anoblefox
Veteran Member
WOW what a trunk! Very nice car, good size for our family. I want one bad!
seen a 2012 passat in person yesterday
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snakeye
Veteran Member
Saw it at the dealership I work at a couple days ago as well. First I wondered why everyone was looking at that 2011 Jetta with a modified front grill, thinking it's a GLI or something, but then I saw the tail lights and quickly realized what I was looking at.
It looks quite spacious, and the interior looks and feels more upscale than that of the Jetta, but there's some things I didn't really like, for instance the prop rod, and the loss of the awesome Passat trunk "hinges". Now it comes with the same garbage as the 2011 Jetta, which is a shame.
The exterior of the new Passat is nice, in fact I think it's an upgrade over its predecessor. I think the Jetta (especially its rear) should have looked more like it.
... and yes, what a trunk!
It looks quite spacious, and the interior looks and feels more upscale than that of the Jetta, but there's some things I didn't really like, for instance the prop rod, and the loss of the awesome Passat trunk "hinges". Now it comes with the same garbage as the 2011 Jetta, which is a shame.
The exterior of the new Passat is nice, in fact I think it's an upgrade over its predecessor. I think the Jetta (especially its rear) should have looked more like it.
... and yes, what a trunk!
chemeng1661
Veteran Member
Has any one test driven the 2012 Passat TDI yet?
My local dealer only has the 2.5L boat anchor model. I did not drive the 2.5.
I am considering replacing my Toyota Rav4 to add a second TDI to my garage and would like to solicit this forum's opinion.
My local dealer only has the 2.5L boat anchor model. I did not drive the 2.5.
I am considering replacing my Toyota Rav4 to add a second TDI to my garage and would like to solicit this forum's opinion.
oilhammer
Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
You mean the "fancy" hinges that sieze up and cost several hundred dollars to replace (there is a TSB about this) or the simple hinges that never, ever, ever break, like my 1991 Jetta has?
My '91 also has a hood prop rod... it has never broken either.
Seriously, some things are nice in that they just "work". They may not be pleasant to look at, but...
BlueGraphite'10TDI
Veteran Member
Agreed. They did away with the auto open trunks for 2011? I remember reading they were doing away with the trunk gas shocks, but the trunk too?
EdwinTDi
Well-known member
My 03 passat fancy hood prop busted and the fluid tnat was inside of it leaked out. At that point i wished i had the hood prop that my jetta has now...
Savageman69
Top Post Dawg
2011 jetta still has the auto open trunk and gas shock..just different hinges and only one shock but it works better then my fancy mk4 double shock and folding hinges that seized and had to be replaced...and yes it has a pop rod hood which is fine by me also not gonna have to replace those either
aja8888
Top Post Dawg
I broke the prop rod on a 1999 Civic we had. The darn thing is short (14" long), along the driver's fender nearer the windshield, and has a break point engineered in it.
Good design, lousy place to put the prop rod.
. The darn thing is short (14" long), along the driver's fender nearer the windshield, and has a break point engineered in it. Good design, lousy place to put the prop rod.
snakeye
Veteran Member
I did some camping and moving recently and had my 03 Jetta's trunk packed absolutely full a few times, and I really appreciated its trunk hinges.
BigD23
Active member
I saw one as well at the local dealership. Very sharp looking car. this may be our next family sedan.
oxford_guy
Veteran Member
There are reviews in the TDI News & Tech subforum. I test drove the gas SE (once) and the TDI SEL (twice).
chemeng1661
Veteran Member
I drove the SE over the weekend. Very disappointed. It feels so down market of my current 09 JSW. It is unbelievable how cheap the plastics are in the interior. There are plenty of razor sharp edges (especially the lip where the instruement cluster meets the top dashboard). Definitely overpriced at $30K. I really wanted to like this car.
Lug_Nut
TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 1998
- Location
- Sterling, Massachusetts. USA
- TDI
- idi: 1988 Bolens DGT1700H, the other oil burner: 1967 Saab Sonett II two stroke
How tall was the box you tried to fit into the trunk? The "Fender" audio sub woofer attaches to the underside of the deck, and further reduces the height clearance between the top of the trunk lid sill and the bottom of the rear deck to about 9 (NINE!) inches. Without the woofer it's about 10, but still....
Don't buy a bicycle in a box to assemble at home because it won't fit.
wreck111
Veteran Member
Drove a TDI, power was fine but to much plastic. I cut my finger on a piece by the coin holder. It is sharp over there. Also the glove box was all plastic no felt. The suede seats had already been showing a ton of dirt. If you want a Honda/Toyota this is a nicer car the question is reliability? I'll take my A3 or Golf any day. Much more fun to drive and fely German not a mix of American70% and German!
Wish we got it over here.
The NA Passat is so much nicer and cheaper.
Euro B7 sedan starts at (converted) $35700 (1.4TSI 122hp) resp. $38660 (1.6TDI 105hp).
A full loaded 2.0 TDI 170hp DSG 4motion costs $86550.
The NA Passat is so much nicer and cheaper.
Euro B7 sedan starts at (converted) $35700 (1.4TSI 122hp) resp. $38660 (1.6TDI 105hp).
A full loaded 2.0 TDI 170hp DSG 4motion costs $86550.
oilhammer
Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Cheaper? Sure. Nicer? Don't think so. The ones they had at the auto show last year felt more like an Altima to me. But, as Volkswagen puts it, "It's what the people want". The price reflects its substance, so I really can't knock it.
I too caught my finger on a sharp piece of plastic on the rear door pull.
I too caught my finger on a sharp piece of plastic on the rear door pull.
German_1er_diesel
Veteran Member
American prices don't include VAT, Americans don't get the rebates we typically get but pay much closer to, or even over, list price... in the end, prices are much closer than they look like.
For a pretty identical car, take the American Golf TDI and try to could a similar car in the German VW configurator. You'll come out at about €28 grand. But will you really pay 28k at a VW dealer? NO... after a bit of haggling it will be maybe 23k, 19% of which is MWSt (VAT), so the real pre-VAT price would be about €19k. ($27k) - much closer to the price of an US Golf TDI than the list prices would make you think.
Samcar222
Veteran Member
I sat in an SEL TDI the other day, and liked it... don't hate me
The interior is plain HUGE, but I think it's nice. Little disappointed on the small things: trunk/hood, no rear AC vents, etc. But miles better than cam/cord IMO.
And EPA sticker says 30/40 for DSG.... what is this 30/43 we hear? 6MT??
The interior is plain HUGE, but I think it's nice. Little disappointed on the small things: trunk/hood, no rear AC vents, etc. But miles better than cam/cord IMO.
And EPA sticker says 30/40 for DSG.... what is this 30/43 we hear? 6MT??
German_1er_diesel
Veteran Member
I agree... It looks better than the B7 sedan. The only good looking B7 is the wagon, the huge overhangs don't hurt as much there as on the sedan.
Though... It really needs better looking headlights. HIDs or at least sone halogen projectors.
Though... It really needs better looking headlights. HIDs or at least sone halogen projectors.
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Samcar222
Veteran Member
^^ Yes. HID's, LED signals, chrome in all the right places that only VW knows how to do well.. yeah. US Passat :/
Absolute Diesel
Veteran Member
Not disagreeing but are these similar to the kind of hinges/struts that raise the hatches of wagons and golfs?
oilhammer
Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
No, totally different. If you find an A2 Jetta, you'll see what I mean. Even some lonely forgotten soul in a salvage yard somewhere.. its trunk will still open and hold itself up same as it did the day it was born.
compu_85
Gadget Guy
Ya, the biggest problem you could have is the joint gets squeaky. Really the only thing that can go wrong is if someone tries to close the trunk on something big, and bends the hinges. That had happened to my Audi 5000, but I simply bent the hinge back.
-J
-J
verylongdrive
Veteran Member
But why is it so hard to make doubly-pivoted trunk hinges that work?
I seem to remember that W-Impalas and Buick Centuries have very simple, functional outside-the-seal trunk hinges. I don't remember the mechanism, but given the trunk lid shape, they must have been double-pivoted too, and they appear to work well. Perhaps those parts could be adapted.
Incidentally, GM B-bodies (Caprice and derivatives) have those same big ugly cut-in hinges on the sedan trunk lids (with tension rods for additional wasted space) (wagons, naturally, have shocks that need replacing every 8-10 years).
Their hoods, however, are self-supported using some kind of springs as far as I can tell. We've had a number of these cars, most to well over 200k miles, and never had any trouble with the hood supports.
Are the new Passat hinge arms bolted to the trunk lid or welded?
oilhammer
Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Those GM cars are also built to a much lower tolerance of pieces (look at the way the body parts align with one another). They are also much cheaper, so it stands to reason they would be this way. They also had no trunk lid liners, cheap one-piece nappy felt trunk liners, and usually had no trim at all at the rearward portions. Most folks who purchased cars like that would not have known the difference, but...
The B-body was a huge, heavy aircraft carrier... an extra 20+ pounds of hood hinge was not much worry to the engineers. Cars like that went the way of the dinasaur because of design processes like that. How would you make a 4000 pound car meet CAFE requirements, emissions requirements, and have enough power to move itself in comparison to some of these newer cars?
The B-body was a huge, heavy aircraft carrier... an extra 20+ pounds of hood hinge was not much worry to the engineers. Cars like that went the way of the dinasaur because of design processes like that. How would you make a 4000 pound car meet CAFE requirements, emissions requirements, and have enough power to move itself in comparison to some of these newer cars?
Plus 3 Golfer
Veteran Member
I drove a $33k 2012 Passat TDI last week. Unlike my 2009 TDI, the engine noise is barely audible even on hard acceleration. Most people will not realize its a diesel under the hood. Otherwise, it felt much like my 2009 only larger.
BTW, the HPFP is 03L 130 755 AE. It looks the same as the 03L 130 755 A pumps but supposedly is not a replacement for the "A" pumps.
verylongdrive
Veteran Member
In some ways, the new Passat is a bit Caprice-like compared to other current cars: larger without a price increase, and, particularly un-German, large without being a luxury car. I like that. And then, just as the L99/LT1 engines of the last Caprice years produced great power and quite reasonable fuel economy (particularly compared to the SUVs that replaced it...) at the expense of reliability, the Passat gets the CRD TDI for great fuel economy that's also bought with a cost of maintenance/reliability.
The non-curving dashboard shape really looks a lot like that of a Caprice of decades past; I like that a lot.
I have another problem, however: Fixed-angle headrests.
At a comfortable seatback angle, they push our heads forward uncomfortably.
I am rather hopeful that the post spacing may be common among recent VW products, but are any of the headrests in recent Golfs, Jettas, JSWs, or CCs angle-adjustable and available in leather or leatherette?
Several cars we test-drove recently had this headrest problem; in the new Charger/300 they are allegedly adjustable (but flop forward in an accident) but salesman didn't know how.
On my 01 Golf, it's just stiffly rotatable. Is there some new safety law this forbids this?
The non-curving dashboard shape really looks a lot like that of a Caprice of decades past; I like that a lot.
I have another problem, however: Fixed-angle headrests.
At a comfortable seatback angle, they push our heads forward uncomfortably.
I am rather hopeful that the post spacing may be common among recent VW products, but are any of the headrests in recent Golfs, Jettas, JSWs, or CCs angle-adjustable and available in leather or leatherette?
Several cars we test-drove recently had this headrest problem; in the new Charger/300 they are allegedly adjustable (but flop forward in an accident) but salesman didn't know how.
On my 01 Golf, it's just stiffly rotatable. Is there some new safety law this forbids this?
compu_85
Gadget Guy
Yes, there is a new law regarding headrests, it requires them to be taller and closer to the head.
-J
-J