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I had a Subaru liberty 3.0R B Spec 6 speed manual wagon but sold it to get the Passat V6 4 Motion wagon. As the Liberty's price on road was about the same as the Passat V6 4 Motion, I think it a fair comparison.
The Subaru was an excellent car but falls down on a few areas and one was the exhaust note, there wasn't any. What I found a little bit strange was that the Liberty 3.0R B Spec was aimed at the sports oriented driver, hence the "B" Spec nomenclature, which adds Bilstein shocks - therefore the "B" Spec - larger brakes, etc. One would think that if you were to purchase one of these cars you would want a nice sporty sounding exhaust rather than the limousine silence that eminated from it. If I wanted a quiet car, I would have purchased the standard spec model.
The Passat's torque is 330Nm and developed at 2750rpm, whereas the Liberty's torque is only 300Nm and developed at a heady 4200rpm!! Power for the Passat is 184Kw @ 6250rpm and the Liberty is 180Kw @ 6600rpm. Suffice to say that once you got the Suby rolling it went like a scalded cat, but it becomes a chore to drive around the city when you have to be on the revs all the time. The Passat, on the other hand, is easy to tootle around in due to the lower developed torque but when you want it to go it will also throw you back in your seat. All you deisel owners will know how good that low down torque is which makes driving in the city easy as, yet it will still get up to a good speed with more than enough urge.
Another bonus in favour of the Passat is the DSG gearbox. What a delight to drive if you like the idea of an auto, but not the slow uptake nor the slushy unconnected feel of an auto. The DSG makes city driving easy, you can still drive it like a manual without the chore of using a clutch, and your gear changes are much quicker! When accelerating hard, there is a relentless and uninterupted surge right the way up to the desired speed due to the imperceptible gear changes of the DSG whether in manumatic or full auto mode.
The carpet was another plus in favour of the Passat over the Subaru, being of much better quality. The Subaru seats were better for side support bolstering and therefore cornering, but the Passat was actually more comfortable to sit in.
Even the Passat bonnet has a gas strut to open it and when you close it, it feels just like another door, solid and firm, whereas the Liberty was still the same old lift yourself bonnet and prop with a brace and slam shut variety. The cargo area has good quality hooks rather than el cheapo hooks in the Suby that wouldn't hold a piece of paper down without breaking.
Looking around the car in, out and underneath, you can see where the extra detail has been looked after as everything has been well made and thought out and fits nicely together.
Fuel economy is a better on the Passat, being around the 10.5lt to 11lt per 100kms average round town compared to about 11.5lt to 12 lt per 100km for the Liberty. On the highway, depending on the average highest speed, I get about 8.0lt - 9lt per 100Km for the Passat and about 9lt - 10lt per 100km for the Liberty.
The Liberty handles better in stock guise and was great fun to get a 4 wheel drift going, but as I added the Haldex controller to the Passat, the handling difference is a little less clear cut. The Passat certainly feels much tighter in the build quality department when pushed hard through the corners.
An interesting side note on the build quality is that the Passat's build seems much better sorted out and feels stronger, especially when opening and closing doors, the tailgate and the bonnet. When I washed the Liberty, water would leak from orifices even well after drying the car which would leave water stains on the paintwork if not dried again later. The Passat does not have any of these "leaking orifices" and once you dry it, it stays that way as the car is better sealed and designed, IMO. Of particular note is the rear tail gate. The Passat's tail gate is welded right across and sealed where the lift handle/number plate lights are and there are no leaking areas for water to escape from, whereas with the Liberty, water would keeps seeping from the rear tail gate orifices and drive me nuts. After washing, water would also leak from many other areas of the Liberty, like the roof bars and the rear vision mirrors. The mirrors of the Passat are much more tightly sealed.
I love the push "key" to start and stop the car instead of having a regular cut type key. No more holes in the trouser pocket from a key poking a hole in it.
It's all the little things that add up to making the Passat a nicer car, not each one in isolation, but when they are all added up it makes the experience of owning the Passat a pleasure - and most probably most of the VW range as well.
All in all, I am very happy with the Passat so far.
The Subaru was an excellent car but falls down on a few areas and one was the exhaust note, there wasn't any. What I found a little bit strange was that the Liberty 3.0R B Spec was aimed at the sports oriented driver, hence the "B" Spec nomenclature, which adds Bilstein shocks - therefore the "B" Spec - larger brakes, etc. One would think that if you were to purchase one of these cars you would want a nice sporty sounding exhaust rather than the limousine silence that eminated from it. If I wanted a quiet car, I would have purchased the standard spec model.
The Passat's torque is 330Nm and developed at 2750rpm, whereas the Liberty's torque is only 300Nm and developed at a heady 4200rpm!! Power for the Passat is 184Kw @ 6250rpm and the Liberty is 180Kw @ 6600rpm. Suffice to say that once you got the Suby rolling it went like a scalded cat, but it becomes a chore to drive around the city when you have to be on the revs all the time. The Passat, on the other hand, is easy to tootle around in due to the lower developed torque but when you want it to go it will also throw you back in your seat. All you deisel owners will know how good that low down torque is which makes driving in the city easy as, yet it will still get up to a good speed with more than enough urge.
Another bonus in favour of the Passat is the DSG gearbox. What a delight to drive if you like the idea of an auto, but not the slow uptake nor the slushy unconnected feel of an auto. The DSG makes city driving easy, you can still drive it like a manual without the chore of using a clutch, and your gear changes are much quicker! When accelerating hard, there is a relentless and uninterupted surge right the way up to the desired speed due to the imperceptible gear changes of the DSG whether in manumatic or full auto mode.
The carpet was another plus in favour of the Passat over the Subaru, being of much better quality. The Subaru seats were better for side support bolstering and therefore cornering, but the Passat was actually more comfortable to sit in.
Even the Passat bonnet has a gas strut to open it and when you close it, it feels just like another door, solid and firm, whereas the Liberty was still the same old lift yourself bonnet and prop with a brace and slam shut variety. The cargo area has good quality hooks rather than el cheapo hooks in the Suby that wouldn't hold a piece of paper down without breaking.
Looking around the car in, out and underneath, you can see where the extra detail has been looked after as everything has been well made and thought out and fits nicely together.
Fuel economy is a better on the Passat, being around the 10.5lt to 11lt per 100kms average round town compared to about 11.5lt to 12 lt per 100km for the Liberty. On the highway, depending on the average highest speed, I get about 8.0lt - 9lt per 100Km for the Passat and about 9lt - 10lt per 100km for the Liberty.
The Liberty handles better in stock guise and was great fun to get a 4 wheel drift going, but as I added the Haldex controller to the Passat, the handling difference is a little less clear cut. The Passat certainly feels much tighter in the build quality department when pushed hard through the corners.
An interesting side note on the build quality is that the Passat's build seems much better sorted out and feels stronger, especially when opening and closing doors, the tailgate and the bonnet. When I washed the Liberty, water would leak from orifices even well after drying the car which would leave water stains on the paintwork if not dried again later. The Passat does not have any of these "leaking orifices" and once you dry it, it stays that way as the car is better sealed and designed, IMO. Of particular note is the rear tail gate. The Passat's tail gate is welded right across and sealed where the lift handle/number plate lights are and there are no leaking areas for water to escape from, whereas with the Liberty, water would keeps seeping from the rear tail gate orifices and drive me nuts. After washing, water would also leak from many other areas of the Liberty, like the roof bars and the rear vision mirrors. The mirrors of the Passat are much more tightly sealed.
I love the push "key" to start and stop the car instead of having a regular cut type key. No more holes in the trouser pocket from a key poking a hole in it.
It's all the little things that add up to making the Passat a nicer car, not each one in isolation, but when they are all added up it makes the experience of owning the Passat a pleasure - and most probably most of the VW range as well.
All in all, I am very happy with the Passat so far.
on your face like me!
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