for the last 2 years most of the time i've used a mk5 passat tdi for company use. today i had a mk6 instead. its the first time i've ever had one so i thought i'd post a mini review, for no apparent reason.
first thing i noticed compared to the mk5 is that the driving position is much better. the dash is great, but the door cards are cheap and nasty. less than 10 miles into the journey i'd figured out how to work everything, and all the switch gear feels good. my favorite gadgets are the cruise control (the knob is perfect) and the ignition key, which isnt a key, its a keyring that you push into a slot to start the engine. every car should have one.
it feels very different to drive. the mk5 felt longer and wider and heavier. the mk6 is actually a mk5 golf underneath, and tbh you can tell, it does feel like a golf with a boot. thats not a bad thing really. its easy to throw about but its still got big car ride and it can handle high speed easily enough. throwing it into corners wasnt a scary experience either.
the old tdi definately pulled a lot better, but its a higher spec so that isnt a fair comparison. this new one needs to be thrashed just to keep up with traffic. a quick check on parkers says it has 103bhp, does 0-60 in 11.7secs and top speed of 117mph. it felt even worse than it sounds, honestly i was crying. the mk5 i usually use is the 128bhp version so 0-60 is a respectable 9.6secs. i know acceleration isnt everything, but its almost everything and those 2 seconds make a massive difference.
the mk6 is a lot more modern looking inside and out, but that doesnt hide the fact that it is also flimsier. the mk5 is a solid car, you can abuse it and it laughs at you. the mk6 makes you worry you'll break something.
if it was my money i'd definately look elsewhere. imo its better than a vectra and a laguna, but i cant think of anything else in its class that i'd choose it over. maybe a 2.0tdi would have given me a different opinion.
it does look nice in black though.
first thing i noticed compared to the mk5 is that the driving position is much better. the dash is great, but the door cards are cheap and nasty. less than 10 miles into the journey i'd figured out how to work everything, and all the switch gear feels good. my favorite gadgets are the cruise control (the knob is perfect) and the ignition key, which isnt a key, its a keyring that you push into a slot to start the engine. every car should have one.
it feels very different to drive. the mk5 felt longer and wider and heavier. the mk6 is actually a mk5 golf underneath, and tbh you can tell, it does feel like a golf with a boot. thats not a bad thing really. its easy to throw about but its still got big car ride and it can handle high speed easily enough. throwing it into corners wasnt a scary experience either.
the old tdi definately pulled a lot better, but its a higher spec so that isnt a fair comparison. this new one needs to be thrashed just to keep up with traffic. a quick check on parkers says it has 103bhp, does 0-60 in 11.7secs and top speed of 117mph. it felt even worse than it sounds, honestly i was crying. the mk5 i usually use is the 128bhp version so 0-60 is a respectable 9.6secs. i know acceleration isnt everything, but its almost everything and those 2 seconds make a massive difference.
the mk6 is a lot more modern looking inside and out, but that doesnt hide the fact that it is also flimsier. the mk5 is a solid car, you can abuse it and it laughs at you. the mk6 makes you worry you'll break something.
if it was my money i'd definately look elsewhere. imo its better than a vectra and a laguna, but i cant think of anything else in its class that i'd choose it over. maybe a 2.0tdi would have given me a different opinion.
it does look nice in black though.
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