway or highway driving, it drops to about 7.5l/100km. This is on 95 RON (I haven't found any noticeable difference with 98 RON).

Agree the the TDI has a much greater punch, but I find the TSI is plenty fast enough and is happy overtaking on the highway at 110km/h+.

[willow]

Well I bit the bullet today and left a deposit for a Passat Wagon, TSI in white. No fancy extras fitted but I already plan to look into a Viezu tune later next year along with a set of low beam xenon headlights. I would love to get back into car audio with this car, but alas the mortgage will take precedence. Should pick the car up in the first week of Feb at this stage so looking forward to it.

[bruster]

I have a 2011 candy white TSI and I can honestly say its a fantastic car. I work in sales and I'm averaging 9.6l around town and just 2 days ago coming down to Canberra I managed 6.2 on the highway. There is heaps of power but I feel the first gear is very short and the white Colour is hard to clean. But I find hard to justify the premium price for the diesel at this moment unless petrol prices change dramatically.

[clip]

congrats willow, I'm sure you won't be disappointed! I just came back from Bris today and went the long way over the mountains. Had a blast, I can't believe how much fun you can have in a big oil burner!

---------- Post added at 05:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:39 PM ----------

... the white Colour is hard to clean.

You can treat it yourself with some products (I use Nanolex). My passat's black but easy to keep clean. Bugs and grime just don't seem to stick. A wash and dry is done in about 10 minutes. But there is one or two tricks. Might get around to doing a video to show how good these sort of products work. I've never used them before, just did some research after getting the passat and looking for something to keep them clean.

[dood]

I opted for the sedan tsi after considering most family vehicles in that price range. I also didn't want to spend another 5k for the diesel.

Overall, the car is fanastic. Power is sufficient for my needs, but granted the diesel would be more effortless on hills.

The car feels best on the open road where it just feels luxurious.
For its power and weight, fuel consumption is excellent.

The MDI and bluetooth are fantastic, not having had them in a car before. The sound system is significantly better than the one in our golf 118.

The only gripes I have are:
1. the seats could do with more lateral support. It gives the impression that there is too much body roll on hard cornering, but this is due to the seats more than the car in my opinion. I'm not sure if the seats in the 125 are better in this area.
2. My DSG shudders in the morning. I'm not sure if this is to do with balancing gears with auto choke on a cold engine, but it happens even on warm mornings. I drive up a steep slope so that's probably why the problem is pronounced.

I'd say you'd be very pleased with the car and I can't think of any other car for that price that would be a better overall package.

[willow]

Actually picked the car up last week and loving it so far, although I have been limited to short city trips at the moment. Hoping to take it out on a highway run on the weekend with a bit of luck.

[entice]

I opted for the sedan tsi after considering most family vehicles in that price range. I also didn't want to spend another 5k for the diesel.

Overall, the car is fanastic. Power is sufficient for my needs, but granted the diesel would be more effortless on hills.

The car feels best on the open road where it just feels luxurious.
For its power and weight, fuel consumption is excellent.

The MDI and bluetooth are fantastic, not having had them in a car before. The sound system is significantly better than the one in our golf 118.

The only gripes I have are:
1. the seats could do with more lateral support. It gives the impression that there is too much body roll on hard cornering, but this is due to the seats more than the car in my opinion. I'm not sure if the seats in the 125 are better in this area.
2. My DSG shudders in the morning. I'm not sure if this is to do with balancing gears with auto choke on a cold engine, but it happens even on warm mornings. I drive up a steep slope so that's probably why the problem is pronounced.

I'd say you'd be very pleased with the car and I can't think of any other car for that price that would be a better overall package.

the "$5K" premium for the diesel over the base model is more than just the engine.
Yes, seating is different, Nappa leather, not Vienna.
Foglights, XDL, DSG6 (not DSG7) as well as other perhaps inconsequential aesthetic alterations (wheels, scuff plates, trim etc etc) make up some of the differences.

But yes, I understand, that for most, the difference would be seen as "just the engine"...

either way, they're cracker value, but a massive jump up to the V6 in price (but again, some added fruit also)