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Comments
The Civic is a great car. The seat is perfect ( for me and my wife ). The seat in the Accord is 6 way PS and I can not find a position that suits me. Also the tracking in Civic is perfect it is like driving on railroad tracks whereas the Accord is drifting all over. I replaced the tires, wheel aligned, rotated tires every possible combination and the Accord still drifts. Accord will be traded soon.
Hope that gives you an idea how I feel about the Accord...oh yes the Civic cost less and runs on reg gas....Accord 6 needs premium.
It was top-gear acceleration. And if you read the test results you will see that all of the manual transmission cars had much higher top gear acceleration because the automatics can't be held in top gear therefore they were downshifting while the manual transmissions cars were not.
I have heard that VW will be making 4-motion available with the 1.8T. Not sure when..
But if you're a performance nut, not only can the 1.8t be built up to a LOT of HP for less than you'll save over the V6 ... its a couple hundred pounds lighter giving quicker acceleration and much better balance for handling ( = less understeer).
Of course there's turbo-lag, but that can be minimized if you know how to drive a turbo.
Stabbing the gas-pedal actually slows you down compared to smoothly pressing it ... its related to an in-rush of dense air "stalling" the turbo on the input side before it spins up .... it requires a fairly long explanation, but its logical, and you can really feel it when you drive.
They had 4-motion in the GLS (V6 only), then dropped it in Canada. You need a GLX or W8 now.
Its hard to follow what VW is doing model-wise.
I'd love to have a 1.8t 4-motion ... like a roomier A4-Quattro for less money!
But my ideal Passat would be the European V6-TDI with 4-motion and the 6-speed!
Too bad we don't get the fun cars here....
http://clubb5.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=41632
That said, the Audi does have some nice options (i.e., Xenons) that the Passat does not have and the Audi is much nicer looking.
http://www.clubb5.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=41632&sid=5fb16f- f18f125f5aaa6f50775ac2ba59
BTW, is the Passat due for a re-style for MY '04?
bodble2,research the Volvo reliability. They're owned by Ford now.
I was driving home yesterday from my J-O-B, and low and behold there in line right beside each other are two fairly new cars: The Honda Accord EXV6 and a Passat GLS. The Passat was just plain nice looking. The Accord looked good too, surprisingly. The Accord looks good in certain colors, especially Graphite Pearl. Well, I was thinking to myself, if only the Accord and Passat could work together and make one completed car with the Passat's styling and the Accord's reliability.
If Nissan had been smart, they would have had the Alternative.
If the Altima just had a nice interior (on par with the AccordI and got rid of those taillights, it would be my ideal choice, bar none.
Anyway, just wanted to say that.
I am still in love with both the Accord and Passat, along with the Camry, Mazda6 and Altima.
How can a 17 year old be so into midsize family sedans? Well, it shows I have good taste. LOL
It lasted from 1998-2000 I believe.
The 2001.5 was mostly cosmetic changes with some minor mechanical changes and increased horsepower, still basically the same platform.
The coils have been an annoyance, but VW has replaced them, and other than that, mine has been problem free, and even with that minor annoyance, a kick to drive. I look forward to my commute every day.
When it came down to signing on the dotted line, rational factors such as resale value and upkeep cost won over the German experience. A pity, since the Passat, A6 and TT coupe where once aspiration cars for my car-crazy family.
Until more discretionary income comes our way, I guess we'll keep driving the lower-maintenance, "milder-personality" mainstream vehicles. Or is Honda saying "doesn't have to be that way !" for its next generation models ?
Reliability is not an issue with the Passat as long as you're within the 4 yr. warantee (except for the trips to the dealer, and they have given me a loaner). As I said, the only issue for me was the coils, and they were replaced. Other than that the car has been problem free. We'll see how it does long term, this is my first, and it won't be my last Passat unless it has horrible reliability.
My daughter had her Accord back to the dealer for minor mechanical problems and fit and finish issues. They still haven't fixed a strange creaking noise and irritating vibration.
1) For the period 1998-2002, depreciation rates are 39.1% Passat and 36.0% Accord (based on private party prices of pre-owned units).
2) Here's the kicker: Passat's off-the-lot depreciation on the first year is approximately 37.4% versus 31.0% for the Accord (based on 2003 TMV and 2002 private party prices; Accord's new body style for 03 would have seriously driven down the 02 pre-owned price but apparently it didn't).
A free loaner is good customer service; however one might take into account as I do the associated downtime and inconvenience. I'll probably also have a sense of deprivation - I bought a car but I'm driving a common-use vehicle instead.
High time German carmakers consider Denso as an electronics provider.
Second,go to this link-
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/specialreports/articles/70532/artic- - le.html
where they say "The Volkswagen Passat was given Automotive Lease Guide's Residual Value Award for the Midsize Car segment — meaning that it holds its value better than any other car in its class. Volkswagen of America also received the Industry Brand Residual Value Award from ALG. "
Again, like airwovens, you mention the Passat crushing HP numbers of a stock V6 Accord, bj will immediately talk of chipping the Passat, conveniently forgetting the voided warranty such a modification would result in. bj will also at that point forget to mention that in his post he did say that minor problems are ok as long as you have a Warranty. Lets see what happens if you do happen to chip the Passat and later have a coil or some other problem. Well bj would never get to that point since in his mind he knows he's never gonna chip his car, so that's that.
Regarding inconvenience in having to do frequently to the dealer with a new car, bj might be ok with that and driving a loaner, but most other people are busy trying to earn a living and having to go to the dealer frequently does amount to a big inconvenience. BTW, I have yet to see a Passat on the road with all lights functioning propoely, one or the other bulb is always fused. I know bj won't admit this, but I am sure even he is facing the same "small inconvenience"
It's really too bad Audi/VW still has the reliability issue because some of their cars are very attractive, both in style and in concept. An all-weather family hauler like the 4motion would have been a real good fit for someone like me.
1) Wheelbase: 107.9 in. for 2003 vs 106.9 in. for 6th gen Accord (1998-2002)
2) Track: 61.1/61.2 for 2003 vs 61.2/60.4 for 6th gen
The 03's drivetrain, which ultimately sold me on the car, is also practically new (4 cyl/auto as case in point) vs the previous model:
1) variable valve timing, intake & exhaust plus DOHC (previous: exhaust - or intake, not sure - only and SOHC)
2) 5-speed auto transmission (6th gen had only 4-speed). Todate, no same-class car has the 5-auto unless the Passat is included
Honda's genius also comes to play with the engine reorientation, where the exhaust manifold points rearward - allowing cleaner emissions and less backpressure. 6th gen Accord - not so.
All told, 03 Accord owners can probably rest easy with the thought that their cars are a new generation model.
Enjoy your ride. I am.
I also remember Edmunds saying that the Passat has the best resale value. That was one of many reasons I bought the car.
Compact Car: Mini Cooper
Midsize Car: Volkswagen Passat
Near Luxury Car: BMW 3 Series
Luxury Car: Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
Minivan: Honda Odyssey
Sub Compact SUV: Honda CR-V
Compact SUV: Acura MDX
Full-Size SUV: Toyota Sequoia
Compact Truck: Toyota Tacoma
Full-Size Truck: Toyota Tundra
Residual values pertain more to leased vehicles. As such, they are driven by 1) lease providers who estimate a car's worth at lease-end, and said estimate is in turn influenced by the 2) lease/purchase mix of that particular brand.
Simply put, more expensive cars (such as the Passat) tend to be leased and at lease-end, who buys them back at a high price but that brand's dealer network.
The dealer network can afford to do this because they resell the off-lease cars as premium-priced "used certified cars" with manufacturer-backed APRs.
Hence, we'll see that the dealer's high buy-back price drives the car's residual value up - a misleading indicator of what the used car is worth.
In the private party marketplace, it's quite different as per my post #1203.
Thus, if one owns - not leases - a Passat, the residual value isn't the guide to the car's true worth; it's the resale value in the private buyers' market. And I believe the seller of a used car with a negative reputation behind it is going to feel that the hardest (e.g., a beautiful 45k/99 Audi A6, $35k when new, for $17k only - that must hurt).
Just lamenting that such greatly conceived and engineered cars are let down in execution.