2012/13 VW Pasaat is really growing on me

[Bkr11]

I admit the styling is understated, but a TDI SEL that has nice pickup and good torque seems like a safer option than the other cars I've been considering (2013 Lincoln MKZ hybrid or Ford Fusion Hybrid). Can give that technology a little more time to mature and in the interim get good commuter car, solid engine and a HUGE back seat. Now to sell the wife on this over an Audi A6...

 

[crystal_planet]

The Passat and the A6 are the same car. Or at least they used to be. Just like the A4/Jetta. Hmmm, looks like the A6 is just a wagon now.

 

[krystea]

I don't know the correlation between the Audi and VW chassis anymore, but what c_p said, in the past anyhow. The new Passats are nice and I'm much more impressed with the B7 styling compared to the ugly Mk5/B5 VWs. Volkswagens in general are looking more like cars again instead of iPods. Personally, I'd choose the VW over the Audi. Seems like my friends who have/had Audis also had more problems with their cars.

 

[crystal_planet]

I used to love me some A6 and Audi in general, but now I'm getting kind of tired of the whole LED headlight thing, and that massive grille that they tend to wear.

 

[krystea]

I'm getting kind of tired of the whole LED headlight thing, and that massive grille that they tend to wear.

Agreed! And the grille kills a lot of the aesthetic of the car IMO.

 

[pulkit10]

Well, I'm a big fan of Audi's styling (they do tend to get carried away at times...) but underneath, the A6 is just a dressed up Passat so in my mind, the Passat doesn't have many advantages over the A6 unless price is your main point so it'll be a hard sell to her but more power to you!

 

[Bkr11]

Wife gave the Passat a big NFW...so much for that.

 

[willied]

Wait for the new Mazda 6 with the diesel to come out. It looks amazing, will most likely be more reliable than anything VW makes (VW is known for their electrical problems, though they are getting better), and will probably get better fuel economy. Then again you will have to wait for that...

Hybrid technology is actually very reliable, with many hybrids being some of the most reliable vehicles on the road. The Fusion looks amazing, and it is supposedly quite nice to drive as well. The previous Fusion was very reliable, but I don't know how reliable this one we'll be. Let's hope for the best.

The good thing is that there are plenty of good choices in the midsize segment.

 

[Alex Kj]

I used to love me some A6 and Audi in general, but now I'm getting kind of tired of the whole LED headlight thing, and that massive grille that they tend to wear.

You don't have to get an expensive but useless "full LED" headlight option (which does look ugly), and Audi really improved the look of stock LED DRL portion of headlights on all their recent models - it has a "light guide" now (similar to BMW's "angel eyes" design except it has different shape) instead of previous "Christmas Tree light strip"-looking stack of individual LEDs.



Their new headlight design with new "light guides" kind of looks like it belongs to a vehicle in a "Tron: Legacy" movie, all they need now is an optional lighting for the wheels (a single light source which would create a circle of light when the car's wheels are spinning) ;-)

 

[Alex Kj]

Agreed! And the grille kills a lot of the aesthetic of the car IMO.

It's actually not bad. If you want to see a grille that does kill all aesthetics - all you need is to take a look at latest Lexus models, which will all have that awful "Predator mouth" grille ;-)
Here's an example of new Lexus IS:

 

[willied]

Talking about grilles - have you seen the one on the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid? Truly one of the ugliest vehicles I've ever seen.

 

[bovcrx]

I loved my B5.5 until it got turned into a hatchback.

Sent from my Note II with a WP8 theme

 

[jmshub]

I kind of like Golfs in all their variants, GTI, TDI, but that's about the only car that interests me in the VeeDub line.

 

[Alex Kj]

I kind of like Golfs in all their variants, GTI, TDI, but that's about the only car that interests me in the VeeDub line.

I dunno why, but every time I read "VeeDub", I instantly think of this Ad:
Volkswagen: Un-pimp Your Ride I - YouTube
;-)