SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Not so passive: 2017 Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI Luxury

A best-kept secret

Posted: 27 January 2017

The numbers
Base price: R493 900
Engine: 1984 cc, DOHC 16-valve, four cylinder turbodiesel
Power: 130 kW between 3600 and 4000 rpm
Torque: 350 Nm between 1500 and 3500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 8.2 seconds
Maximum speed: 228 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.9 l/100 km
Tank: 66 litres
Boot: 519 litres
Warranty: 3 years / 120 000 km
Maintenance plan: 5 years / 100 000 km
Servicing at 15 000 km intervals

Let’s cut to the chase: Your 2012 Passat 2.0 TDI Comfortline DSG is nearing the end of its five-year Automotion Plan and it’s time to trade in and up. The car has been good to you, but nobody likes to take unnecessary chances, do they?

Back then its base price was R330 000 but the currency has been shot to hell since then, making R494 000 before options, for today’s equivalent, tough but hopefully bearable. It looks sharper and more angular, the inside is more modern, it’s pretty much the same size and it apparently uses the familiar 2.0-litre diesel. But is the new car worth that much?

Appearances deceive. The 2017 Passat is actually 2 mm shorter than the old one, 12 mm wider and 14 millimetres lower. You and I wouldn’t notice that, but its wheelbase is noticeably longer – 97 mm or almost four inches. We all know that means more space inside and a more comfortable ride with reduced tendency toward front-to-rear pitching. As with the 2011-onward B7 model, leg-, head- and shoulder room is generous and in our recent review of the 1.4 TSI, we even suggested it would make an excellent bridal car.

But stop and think a moment. More interior space in a marginally shorter body means something had to give, so the new fuel tank holds four litres less (66 vs.70) and the boot has shrunk slightly. It’s now rated at 519 litres versus the old car’s 565, which isn’t great news but it’s still enormous. While we’re at it, the car’s turning circle stretched from 11.4 metres to 11.7 – about a foot. That’s because the new tyres are bigger and wider; 235/45 R18 against the old car’s 215/55 R16s. But the greater circumference means an easier ride over bumps and potholes. Everybody likes that.

While we’re talking about good things, today’s Passat still has six airbags, ISOFix baby chair anchors and all the safety kit one expects these days. But there’s more. VW has added multi-collision braking, trailer stability control (provided you buy their matching towbar kit that includes park assist) and EDTC.  That stands for engine drag torque control which means the front wheels won’t skid on slippery surfaces if you release the accelerator too quickly or change gear (manually) too suddenly. It also lost 178 kg in weight making it lighter on fuel, more nimble and better-handling.

Other good things include LED headlights with dynamic cornering function and running lamps, an eight-speaker sound system with “Premium” multicolour display and App Connect, a driving profile selector with three modes plus Individual, automatic stop-start, three-zone Climatronic air conditioning and Vienna leather seats with heating as standard. Option packages add things like adaptive cruise control, heads-up display, keyless access and push-button starting, remote boot opener, reversing camera, parking assistance and an uprated sound system.

A novel extra fitted to the test car was a R7900 booster seat package. It allows the centre pads of the outer rear chairs to be selectively raised and locked in place, so Junior can sit safely. A properly supportive head restraint replaces either of the standard adult fittings. The boosters are rated for 15 kg to 36 kg, which by general consensus seems to include most kids between about two and ten years of age.

Then there’s the engine. While using the original basic architecture, VW changed the SOHC, eight-valve head to one with 16 valves and dual overhead camshafts. They then turned up the pressure to increase power from 103 kilowatts to 130 and maximum torque from 320 Newton Metres to 350; over a wider rev band, of course. That makes it more responsive to throttle inputs and stronger through the gears. If your inner teenager applies a bit of hoon, it snarls gently too. The six-speed DSG remains excellent so there was no need to fiddle with what wasn’t broken.

If you insist on numbers, the new car is 1.7 seconds quicker to 100, tops out 18 km/h faster, emits 36 gm/km less carbon dioxide and its ECC fuel consumption dropped from 6.4 l/100 km to 5.0.

Put simply the new Passat 2.0 TDI Luxury is roomier, more comfortable, nicer to drive, lighter on both fuel and environment and still one of VW’s best-kept secrets. If we were in your shoes, we’d trade up too.

Test unit from VWSA press fleet

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There is no "editorial policy" and no advertising, so there are no masters to please. What you read is what I experienced on the days I drove the vehicles.

I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships providing the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

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