Malaysians can’t look at ‘Nasi Kandar’… …but feel like they want some The VW Passat and all D-segment cars are a bit like Nasi Kandar There are times when we feel like we want one, we want a car that’s a bit bigger… A bit more luxurious The Nasi Kandar has some must-have items For me the must have items are… … chicken, some cucumber salad, boiled eggs No need for spoon because it tastes better when we eat with our hands And last but not least, it must have pappadoms… and they didn’t send me any So what is the missing ‘pappadom’ in the Passat? Let’s find out… The best thing about hte Volkswagen Passat is… … the engine and gearbox The 1.6-litre TSI engine…. … together with the 7-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission… ….is Manna made in heaven… The engine cranks out most of it’s power and torque …. From as low as 1,800 rpm… …. you get a wall of torque that can really launch the car.In this Passat you get 250 Newtons of torque, which is a lot.. … for waht looks like a typical family sedan … With that nice torque spread, we always have the ability to accelerate… The torque is available almost anywhere on the rev range to allow for energetic acceleration. The smooth gearchange of the DSG box is a pleasure to experience It is rarely ever in the wrong gear and it swaps the ratios seamlessly and instantly keeping the engine always on the boil and even when it downshifts two gears, you can hardly feel it It is a proper seven speed transmission with such silky smooth changes that it…You cannot feel it This Passat is also called the B8, which VW’s internal code for the model version It is the latest version that uses … ..the MQB platform… Which is the Volkswagen Group’s modular platform It shares the MQB platform with the current generation Golf and Tiguan Dimensionally, the new Passat is wider, …lower and shorter than the predecessor… The new design language… … is slightly more angular than usual… I like it because it looks more confident.. The stance is more planted and more muscular Overall it feels like a more dynamic design… and some might even say it’s a more youthful look Volkswagen is a staple brand in Europe……but inMalaysia it’s a relative greenhorn… So the challenge is to get Malaysians to give it a second look. This Passat Trendline is the basic of three variants The other two are Comfortline and Highline The price of the Trendline starts at
RM160,000 The comfortline is RM180,000 Menawhile the highline is priced at RM200,000 The first thing we will notice is the quality of the materials … It is noticeably better than many of the Japanese competitors The extensive use of soft touch plastic gives the cabin a luxurious feel The fine quality of the finishing adds the premium feel The cabin is dominated by the well designed and finished dashboard The leather steering wheel further accentuates the cabin The design and finishing is really what sets the cabin of this Passat ……apart from the competition The seats are firm, and supportive in typical German fashion When we compare equipment level things get interesting Here the Trendline stumbles a bit Given the RM160,000 price, the overall package… works fairly well given the good engine … The superb DSG transmission and really decent sound system… …but when you want to get into the car… …the doors refuse to open by just tugging on the handles… Why? Because it doesn’t have keyless entry Taking out the keys to remotely unlock the car is really… …a first world problem But when the competition offers keyless entry… … even in cars priced less than RM100K, then … …the market may not look too kindly …….a D-segment sedan without keyless entry Especially since the brand is asking for premium prices The lack of reverse camera will also make people talk It’s hard to find cars that don’t come with reverse camera, never mind a premium car Those two can be considered small shortcomings… …but they can potentially scare customers away… Actually VW offers all of these feautres and more… …you just have to fork out an extra RM20,000 for the Comfortline… …The Comfortline is very well specified… …it even comes with parking assist… …and one of those kicking power boots ..which is a very useful assistant… … when our hands are full of shopping.. so you don’t just get keyless doors but keyless power boot This makes the Comfortline a much better deal than the Trendline … Buyers are better off paying extra for that long list of additional equipment. Given the long equipment list, the Comfortline has a clear price advantage against even other brands Especially since the engine produces power like a 2.4-litre and a 2,4-litre Japanese D-segment sedan… You would find them at roughly the same price range and with Volkswagen you get a European brand Those
with a more flexible budget can opt for the Highline with the 2.0 TSI engine… Which produces power like a 3.0-litre engine … .. cranking out 35 0Newtons of torque We care going to carry out an acceleration test According to Volkswagen this Passat 1.8 TSI… … can sprint to 100km/h in 7.9 seconds and hit a top speed of 232 km/h… We have a stretch of road that’s about 150 metres.. We put it in manual mode… … ready and go… …. the traction control system was triggered and we are accelerating fast… It’s already 100 km/h… it’s 120 km/h as we pass the camera position. ….and…. hard braking…It didn’t even trigger the anti-lock brakes The tyres squealed a bit… …but the car remained stable It slowed down just nicely… … and we are done… The Volskwagen Passat has some similarities with this Bailey bridge… ..the Bailey bridge is functional but it’s not much to look at… Even after all these years, it still stands strong… VW has that similar reputation for lasting a long time… This is also why many people still would like to own a VW.. For this entry level Trendline variant … …of the Passat B8, I can give it… …six out of ten… why only six? The basic specification contains some omissions… …that we feel is glaring… However the Comfortline… …we can give it a score of seven out of 10… …because at RM180,000… ….it’s competitive against non-European D-segment 2.4-litre models… …the Comfortline specifications wins out… … The build quality is also superior… Because of that we feel the Comfortline is what buyers should choose When we look at the Highline variant… … the RM200,000 price comes with specifications… … that is head and shoulders above similar D-segment players……from Japan or Korea…..but if you really want a German car at RM200,000…..you can get a BMW 316…..the one with the three-cylinder 1.5-litre engine… That’s similarly priced around RM200,000… …similar to the Passat Highline Don’t forget to subscribe to .. Our Youtube channel and our website that’s ENGEAR on youtube … and funtasticko.net .
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