Volkswagen Passat Saloon (2000 - 2005) 1.9 Trendline TDI (130ps) 4d (2005/05) Owner Review
Want to know everything there is to know about this car?
-
Summary
What does this car say about you?
That I've fallen behind with the modern world.
What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?
It's neither exciting nor boring. It's just there - a car that goes from A to B with reasonable comfort.
Would you buy this car again and why?
Did look at buying a newer Passat recently but I would like something a bit more exciting and with a little more headroom in the back.
What are you likely to buy next?
Ford Mondeo or BMW 3 series estate.
-
Buying experience
Type of dealer you bought from?
Franchised
Did you buy this car new?
No
What price did you pay?
£11,500
When did you buy the car?
July 2006
Did you get a good deal and why?
Got a good PX price for my older Ford Mondeo and paid £8500 cash for the Passat.
Is there any special reason why you bought this car?
Performance and economy versus a Golf 1.6 TSI at the time.
What was the dealer like?
Good. I originally went to test drive a Golf 1.6 TSI but was unimpressed with performance and salesman recommended I try a TDI.
-
Driving it
What's it like to drive?
It's a pretty un-interesting drive usually, but it does come alive on motorways and when driving at speed. It has good torque and makes overtaking pretty easy. Town driving can get tiring through and road lumps and bumps are very easily felt. You also have to be careful going over bumps because the front of the car is very heavy and tends to bounce.
What's it like to park?
Visibility is good and parking has never been a problem.
-
Living with it
Have you had any problems with the car?
Yes. Small glitches since I bought it. When it was still under manufacturers waranty, the brake switch failed, then since then it's had some minor glitches, the most recent being a connection failure with a side airbag.
What's most practical about your car?
It's solidly built and quite resilient and the boot has plenty of space even though it's a saloon.
Favourite gadget, option or accessory?
By today's standards, it doesn't have a lot of extras, but I do like the cruise control which I guess you get on pretty much every car these days.
