Jalopnik: Oh boy, a new Passat, for Americans!

Clearly, they saved the $7000 per unit by firing the design team and threw a barbeque grill on a fridge box, telling the engineers to "make it look like that."


At least they're keeping the option for the TDi. I dislike that 5 cyl version; I was amazed to drive a friend's 08 Rabbit with the 2.5 and found that it redlines at 5800 RPM - my 'rev-happy' 4.6 V8 goes to 6.7k. Dissappointing mill, to say the least.
 
It doesn't look bad, generic and boring..yeah...but the materials inside, while probably not ROW Passat levels of quality, look pretty good.

The big question is...will the traditional buyers in this segment gravitate toward VW? With a less than reputable rep for quality here, I sense that it'll take more than a low price to sway buyers who tend to care more about rational issues surrounding car buying. After all, it's why Toyota is drumming the whole "there's more to buying a car besides design or price" thing into people's heads in their current advertising:

 
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I never thought that one day I will find a car less desirable than a Camry. And now, that day has arrived... sadly, VW are not that they were anymore. They are american scrap with a VW logo...
 
Suddenly, the Toyota Camry looks awesome. Thank you, VW.
 
So the Yanks get a complete new modell, which is cheaper and bigger and all we get is a bloody Facelift? wow... The homemarket seems to get less and less important.
 
So the Yanks get a complete new modell, which is cheaper and bigger and all we get is a bloody Facelift? wow... The homemarket seems to get less and less important.

Look at it this way: If it fails, it only costs American jobs :mrgreen:
 
So the Yanks get a complete new modell, which is cheaper and bigger and all we get is a bloody Facelift? wow... The homemarket seems to get less and less important.

That's sort of like complaining about what you're charged for a nice, STD-free hooker in a German brothel when some American can go to a dirty truck stop and get a slightly younger lady made entirely out of syphilis and herpes for $10.
In other words, just because something's cheaper and bigger, doesn't mean it's better. In this case, being cheaper will make it worse.
 
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The funny part is, to get a "new" Passat with anywhere near the interior niceness and performance of the "old" Passat, you'll probably be spending the same amount of money. Only this time, you get something worse.

What I don't get is how they think there's a market for their 5cly engine. Why would anyone buy it? It makes less power than competing base-model 4cyl engines, and gets less fuel mileage too. How do they get away with that!?

And don't get me started on the base 4cyl in the new Jetta. 115 hp? Now-a-days that's just dangerous! Especially since they made the car bigger.
 
The reason for the 5-cylinder base engine, it's in a bunch of non-performance VWs, so it's cheap. It also has more grunt low-down than an Accord or Camry base engine. I know from experience, that the 2.4L Accord has almost nothing until 5,000rpm and the autobox will not kick down properly.
 
They've gotten rid of soft-touch plastic beneath the plastic wood trim, dropped the 2.0T in favour of the (awful) 2.5L, many higher-end features of the EU Passat aren't available anymore such as xenon headlamps and LED running lights, and some options such as satnav are actually worse units than the Golf TDI gets.
 
The reason for the 5-cylinder base engine, it's in a bunch of non-performance VWs, so it's cheap. It also has more grunt low-down than an Accord or Camry base engine. I know from experience, that the 2.4L Accord has almost nothing until 5,000rpm and the autobox will not kick down properly.

And the opposite with the 2.5L 5 banger. Breathless above 4k RPM, and the sound it creates makes me want to put a bullet through the goddamn firewall. Power of a 4 cylinder with the gas milage of a V6...
 
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And the opposite with the 2.5L 5 banger. Breathless above 4k RPM, and the sound it creates makes me want to put a bullet through the goddamn firewall. Power of a 4 cylinder with the gas milage of a V6...

I'm going to wager here that you've never driven a car with the 5-cylinder. While it may not wind out to the moon, it creates more of the power lower down and doesn't need to be pushed hard to get the power out of. As for the sound, it's certainly more unique than the dreary 4-pot from Japan. In a market where everything is bland, being unique is well, different.
 
I'm going to wager here that you've never driven a car with the 5-cylinder. While it may not wind out to the moon, it creates more of the power lower down and doesn't need to be pushed hard to get the power out of. As for the sound, it's certainly more unique than the dreary 4-pot from Japan. In a market where everything is bland, being unique is well, different.

I've driven every car that the 2.5L 5 cylinder is in currently and has been in, and I've borrowed a relative's 5 speed 2.5L Jetta for over 3 months at one point. Sure, it's fine around town, but when it comes time to dance, it's got nothing on either the 2.0T or the 2.4L 190hp Accord, and nowhere near the gas mileage. There's a reason most automakers don't use 5 cylinder gas motors anymore.
 
They've gotten rid of soft-touch plastic beneath the plastic wood trim, dropped the 2.0T in favour of the (awful) 2.5L, many higher-end features of the EU Passat aren't available anymore such as xenon headlamps and LED running lights, and some options such as satnav are actually worse units than the Golf TDI gets.

Honestly, I expected the interior to be worse than this. It looks competitive with the segment's leaders in terms of interior quality (Optima, Fusion, Accord) and while it's not a "class above" interior anymore, it should be fairly well equipped. I to am a bit disappointed with the "cheapo" navigation unit with the small screen. It looks out of place in this car, and i'd get the non navigation touchscreen radio, just to have the larger, nicer head unit. Finally, VW's gonna have to work super hard to let people know that they can get 40 mpg out of a TDI, as the gas models fuel economy is on the lower end of competitive. I know they chose the NA 2.5 because it's a pretty reliable motor and it's cheap to build and maintain for the end user, but the 2.0T model could potentially allow them to "pull a Hyundai" and get impressive mpg numbers.
 
Well, certainly nothing was wrong with the 2.0T as the base motor in the previous car.

And no, the interior isn't awful, it's just not up to the same (very high) standards of the previous two generation. That said, other cars in this segment have also seem to drop in terms of quality. Toyota are using very cheap feeling plastic trim in the Camry now, and the current Accord doesn't seem to have changed in quality since my '99 Accord.
 
There were plenty of problems with the 2.0T, such as the oil consumption and the cam follower, and the HPFP. I'm not saying the engine is rubbish, I love it. However, it is not the wisest business decision for VW, it has been in development for ages and causes too many warranty repairs.
 
When you compare it to previous VW turbocharge plants, it's the most reliable so far, and it's the base motor on nearly every Audi now. The thing is though, if VW want to make it the best standard motor in the world, they are certainly in a position to do so. That's why I don't appreciate them cheaping out on the US Passat and making the 2.5L standard. Will it impact sales? Absolutely not, and enthusiasts will be purchasing the CC anyway. But could they have made it a much more entertaining car? Yes.
 
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