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Road Tests: Long-Term Test
1999 Volkswagen Passat GLS
October 2000
By editors at Edmunds.com
Date Posted 11-15-2002
Only
two months into our two-year Passat lease, and
the car is already establishing itself as a staff
favorite. For the month of October, the silver
Volkswagen spent time in the care of executive
editor Karl Brauer. He generally puts only city
miles on a car as his 12-mile roundtrip commute
in West Los Angeles leaves little opportunity
for long highway jaunts or twisting canyon runs.
Despite this, he had some strong opinions after
four weeks of Fahrvergnugen.
"I
think it's very cool that, for once, the base
engine in a given model is actually fully capable
of propelling the car while not consistently reminding
the driver that he or she bought the 'cheap' or
'base' model. The 1.8T in our Passat is no rocket
ship, but it has enough authority to scoot through
L.A. traffic and easily merge at freeway speeds.
Careful gear selection and clutch operation can
almost neutralize lag, and once the car's rolling
it never feels slow. Also, the black interior
is really dark. I mean, it's like a black hole
in there. Basically, there are no contrasting
panels or materials to break up the blackness.
Personally, I don't mind it. I grew up driving
muscle cars and my favorite interiors were the
all black ones that looked stark and uncluttered.
My only concern is for people living in hot, humid
climates without a covered parking space. Park
this thing in a mall in Huntsville, Ala., for
eight hours in August, and the steering wheel
might melt. Even if it doesn't, you're going to
want to open the doors and sunroof and wait a
few minutes for the furnace to cool. Thankfully,
you can do this with the key without ever getting
inside the car. You could also just get the tan
leather interior, instead.
"I find the seating very comfortable and the overall
interior materials quite attractive. I also appreciate
the upscale touches like the articulating headrests,
fat steering wheel rim, soft touch plastic everywhere,
and stereo system that sounded better than a '98
Passat wagon I drove two years ago. Last, but
not least, I love the gauge lights. The purple
and red manages to be both cool looking AND effective
(how often can you say that about a vehicle's
interior design?). I don't tend to be a big believer
in DRLs, but I found myself turning on the headlights
for the slightest reason ('Hey, the sun just went
behind a cloud, better flip on the lights') just
to see the glowing red needles. Volkswagen claims
this style of gauge lighting increases the cluster's
visibility and thus the car's safety, meaning
they are cool, functional, and safe." Brauer
did note that the Passat's dark tinted windows,
which he theorized must be close to the legal limit
in terms of tinting, would help allay a temperature
build-up even in desert climates, but in temperate
Los Angeles, parked either in an underground parking
structure or Brauer's home garage, interior heat
buildup was not an issue. However, he did have an
issue with the clutch.
"The
clutch, I believe, is worn. The pedal moves too
far off of the floor before engagement begins,
and then it engages too abruptly. So abruptly,
in fact, that I found myself squealing the front
tires several times when I first got the car.
The combination of turbo power and late clutch
take-up made it tough to get a smooth launch from
a dead stop at first. I immediately had my suspicions
of clutch wear, but a quick trip in our LT Celica
confirmed it when, by comparison, the Toyota's
clutch was progressive and easily modulated. The
situation is not dire, and if I owned the car
I would probably continue to hold out for a while,
but a new clutch would improve the car's drivability."
Besides
a questionable clutch, various drivers noted a few
other negative points this month. Brent Romans found
the suspension to be a bit harsh over certain types
of bumps and that too much road shock gets transmitted
into the cabin. Brent theorized that this is contributing
to some of our Passat's rattles. He also noticed
on a cool morning that the rear defroster took its
sweet time to clear the foggy back window, though
the heated seats on this same morning effectively
toasted his tush.
It should probably be mentioned at this point that
Volkswagen has since addressed many of the gripes
we have with our 1999 Passat. As one of our readers
was quick to point out after perusing last month's
introduction, items like an improved climate control
location (now moved to the top of the center stack),
an improved key fob and a separate trip computer
and clock display that allows drivers to view them
both at the same time were added for 2000. This
same reader noted several other items, like automatic
climate control, steering wheel radio controls,
and an in-dash CD player, that are available either
as dealer-installed options or as standard equipment
on higher-end GLX trim Passats. Our editor-in-chief,
and the author of last month's introduction, responds:
"Our
commentary, however lacking in information on
changes since 1999 that may have improved matters,
is still relevant to shoppers of used 1998 and
1999 Passats, of which there are more on the market
today than 2000 and 2001 models. Also, much of
what we noted is STILL relevant to buyers of the
2001 GLS turbo. Readers need to understand that,
at the end of the test, we will be sure to include
a list of changes/updates/modifications to the
Passat since 1999. But for the next 22 months,
our commentary will likely be restricted to reviewing
the car we're actually testing — the 1999
Volkswagen Passat GLS turbo. Not the 1999 GLS
V6. Not the 1999 GLX. Not Passats built since
1999. Not Passats built before 1999. It is my
view that while specific complaints may be restricted
to our exact model year and trim level of car,
overall commentary and impressions will be applicable
to a wide range of Passats, 1998-2002. And that
is the point of this long-term test." When
the Passat went away at the end of the month, Karl
was left with generally warm, fuzzy feelings about
it.
"Basically,
this is the type of car I would buy if I had to
spend my own money. It's not very expensive, yet
the interior materials, performance, ride quality,
roominess and exterior styling make it feel like
a premium automobile. In fact, an argument could
be made that Audis are an exercise in redundancy
(or even expensive redundancy) now that Volkswagen
has upped the content of their models in the last
few years." Current
Odometer: 24,292
Best Fuel Economy: 29.5 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 19.3 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle):
26.1mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: None
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