New Passat 206TSI R-Line

[chopper]

Ha Ha Chopper.

No can do. My wife tells me I only have one garage with space for one car. She would not tolerate me having a brand new car stuck out on the roadside every day.

So even with such a generous genleman like yourself who would willingly stump up for the 206 TSI on my behalf, I would have to very reluctantly pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity.

But thank you again chopper your great suggestion will be remembered for a long time to come.

Best wishes,
David

Sell house. Buy another. Two garage spots. Problem solved. You're welcome... again!

[Delewin]

Too complicated. Maybe sell wife only need one car. Problem solved. Hmm... maybe not. Still have problem. Now got angry wife as she saw this thread.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[snala]

Hi everyone. I'm from NZ and have had one of these for a while so might add some value to the new guys here that have just got theirs. Sorry it is quite long but.....
Done 11,000kms in mine and came from an Octavia VRS as wanted to back to AWD and petrol and we only get the TDI AWD Octavia VRS wagons here with DSG which I didn't want.
So far, once I got over the fuel consumption coming back to petrol which actually isn't bad probably for a 280BHP car. I'm getting 9L per 100kms average. Other thing here is fuel tank is quoted at 66L, it is not, it is at least 70L and a range of over 750kms touring which I've done more than once on ski trips.
Driving modes are good, ECO is weird with free wheeling and takes a bit of getting used to but combined with adaptive cruise is probably bearable it although I think it makes not much difference to economy and you are always on the brakes when in town as no engine braking. Comfort setting is great for the crap roads we have over here around town when not going quick. Mostly use normal as its the best compromise but if on a really windy road will go to Sport as it makes the car handle a bit quicker and flatter as this is still a biggish car compared to the VRS and you do notice it although ride quality is better everywhere as are NVH levels. Sport also makes the exhaust sound better when changing gears up and down which is the reason for the flaps on the outer two exhaust pipes, yes this has 4 like a Golf R does.
LEDs are excellent colour wise for long night journeys and very bright especially when straight back at you on reflective signs but possibly don't have quite as far a range as Xenons but definitely more light as a wall otherwise. To adjust the LEDs height, you use a large Allen key turning anti clockwise on the Top (not side) white adjuster on each unit. Try turning 90 degs at a time and go for a drive to see then add more if necessary. VW stuffed doing mine twice so badly they hardly went 20m in front of the car on dipped! So I sorted myself as they are aimed too short set stranded compared to normal lights so I've spent a bit of time getting right.
Heated Seats are good and the memory function on those combined with the keys, radio/infotainment and mirrors is nice to have too.
Keyless entry and not having to ever touch the park brake when stopping or starting due to auto hold, which I thought was just over kill, is actually on an auto really useful too.

Other thing I'll answer is why this over 206 Superb for me. Love Skodas and happily would have bought Superb instead but:
Adaptive cruise controls in VW on steering wheel are much better to use than stalk in Skoda, you will use it a lot, esp in traffic jams because it is the ducks nuts let alone the car steering itself!
Steering wheel is nicer in VW IMO as well
Inner rooflining in Skoda is light brown, this is dark like VRS was which I prefer.
Seats on this go much lower, have more adjustments and are more comfortable, massaging function too.
This has a better dashboard,
Superb does not have the progressive steering which is a major difference after having it in VRS, I would not want to give this up.
VW's LEDs lights are better overall than Xenons are.
Superb is bigger but i didn't need it and I wonder if VW handles slightly better as a result as it felt like it to me?
VW was cheaper price overall as got an ex demo so price wasn't an issue, $5k NZD diff otherwise in favour of Skoda.
Skoda did have better Audio though(Canton with Sub), umbrellas, and the silly ambient lighting stripes over here but I didn't care.

It's quite quick too but very dependent on how much you push on the accelerator as the DSG is pretty orientated towards fuel economy. I've never had a car that is so reliant on accelerator position as to how if reacts gearbox wise if that makes sense. The DSG S setting is there as are the paddles too but once you know how the throttle position impacts the gears its just as easy to use D as performance isn't far off going feral in sport which just revs for Africa and is bit annoying. Another tip is to go back into Drive quickly from a manual selected gear you just pull back the gear selector or hold down the right paddle.

Hope this helps with some questions. Happy to answer anything as these are great cars.

[Janko]

Thanks Snala for a good writeup of your experience.Does the 206 have autodimming headlights?

[snala]

Thanks Snala for a good writeup of your experience.Does the 206 have autodimming headlights?

If you mean auto on/off due to light yes, but mine does not have the auto high beam assist i.e controls the high beam when it detects oncoming traffic etc.

[Wynnston]

Is the white ambient lighting like the lighting strips in the Golf's? Or is it just interior LED lights? If any of the 206 owners get a chance, could you take an image of the interior at night? It's so hard to tell what's what when all the reviews are generally on Euro cars with more options than they give us in Australia.

[Wynnston]

Does anyone know if the headlights are the full LED Adaptive lights where the beam stays on high beam and then adjusts when there is an oncoming car, or does it have just static LED headlights?

[INASNT]

Interested to hear once someone has done even a stage 1 tune APR or similar and if the car feels more like a Golf R than in standard tune as the Passat would be focused more toward the older gentlemen/woman.

Guessing the suspension tuning even set to sport will be a lot softer than the Golf R. Driven the previous Passat CC in sport mode, very soft compared to my Golf R.

[snala]

Does anyone know if the headlights are the full LED Adaptive lights where the beam stays on high beam and then adjusts when there is an oncoming car, or does it have just static LED headlights?

Mine only has the standard adaptive cornering 4x LED lights, the outside two move around, the middle two don't.
No matrix or high bean assist on mine.

[tigger73]

Interested to hear once someone has done even a stage 1 tune APR or similar and if the car feels more like a Golf R than in standard tune as the Passat would be focused more toward the older gentlemen/woman.

Guessing the suspension tuning even set to sport will be a lot softer than the Golf R. Driven the previous Passat CC in sport mode, very soft compared to my Golf R.

Hopefully the Passat 206 doesn't come with the soundaktor for additional artificial engine noise.

[chopper]

Is the white ambient lighting like the lighting strips in the Golf's? Or is it just interior LED lights? If any of the 206 owners get a chance, could you take an image of the interior at night? It's so hard to tell what's what when all the reviews are generally on Euro cars with more options than they give us in Australia.

The best I could do with my phone (an iPhone 7Plus... so apparently improved low light photos. Pig's arse!). The ambient lighting is in the foot wells, the door grab handles and under the aluminium strips on the doors (though not in / under the dash aluminium strip, like the Superb). You can adjust intensity through the centre screen... but it's a fixed white colour. Any other colour would be stupid anyway...



Edit:- I have no idea why they're coming out upside down!

[chopper]

Does anyone know if the headlights are the full LED Adaptive lights where the beam stays on high beam and then adjusts when there is an oncoming car, or does it have just static LED headlights?

Overseas, the Passat has two different LED Headlights. The basic set - dynamic cornering (swivel into corners, which Aus. cars have) and the full blown matrix Audi-style ones which adapt to oncoming cars during high-beam (I wish!).

[chopper]

Interested to hear once someone has done even a stage 1 tune APR or similar and if the car feels more like a Golf R than in standard tune as the Passat would be focused more toward the older gentlemen/woman.

Guessing the suspension tuning even set to sport will be a lot softer than the Golf R. Driven the previous Passat CC in sport mode, very soft compared to my Golf R.

Who are you calling old?!

Yes... even in sport, the suspension is softer than my GTI in comfort (both have adaptive dampers).

Interestingly... because the 206TSI has the adaptive dampers, it doesn't get the lowered suspension of the other models with the 'R-Line' pack. I assume they can't / don't fit the lowered springs with the adaptive setup (remembering, overseas this is an option you can order with the regular car).

The result is the 206TSI sits 15mm higher than other B8 Passats with the R-Line pack. While you'd think this might be a problem, the fact is it looks fine... but the big plus is the extra suspension travel you get. I can hit bumps (like my driveway) at full speed, which used to bottom out my GTI. I was slightly annoyed when I found out about it... now, I'm a massive fan!

[chopper]

A drive in the country...

[Wynnston]

Thanks for that. Appreciate it a lot!

Car looks nice. I'm not far off pushing the go button on a White Sedan w/Sunroof. Somewhat disappointed that they remove features from the car which don't really cost them much more if anything. What I would love (but it's missing)

- Interchangeable ambient lighting
- Matrix Headlights instead of the std LED ones
- Traffic Jam Assist (possible VCDS tweak)
- Road Sign Recognition (possible VCDS tweak)

Either way, it's a nice car and I'm looking forward to it. I've just got to complete the sale of another vehicle.

I'm 30 so I guess I might help dampen the old man mentality of Passat owners