compu_85
Gadget Guy
Crossed the first 1,000 miles on the way to work this morning:
I thought this would be a good time to share my thoughts about this car.
Overall I am thrilled with the 2012 Passat. The ride is controlled and comfortable, there's tons of interior space, and the control layout is excellent. I like the change to the high beam switch... it returns to center now rather than staying pressed in, which means the stalk is always in the same place. The Climatronic seems to do a great job, and the air conditioner blows nice and cold.
I love the weight of the steering. The assist curve the computer uses is perfect... extra help when in the parking lot without being too much, and still enough assist on the highway. The steering rate is excellent. The car also corners very flat and has enough feedback for my taste.
Personally, I don't think I'll make any changes to the suspension... I like it just the way it is. There's enough clearance I don't bang the car into dips and speed bumps but it's not super tall. I think VW set the car up with stiff springs, but soft bushings. Whatever they did it worked and I hope it holds up for many miles. The suspension doesn't completely squat down when you fill the car with people and stuff... a nice change from the Mercedes. The car handles great and seems to love powering around corners!
Initially I was worried about how the DSG would handle traffic... those worries are totally gone now. The DSG exceeds every expectation I could have had. It seems to always be in the right gear, Sport mode does exactly what I would like, it's smooth and precise, and even does OK starting out on steep hills! The take off from a stop when you just lift your foot off the brake is a bit quicker than I would like... it was always nice to be able to creep with a normal automatic. But it's a very minor thing and just requires a bit of planning to leave enough space behind the car ahead.
I'm still on my first fillup. According to the MFI, which I think is accurate, the car does great on fuel. So far on this tank it says 41... and that's with about 50/50 city and highway. I'm blown away that a large car with an automatic transmission could do so well.
The Hankook tires are a bit of a let down. They do OK in most driving situations, but are very noisy on rough pavement surfaces. The rest of the car being so quiet just makes this worse. So far they are riding smooth and seem to have good grip though.
When I got the car I turned the headlight voltage up to 13v from the stock 12.6v setting. I have no complaints about brightness... and I like how wide the pattern is. The automatic lights work perfect... they turn on exactly when I would be clicking the switch on anyway. I do wish they turned on more readily when the wipers were on, but that's very minor. Speaking of the wipers, the rain sensor works great!
The range on the remote controls is excellent, and I love how the trunk lid opens completely when popped. I also like how deep the trunk is... great for moving servers I also like how the doors shut so easily, they kind of spring closed when you get them most of the way shut.
I do miss the front height adjustment feature on the power seat. I also wish the steering wheel came out just a bit further. The brake feel is a bit odd too... sometimes when coming to a quick stop it feels like the assist gets less. The car stops fine... I guess it's something with the emergency brake assist?
I feel like VW spent a lot of time with QC at the new American plant. The build quality on this car seems very very good. Apart from a very small rattle in the sunroof when the vent is up the interior is squeak and rattle free. All the trim has a nice look and feel, and all the buttons feel great too... properly weighted. I did have the trim piece at the front of the driver's seat track break when I moved the seat forward... I'll have this fixed at the first "check up".
VW did a great job with the driving feel of this car. You really fell like you're the one in control... not the computers. I have not been able to tell when the car is doing a regen while driving. I think I interrupted one as I was parking this morning... the fans were running after I turned the car off and I could feel a lot of heat coming from under the car.
So that was kind of a rambling review, and I'll probably add more as I think about it. Overall I love the car, and hope the next 100,000 miles goes as smooth as the first 1,000!
Thanks,
-Jason
I thought this would be a good time to share my thoughts about this car.
Overall I am thrilled with the 2012 Passat. The ride is controlled and comfortable, there's tons of interior space, and the control layout is excellent. I like the change to the high beam switch... it returns to center now rather than staying pressed in, which means the stalk is always in the same place. The Climatronic seems to do a great job, and the air conditioner blows nice and cold.
I love the weight of the steering. The assist curve the computer uses is perfect... extra help when in the parking lot without being too much, and still enough assist on the highway. The steering rate is excellent. The car also corners very flat and has enough feedback for my taste.
Personally, I don't think I'll make any changes to the suspension... I like it just the way it is. There's enough clearance I don't bang the car into dips and speed bumps but it's not super tall. I think VW set the car up with stiff springs, but soft bushings. Whatever they did it worked and I hope it holds up for many miles. The suspension doesn't completely squat down when you fill the car with people and stuff... a nice change from the Mercedes. The car handles great and seems to love powering around corners!
Initially I was worried about how the DSG would handle traffic... those worries are totally gone now. The DSG exceeds every expectation I could have had. It seems to always be in the right gear, Sport mode does exactly what I would like, it's smooth and precise, and even does OK starting out on steep hills! The take off from a stop when you just lift your foot off the brake is a bit quicker than I would like... it was always nice to be able to creep with a normal automatic. But it's a very minor thing and just requires a bit of planning to leave enough space behind the car ahead.
I'm still on my first fillup. According to the MFI, which I think is accurate, the car does great on fuel. So far on this tank it says 41... and that's with about 50/50 city and highway. I'm blown away that a large car with an automatic transmission could do so well.
The Hankook tires are a bit of a let down. They do OK in most driving situations, but are very noisy on rough pavement surfaces. The rest of the car being so quiet just makes this worse. So far they are riding smooth and seem to have good grip though.
When I got the car I turned the headlight voltage up to 13v from the stock 12.6v setting. I have no complaints about brightness... and I like how wide the pattern is. The automatic lights work perfect... they turn on exactly when I would be clicking the switch on anyway. I do wish they turned on more readily when the wipers were on, but that's very minor. Speaking of the wipers, the rain sensor works great!
The range on the remote controls is excellent, and I love how the trunk lid opens completely when popped. I also like how deep the trunk is... great for moving servers I also like how the doors shut so easily, they kind of spring closed when you get them most of the way shut.
I do miss the front height adjustment feature on the power seat. I also wish the steering wheel came out just a bit further. The brake feel is a bit odd too... sometimes when coming to a quick stop it feels like the assist gets less. The car stops fine... I guess it's something with the emergency brake assist?
I feel like VW spent a lot of time with QC at the new American plant. The build quality on this car seems very very good. Apart from a very small rattle in the sunroof when the vent is up the interior is squeak and rattle free. All the trim has a nice look and feel, and all the buttons feel great too... properly weighted. I did have the trim piece at the front of the driver's seat track break when I moved the seat forward... I'll have this fixed at the first "check up".
VW did a great job with the driving feel of this car. You really fell like you're the one in control... not the computers. I have not been able to tell when the car is doing a regen while driving. I think I interrupted one as I was parking this morning... the fans were running after I turned the car off and I could feel a lot of heat coming from under the car.
So that was kind of a rambling review, and I'll probably add more as I think about it. Overall I love the car, and hope the next 100,000 miles goes as smooth as the first 1,000!
Thanks,
-Jason