USED Volkswagen Passat Saloon (99 - 05)

My car

The car feels very safe at all speeds and with an engine as powerful as a 2.8-litre V6 it's very reassuring. Handling is very good once you have mastered the characteristics of the car, the equipment level is very good, the build quality is exceptional.

When driven hard, the fuel consumption is quite poor. My overall opinion of the V6 Passat is that it is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and a great car to drive.

My car

I picked up an ex-contract-hire vehicle for a song and ran it to 96,000 miles. In the 30,000 miles I drove, reliability was fine but there were the odd glitches: air-mass flow meter, electric front window.

The Passat 1.8T is an excellent vehicle to drive, especially long distances on motorways. The seats are excellent, the cabin is beautifully built and very roomy. Six-hour drives were effortless. Performance is fine: even in the large Passat body, the 150bhp turbo engine (with its flat torque curve) makes for easy overtaking, so much so that Golf GTi owners can get upset.

Only minor gripe is the Climatronic system, which is over-responsive. If you request 1 deg C colder, the system responds by throwing in icy air instantly, which over-cools the cabin, so it then has to correct itself but never quite gets there.

Anyway, if you want a big, quiet, cheap, fast and well-built car, this is a very good choice. Passats are big depreciators compared to Audis and Golfs so grab a bargain.

My car

Engine noises that dealers can't find and solve (but charge for looking).

Costly suspension parts, Nothing like the MPG stated (around town 38mpg, on run 55mph-65mph 47mpg at best nothing like the 60 stated.

Insurance is high on a low BHP engine 90bhp TDI.

Very nice drive, holds road well in wind.

Won't buy another one of these (unless I win lotto to pay for repairs).

My car

I've been very impressed with the build quality and reliability of my present Passat (a 2.0S petrol version first registered as 02).

I driven both versions of the 1.9 TDI because I'm thinking of buying the Highline TDI version. Obviously the 128bhp TDI has a marked edge in performance over the 98bhp TDI but even the 98bhp TDI performs well. Even in heavy traffic conditions I did not feel the diesel engine was too noisy.

The overall build quality is good with the Highline having the benefit of the additional bits and pieces like leather upholstery, 6-changer CD player, reverse warning, heated seats etc.

I've been very impressed with the Passat. My only complaint: I didn't by one sooner!