Road Tests: Long-Term Test

The new generation Passat may be the best example yet — even better than the New Beetle — of VW's remarkable comeback over the last decade or so. Redesigned in 1998, the Passat is a sleek and stylish sedan that has won a drawerful of accolades from the automotive press over the past several years. More than any other vehicle in the VW line, the Passat has helped the company crack the mainstream, offering a sporty alternative to the legion of Accord, Camry and Taurus owners.

But the question of reliability remains. Going up against Honda and Toyota — companies with near-legendary reputations for quality and dependability — is no easy task. Although the Passat drives great and handles the roadway with verve, will it hold up over the long haul?

To test this hypothesis, about six months ago we leased a used 1999 Passat GLS under the company's "VW Certified Pre-Owned" program. The Volkswagen promotional materials emblazon with attractive catch-phrases: "Brand spanking used," "112-point inspection," "two-year/24,000-mile limited warranty," and "24-hour roadside assistance." The brochure also assures us that "only the best cars make the cut" and once again reminds us that the vehicle is "inspected, reconditioned and certified." Gee, we're getting a bad case of the warm fuzzies over here, guys. What does all this mean? This month it fell to Scott Memmer, our Technical Editor, to sift through the marketing mumbo-jumbo and put the Passat through its paces.

First, a disclaimer. Memmer admits he's a total VW fanatic. He goes back to the aircooled, rear-engine days, when a man was a man and a car was a car and a — OK, you get the picture. Anyway, he wanted to like the Passat, and he did. Whether he's being totally objective is for the reader to decide. However, in his defense, our tech editor would like to point out that the Passat has become a quick favorite with our entire staff. With the imminent departure of our long-term 1999 BMW 328i (going back after the completion of its two-year lease; we're grieving), the Passat will become the German standard-bearer for our long-term fleet.

Memmer found little to dislike about this vehicle. It's a fun car to drive. This lines up almost exactly with the driving log of Associate Editor Liz Kim, who borrowed the Passat for a long weekend. Wrote Kim, "The Passat was a blast traveling at uber-speeds on deserted stretches of US 101; the tires were totally planted on the road, and the engine performed admirably. I never missed the power of a V6. The inline-four turbocharged engine was completely sufficient for city driving as well as high-speed passing."

In concurrence, Memmer wrote in his log, "The turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, while not nearly as peppy or powerful as the 2.8-liter six-cylinder powerplant that comes in the GLX model, serves the car well. With the five-speed manual tranny in our GLS, a lot of power gets delivered to the wheels."Memmer also noted that, "It's not impossible to get a little squeal from the tires when shifting from first to second (although I would never do this; I overheard some other editors talking). The engine," he continued, "provides a surprisingly aggressive power curve as it moves through its rpm range." Our tech editor especially appreciated the useable power from 4,000 to 6,000 rpm, where the turbo kicks in and throws you back in the supple, black leather seats. Fun stuff.

The Passat is attractive inside and out and reeks of class. There are only a few places throughout the cabin where this is not true. The cupholders, which have been commented upon by other editors, are a joke. Wrote Kim in her log, "I had to make a point of making sure that all my liquid comestibles were lidded, no thanks to the poorly designed cupholder; last month I put an open soda can there, and through a sharp turn, the contents roiled and landed on the stereo. There's still a sticky feeling to some of the buttons. I didn't want to take a chance of that happening again." Which brings to mind a few questions: Do Germans drivers never get caught in traffic jams where they require a little refreshment? When they do, do they use coffee cups larger than a thimble? OK, so we're exaggerating to make a point, but the cupholders in this car are flat-out inadequate.

Memmer must also comment upon the stereo. In our 2000 Family Car Comparison Test, he rated it pretty high. He still likes the system a lot (although he has an ongoing debate about this with Editor-in-Chief and avowed bassaholic, Chris Wardlaw: "No, Chris, not everyone listens exclusively to Prince"), but there are a few things he's noticed.

For one, FM reception is poor. Wardlaw himself commented upon this about six months ago, when we first acquired the vehicle, and Memmer agrees.

Second, our tech editor struggled to use the controls on the radio. Number six preset has a very flat, unresponsive feel to it. Maybe this is due to Kim's soda accident, maybe not. Memmer's teenaged daughter observed, "It feels cheap." Anyway, our tech editor found the overall appeal of the faceplate less than ideal. The system sounds great, but the head unit needs to go back User-Friendly School.

Our Technical Editor had two minor, but nonetheless annoying, service issues to deal with in our long-term Passat this month. Traveling at a rapid clip on the 118 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley, the front-passenger tire suddenly lost pressure. Memmer pulled over as quickly as he could, but not soon enough to save the tire: It had lost all its air, and the sidewall had shredded. He threw on the full-sized spare and piloted the car to Stokes Tire Pros in Santa Monica, where they replaced the tire with an identical Continental Contact Touring CH95 (size 195/65HR15). Total cost: $92.67. The technician at Stokes inspected the old tire, pointed out the puncture to Memmer, and said it was not covered under warranty.

We also had an overheating problem with the Passat this month. Memmer started the car one morning at 6:00 a.m. — his usual departure time for commuting into the office — when he noticed a warning light on the dash. The light indicated a problem with the cooling system. Our Technical Editor let the car idle for a few minutes, checking the temperature gauge and other meters, and eventually the light went out. He drove the car without incident, making one stop on his way into the office. After the stop, the warning light came on again, but, as before, went off after a few minutes. Then, after driving several more miles, it blazed on with a vengeance, bells and whistles going off in the cabin like a Chernobyl rerun. Memmer was able to nurse the Passat into Santa Monica Volkswagen, right around the corner from our editorial offices, where our long-term Passat underwent open-hood surgery.

It was a minor procedure — a sensor that, according to the service writer, "tricked the car into thinking it was overheating." (Apparently, this sensor was not covered in the "112 -point inspection. Maybe they should make it 113 points.) That wasn't the biggest problem, though. While writing up the service order, our tech editor had neglected to inform the service advisor that we had bought our car as a "VW Certified Pre-Owned" vehicle. In fact, our tech editor didn't remember this until after he'd retrieved the vehicle and paid $96.57 in out-of-warranty service charges (we also had the right headlight replaced), which precipitated a series of phone calls back and forth to the dealership. It took almost three weeks to sort this all out, with the dealership dropping the ball several times and having to be prodded back into action.

Eventually, it turned out that the temperature sensor ($24.00) and the readiness code reset charge ($16.00) were covered under the limited warranty, so we got a refund of $40.00. But it took several weeks to accomplish this.

Which raises an interesting question. If an automaker is serious about offering "certified, pre-owned" vehicles for sale, shouldn't they cover the customer on the back end? In other words, shouldn't their system have a way to flag the VIN when a "certified" car comes in for service? According to our service advisor at Santa Monica Volkswagen, the German automaker has no such provision in their network. It's strictly up to the customer to "remind" the service department that the car is covered. So, what, if you forget, you're screwed?

Does this strike anyone as messed up? After all, when you buy a new car, you don't have to remind the service department that it's under warranty. The system catches it. Or does VW want to just take the money and run? The company spent some serious coin on cooking up some juicy marketing phrases for its "Certified" sales brochure. What about a little service after the sale?

Now admittedly, our tech editor was at fault for not bringing up the warranty situation at the time of the visit. He accepts all the mea culpas and "you've-been-a-bad-boys" tossed in his direction. But isn't the whole reason you buy a "certified" vehicle to avoid such hassles? And shouldn't a company like VW, one of the largest automakers in the world, have a system in place to service these customers?

After we went through this exercise with VW, we made a call to a source at a local Lexus dealer. He told us the Lexus certified program works the same way, that the customer must notify the service advisor at the time of the visit to assure coverage under the "certified" program. The reason? The local dealership computer system is typically not hooked up to the Lexus national network. Once notified, the service advisor must log onto the "national" computer to check out the service status of the car.

This still seems screwy to us. We'll be doing a full-length feature article on this topic in the coming weeks, so keep on checking our Features department.

In spite of this, Memmer loved the Passat to death and couldn't get enough of it.

He'll leave the final word for our Associate Editor, Liz Kim, who wrote in the logbook: "I feel this car offers little compromise. It's sleek and pleasing on the outside, totally functional (save for the aforementioned cupholder) on the inside, and its engine is a sweetheart. And for cryin' out loud, the thing is affordable!"

Current Odometer: 31,659
Best Fuel Economy: 30.7 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 23.6 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 25.6 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: $149.24 (replaced right headlight and right-front tire)
Problems: Engine temperature sensor needed replacement.