USED Volkswagen Passat Estate (05 - 11)

My car

I have had the 170 SEL DSG estate for around five months now and have done 15,000 miles.

I moved from a 130bhp diesel Ford Mondeo estate. Having driven this for a while, I would go back to a Mondeo any day. The VW is a much less enjoyable drive. I wouldn't trust the VW in the same way as I did the Mondeo on fast corners.

From the outset I noticed a number of rattles at the front of the cabin. The electronic hand-brake is okay apart from the odd occasion when it doesn't release automatically when driving off.

The hill hold button is to the left of the gear selector (causing you to crane your neck each time you want to see it). Sometimes the hill hold still allows some roll-back (I would much prefer a manual handbrake).

The DSG box is very smooth apart from when starting from stationary. When creeping forward in slow traffic, the whole car learches with the rotation of the engine until such time as there is speed enough for it to go into 2nd gear.

Sometimes when starting on a hill (or having to shift quickly at a Milton Keynes roundabout), the car can start to kangaroo as it struggles to bite. There is no smooth transition when engaging 1st.

I can't complain about the fuel economy (I even got it to 60mpg once on a long run to Scotland and back); normally, it manages around 50mpg on motorways and low- to mid-40s on A-roads. It drinks oil, though.

It's a large car with plenty of space for the kids and camping gear. However, I won't be considering one of

My car

I ordered my Passat to replace a BMW 320d Tourer which was just too small for all the baby bits! I chose the 140PS engine, as I couldn't see any great advantage over the 170PS, and the DSG 'box, which is very smooth. Overall I like the car. The space inside is great & it's very easy to drive & seats are comfortable. I find the steering to be very light & with little feel however. Some of the trim is pretty poor (eg door bin plastic)& despite dealer trying to fix the glovebox rattle I find a piece of cardboard has resolved! I have had the car 8 months now & covered 31,000miles. Predictive servicing is good (21k before needed 1st service) & I am only now changing the front tyres which is excelent. It does like to drink oil (5k per litre) however. I average 40mpg, but it gets driven quite hard. Would probably have another but with some extras. My model misses out on criuse control & parking sensors would be handy - recommend the extra to get the leather trim, as it looks good & is so easy to keep claen, especialy with a young family!

My car

Test drove the estate and was quite happy with it overall. Tried to burn out the clutch a few times with the handbrake appling it's self all on it's own? Steering a bit heavy and well that about it for the gripes. Seat, peddles, s/wheel switches all OK. The engine is sweet and revs all the way round. I wrote about the Mondeo and which one i was going to order. Well it's the passat sallon in the Highline trim, company don't have the estate in the list but thats the one i would choose.

My car

Mine is on a 56 plate and 25,000 miles. I would say it is a very poor replacement for the previous model Passat (03) which I found to be virtually "bomb-proof". Nice looking and not bad to drive, but it is let down badly by the use of poor quality materials, design faults and from what I am now reading, poor quality components.

The interior rattles like a bag of spanners, with dash, glove box, door pillars and now the head-lining all adding to the overall effect. My dealer has tried to fix these faults a number of times, but now say VW have stopped covering rattles after 6 months! Nice.

Front wheels re-aligned twice, but steering is still vague especially in a straight line. Air-Bag and Steering lock faults and now the vehicle is booked in for the infamous fuel pump fault as well as a suspected rear wheel bearing fault. It also drinks oil!

I am driven mad by design faults such as: - Water running straight into the boot when you open the tailgate, and the same off the roof onto the rear seats. Drivers door bin that grabs your wrist if you need to get something out of it (Don’t use it whilst driving!). None of the 12v sockets work with the ignition off. VW are still using those daft rubber windscreen wipers that hop across the screen leaving an un-wiped area right in your line of sight. And what clever clog decided to fit such a large car with a single woefully dim reversing light?

I expected a much better car and won't be replacing it with another Passat.