2013 Volkswagen Passat TDI Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

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expensivehobby

I am intrigued about the Mazda. They truly seem to care about the driving experience. My wife could not stand the engine shutting off and on in a hybrid, and there is the issue of actually getting the rated mpg. Diesels usually beat their (albeit lower) rated mileage numbers. The roominess of the Passat sets it apart--it still amazes me, as well as anybody we have had sit in the back seat. Plus, IMO it drives smaller than it is.

noburgers

Good post--gave me some good critical comparison. The long term blogs should be more like this one. Thanks. It will take awhile for VW to use up the supply of 2.5 engines before the new 4 is readily available

duck87

@noburgers: There's the assumption that VW uses lean manufacturing... so if there are any 2.5s left, it's not at their factories, just at dealers who have too many cars sitting on the lots...

misterfusion

Good post, I was thinking this exact thing when I read about the new engine coming up. Seems like that I-5 engine has far outlived its usefulness (I remember years ago MT called it a "cast-iron oddity"). Having said that, I've never driven a car equipped with that engine.

blueprint1

The new 1.8t rings a bell - my 2001.5 B5.5 Passat had the 170 hp 1.8t. Not the same engine, but sweet pkg when everything ran. Traction control would come on in on-ramps in 3rd gear.

The current TDI / DSG Passat is the only other Passat I drove since that '01.

Since InsideLine went into the trash bin, I started working part-time for a car mag up here, and so far have tested about 45 cars. That took car of my IL blues!