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Currently looking at one of these as the main family car. It will mainly be used for town driving with occasional long runs on motorway/dual carriageway use and will definitely do under 10,000 miles a year. So anyone got one or had one with any good and bad things to say? Is the 2litre a better option?
I've not heard of that engine in a Passat, (in fact, I'm not aware they make a 1.6 diesel). Do you mean the 1.9?
Nice engine. I think a lot of people would consider it pretty old fashioned now, but I had one in an Octavia, and preferred it to a 2.0 purchased subsequently. Never had a Passat. From here I understand rain water drainage issues are probably the biggest issue.
Well theres 608 1.6l Passats on Autotrader right now.....
£30 road tax, Bluemotion, start/stop and from around £4.5k - a bargain tbh.
I've not heard of that engine in a Passat, (in fact, I'm not aware they make a 1.6 diesel). Do you mean the 1.9?
It's their eco friendly Blue Motion diesel. They've had them in A3s and Golfs too rather numb for no real benefit in fuel economy.
Ah right. Sorry. At least I bumped your thread OP!
I have a 2011 Passat (2.0l) and a friend has a Golf estate with the 1.6 diesel. Got to say I've been very impressed when I've been in the Golf, quiet, smooth and pulls very well. Only a tiny bit smaller than the Passat.
And my Passat is great for just chucking stuff in/on and trundling all round Europe as well as shooting round the motorway network for work. Very comfy and no-fuss transport.
Put the 2 together and I'm sure you're on to a winner 😀
Button handbrake? If so I'm out!
Used button hand brakes on a number of hire cars & though I'm no fan, the passat seemed to have the worst system available
(may well have improved but I still wouldn't)
No handbrake at all - all automatic. Wouldnt have anything else now, its so easy. No problems with 2 passats over 6 years.
Edit - except no good for handbrake turns in snowy carparks 😥
Ours (2010 2.0 TDI though) was a very good car, and I'd imagine the cost saving for the 1.6 would be worth it. The 2.0 was never exciting so not sure why we went for the bigger engine. Ultimately, when faced with a £3k repair bill (known fault with AC compressor, and a very rapid culmination of wear and tear stuff), we decided to trade it in at a garage very far away for something more exciting. I'll also hasten to add it saved my 7 month pregnant wife's life in a nasty accident.
ETA: Electric handbrake was great, and never had any problems. Taxi drivers round here reckoned they only broke if you pulled away too quickly (not giving it chance to release fully).
I have the automatic handbrake in my Golf it's requires no thought at all so far caused no issues.
I've not heard of that engine in a Passat, (in fact, I'm not aware they make a 1.6 diesel). Do you mean the 1.9?Nice engine. I think a lot of people would consider it pretty old fashioned now
That's cos the 1.9 is the old fashioned PD engine, not been used for ooh, 7 or so years now.
The 1.6 is a common rail job. Much as I like diesels I'd not get one if I was doing mostly town.
I wouldn't rule out that engine in a Passat, but I probably would rule out diesel completely for <10k miles/year and mainly town driving.
A friend of mine had one, he hated the engine. He was coming from a 2.0 Tiguan and felt the 1.6 Passat was gutless in comparison, so I suppose it depends on what you're used to. Other than that he rather like it and frequently raved about the DSG gearbox.
If I remember correctly he went from that to an A3 saloon 1.4 TSI which he much prefered and according to him at least, returned similar MPG.
It's 105bhp, and I felt 105 bhp wasn't enough even for me in the 1.9 Passat.
Can't comment about that engine in the Passat, however in the Golf the 1.6 delivered 62 mpg over 33k miles (70:30 urban/motorway), compared to the previous Nissan that failed to make 50mpg
The DSG gearbox + adaptive cruise control is an excellent combination
on the VW's I'd recommend a test drive
Adaptive cruise is OK, DSG is the work of the devil.
Personally not a fan of any auto, but the DSG cars I have driven, with the exception of the one on an Audi R8V10, have been underwhelming to say the least. Particularly when manoevering at slow speeds on slopes. I live on a slope.
May be OK in warranty, but they don't have a good reputation in older cars.
Not a fan. Just in case you hadn't noticed.
The 1.6 engine of that era is quieter and smoother than the 2l diesel, and can give excellent mileages on even quite big vehicles if driven carefully.
All IMHO of course
The DPF will likely not like the kind of driving you're talking about and they can expensive to sort. I'd be doing petrol for that sort of mileage, you'll pay more at the pump but less at purchase and likely to have less large maintenance bills.
I've not tried that combination, but it's not best suited to your intended use, diesels don't perform as well around town driving, performance or economy wise. What do VW offer in petrol for the Passat? I'd bet they're rarer, but cheaper!
Btw I'm a diesel fan and haven't owned a petrol car in nearly 10 years, but i rarely drive in town.
Test drove a golf with the 1.6tdi and it was quite perky. However the revised 2012 Passat estate I got added 300kg and blunted any performance although I found it ok to drive. Perfectly fine on the motorway when up to speed but else where over takes needed planning. Forget about the 60mpg in the real world - I think I got that indicated once. More like low to mid 50's. However around town it never really dipped below 45.