Anyone familiar with volkswagon's jetta or passat (1 Viewer)

[Shawn Solar]

I relished the idea of a suv for a while. And now I'm wondering how the jetta and Passat perform. probably be 1999 or little older. I haven't looked at any yet cause I haven't got together a down payement. I was more wondering the performance of the 1.8T and the 2.8 6 cylinder. And long term durability. Any pet peeves or dislikes?

 

[Josh Lowe]

i've been eyeing the same car. the jetta 1.8T. i've been driving a beater for the past 8 months and i'm tired of it. the jetta looks like a pretty nice driver for the price. a friend of mine has one and loves it. with an APR chip the 1.8T makes a respectable amount of power for being so small..

you might also want to check out the mazdaspeed protege and the dodge neon SRT-4 if either of those are available for sale in Canada.. the mazdaspeed protege is quick and handles very well. the neon is a beast for being such a small car but its one disadvantage is that it's absolutely hideous..

 

[Keith Mickunas]

On the Jetta, the model changed in the '99 model year. So if you look at 99.5 and newer, your dealing with the Mk. IV (sometimes referred to as A4 but should not be confused with the Audi A4), and prior to that was the older style Mk. III. So keep an eye on that. I have a 2001 Jetta, and before I got that I didn't pay much attention to VWs, so I can't say much about the older ones. The 2.8VR6 in the Jetta is quite nice, its very smooth and has decent power. In 2002 they started offering the 24 valve version which has even more power.

I'm not certain when the Passat changed body styles to the current B5 chasis. There was some minor enhancements, mainly cosmetic I believe, starting midway through the 2001 model year. While some of the older passats with the B4 chasis used the VR6, the more recent ones have been using the 2.8 V6 from Audi, not the 2.8 VR6 from Volkswagen. There are significant differences between these engines and you might want to do some research on that.

The 1.8t is an Audi engine used in the A4, TT, and most of the VWs. A lot of people really like the turbo because a chip can add a lot of performance to it. Midway through 2001 VW made some minor changes to the 1.8t. Notice that VW does a lot of midyear stuff? While there wasn't a change in the power output with those changes, there was a change in the potential. Depending on the car and the year, the 1.8t is tuned for 150hp, 170hp, or 180hp (and 225 with an extra intercooler in the TT). That midyear change put some of the internals from the 180hp version into the 150hp version. Still even the older version has a lot of potential.

I've been really happy with my Jetta. I bought it new almost 2 years ago and its got almost 20,000 miles on it, I don't drive much. I'm not aware of any particular long term problems with the car. The window regulators have a high failure rate, and it has just recently been addressed by VW. They extended the warranty on them, and its something you should look into. While I think its 7 years/unlimited mileage for the original owner, I believe its limited for used buyers. So if you are buying from a dealership try and get the new regulators put in, if you buy from an individual ask them about if they've been fixed recently.

You might want to head over to vwvortex.com and do some reading there. Its the most active VW forum I know of. Check out the Golf/Jetta 4 forum for info on the 99.5 and newer Jettas.

 

[Peter Kline]

I have a 2002 Passat. It is made in Germany. The Jetta is made in Mexico. I would not buy a 1999 or older Passat as the car had poor reliability. Major changes were made under the skin in 2002 (2001.5). It has a much stiffer chassis and over 200 changes in the way it was manufactured. Reliability of the 2002 (2001.5 and on) is considered better. I've had mine for 19 months with only one problem. The left rear brake lights burned out after 18 months. The car is fun to drive. I have the 1.8T with Tiptronic. Prior to the Passat I had a '95 and then '98 Camry (both leased). They were pretty reliable (although the '98 had some problems) but became boring. Driving a "sporty" 4 cylinder Passat was a revelation. It gives you real control and has a very tight feeling. It also has, as standard, front, rear, side and head airbags. There are disc brakes all around. Drive one.

 

[Shawn Solar]

Wow great info thus far. I have a couple months to really see what I want. A used '99 Passat with 67 000km on it went for just under 20 grand used. It had the tiptronic transmission 1.8T and a winter package. Speakeing of which how do they handle in the winter?

 

[Peter Kline]

My Passat handles great. Of course I live in Florida and the only things are hurricanes and tornadoes.

 

[Shawn Solar]

Hmm, maybe I should look at where people are from first. Texas, Florida and Atlanta.:b Anybody that gets snow have any comments I am going to check them out though. I would like the vr6 but then again I haven't driven one yet.

 

[Philip_G]

out of curiousity, what are the powertrain differences between the jetta 1.8t and the A4 1.8t? is it mostly the same engine? or completely different?

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Philip, the 1.8t is essentially the same, its an Audi engine and even in the VWs the Audi logo is on some parts. The differences in some have been mainly software. I don't know about the transmissions though. There's some differences in some cases, but then again there's been lots of changes to those for both manufacturers in the past few years.

 

[Josh Lowe]

The 1.8T Jetta/GTI have slightly higher horsepower ratings than the A4.. The TT also uses a 1.8T motor if I'm not mistaken.. I think the TT is rated at 225 due to its larger intercooler..

I'm going to go to my local VW dealer tomorrow and see about buying or ordering a GTI or a Jetta. I've been planning on buying a "fast" car come March, something like a Z06 Vette, and I've been wanting something else to keep the 70 mile per day commute burden on..

what's funny is that with a minimal amount of spending you can turn the 1.8T based cars up a bit and they'll really scoot.. One of the respected VW/Audi tuners (APR) is near here and I just might have to pay them a visit.. Their stage III turbo setup and suspension bits on a Jetta might make for a nice poor man's autobahn cruiser..

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Up until the most recent Jetta/GTI (2002 and later I believe) the 1.8t was rated at 150hp. Now they're 180hp. Sometimes I've seen it rated at 170hp, I believe that was in the A4. The TT can either be 180hp, or 225hp.

If you are interested in moding the car, the 1.8t is a good engine to go with. As Josh pointed out there are chips that can do a lot with that motor. Of course, the second you do that you can pretty much kiss the warranty goodbye on the engine. If you are not into modding, I'd suggest the VR6 for its stock power.

Another thing that should be mentioned about the 1.8t is its torque curve. It takes a bit to kick in, but once the turbo is running you got a lot of torque across the powerband.

 

[Shawn Solar]

I figured the 1.8T to be a brute for its size. I don't drive fast but I like quick acceleration. I don't want to offend people but I also prefer automatic. I spend my time flicking through the radio stations so I don't want the hassle of a standard. I see a new stereo going into whatever I buy Maybe a dvd screen a high excursion 12" and a new component set, front and back. I love new stuff

 

[Matt Stryker]

If you're into pure performance, the 1.8T is the way to go. I love my 2000 Jetta TDI, but these cars have some serious quirks that take some getting used to (especially if you do a lot of your own maintenance).

1) Service at most dealerships is dreadful. Check VWVortex.com for tips on good places to go in your area, but be forewarned that prices are high even at the best places.

2) Most of the Jettas (not sure about the passats) have this plastic skid plate thing that must be removed to do anything to the bottom of the engine. This includes changing the oil, which otherwise would be ridiculously simple. Fortunately, the TDI only requires changes every 10,000 miles.

3) This car was not designed with self maintenance in mind AT ALL. To change the timing belt, you have to dismount the engine...nuff said.

4) Good to know they got the window issue fixed. Mine has manual windows, and I was wary of power windows when I bought it for that very reason.

 

[Mark C Sherman]

Shawn I am a Loyal(2000) Jetta VR6 GLS owner (loaded with all the fun stuff) . I love this car handles great and really moves if it has to. I was playing with a Guy on the highway he went to pass me I dropped it into 4Th and Boom away I went to 110 with no problem in 4th with 5Th ready and waiting. God I love my car. The only mod that I made was a K&N filter.

 

[Jonathan Burk]

I looked at the Acura TL-S and Honda Accord EX, and neither did much for me. I decided to test drive the Passat, and after about 20 seconds I knew I would get one. I ended up with a '99 for great price, and I absolutely love it. In addition to VWvortex, you can direct any Passat related questions here:
http://clubb5.zeroforum.com/zeromain
I've never driven it in the snow, so I can't help you there.

 

[Shawn Solar]

Its great to hear mostly positive feedback. I think I may go test drive one to see if I like them. What kind of gas milage do you guys get?

 

[Philip_G]

One of the respected VW/Audi tuners (APR) is near here and I just might have to pay them a visit..

I was reading about chips for the A4 1.8T over at audiworld and the APR seemed to work quite well

 

[Josh Lowe]

I'll know soon enough. I went and bought a 2003 Jetta GLS 1.8T today. :b Reflex silver on gray leather, 5 speed. It's amazing how nice the interior is.. VW/Audi have put together a hell of a car for ~$21k..
As soon as APR releases the chips for the 03 model year I'll be making the trip to Birmingham.
I did the dealing and wrote the downpayment check today. Going back to sign the paperwork and pick the car up tomorrow.

 

[Shawn Solar]

Congat's Josh
I might go this weekend to check one out.

 

[Peter Kline]

Josh. Hope you enjoy your Passat as much as I have mine. One thing, though, chipping will void the warranty. Some dealers will accept warranty repairs even if you chip, but they are few and far between. You should check.