Hi all,<BR>I currently own VW GTi and would like to get a bigger car, possibly Passat GLX. The car has to be a wagon and it has to be able to hold 4-5 people. I was considering Passat Wagon for some time but stumbled across Volvo V70. While more expensive, it seems to be well made and I liked it.<P>I'd appreciate if you could point me to some discussions Passat Wagon GLX vs V70 or provide your personal opinions. I'm particularly interested in handling abilities of both cars and acceleration figures. Also any performance upgrades. And I'm not interested in XC <IMG SRC="http://www.swedespeed.com/ubb/smile.gif"><P>Thanks!<BR>
Passat GLX Wagon vs V70
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ColdFlame:<BR><B>Hi all,<BR>I currently own VW GTi and would like to get a bigger car, possibly Passat GLX. The car has to be a wagon and it has to be able to hold 4-5 people. I was considering Passat Wagon for some time but stumbled across Volvo V70. While more expensive, it seems to be well made and I liked it.<P><BR>Which V70 are you going to use for comparison? V70 2.4? V70 2.4T? V70 AWD? V70 T5?<P>Yannis<BR>I'd appreciate if you could point me to some discussions Passat Wagon GLX vs V70 or provide your personal opinions. I'm particularly interested in handling abilities of both cars and acceleration figures. Also any performance upgrades. And I'm not interested in XC <IMG SRC="http://www.swedespeed.com/ubb/smile.gif"><P>Thanks!</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><P>
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Sorry for the repeat...something went awry.<P>Which V70 are you going to use for a comparison? V70 2.4? V70 2.4T? V70 AWD? V70 T5?<P>Yannis<P>
No matter which model Volvo, I would go with a Volvo wagon over a VW for the reason that it is more useful as a wagon. The VW is a bit small for a wagon, and the experience Volvo has with wagons is second to few. VW makes a great car, basically a low end Audi, and that makes them good, however Volvo offers more safety and more power (especially the T5). Even the 2.4T (what I have) is a bit quicker than most models of the VW Passat (0-60 in 7.9sec, 6.5 on the T5).<P>It is always going to be a personal choice, but go and look at them up close, I found the Volvo's interior trim a bit more high end, better fit and finish and the doors on the volvo, as well as the rear hatch had a more solid feel when closed.<BR>The Volvo also had a lot of smart features that the VW didn't. There is a lot of logic that went into it's design and it is truely refined. Just read all the raves it gets in all the car magazines. <P>Finally, you also get a bit of extra "snob" apeal out of a Volvo, as it is not quite a BMW or MB, but it certainly ranks above VW in "status".<P>Good luck, and I hope you like what you end up with casue it's going to cost you between $30,000 and $43,000 depending on your choice!<BR><p>[This message has been edited by V70SAM (edited 11-03-2001).]
Hi,<P>Haven driven both cars for a while the following:<P>Passenger space in the Passat is larger (more legroom in the back) compared to the V70<BR>Cargo hold is bigger in the V70<BR>Volvo has a better quality feel to it (e.g. more silent, nicer dash layout)<P>When driving I can not recall big differences.<P>Just my 2 cents
The Passat GLX has been getting a lot of good reviews in the auto sections of the local papers.<P>I too was torn between the GLX and the base 2.4 V70. There's no sense comparing the 2.4T and the T5 to the GLX because you're way out of the price range.<P>Yes the Volvo comes with some neat gadgets but the Passat has some features that the 2.4 doesn't (rain sensing wipers, 16" wheels, neon blue dash lighting, reversing mirror, power passenger seat...)<P>After negotiations, the both cars ended up the same price. Our reasons for choosing the V70 were:<P>- better acceleration for the 2.4 I5 over the V6<BR>- richer feeling interior<BR>- cockpit'like dash and console layout<BR>- cargo area<BR>- cheaper to insure<BR>- cheaper to maintain (based on the items in the service manual)<BR>- incline 5 versus a V6 (spark plugs, manifold, fuel injectors, head gasket X2)<BR>- wider stance and shoulder room in the rear (child seats)<P>To top it off, like V70SAM said, the volvo has more "snob appeal". Good luck with your choice. You can't go wrong either way.
Thanks a lot for your replies!<P>I mostly agree with you that V70 looks has better quality interior (a bit) and feels bigger inside. <P>However, it seems that Passat GLX (190hp V6, 7.8sec 0-60) is much faster than I5 (168hp, 9 sec 0-60, is it right?). So I was considering 2.4T 2WD which with leather package would be about 36K I figured. Big low down for me is absense of manual transmission. Also, it looks that the difference between fully loaded 2.4T 2WD and T5 is not that much.<P>Maybe leasing would be a right option for me, it's only $469 for T5.<P>Is the ride of T5 any harsh? I'm a fan of firm suspension.<P>And about features, what I saw was that V70 has dual zone climate control while Passat has rain sensing wipers (great feature!). The fact that V70 doesn't have xenon headlights is a disappointment though.<BR>
The Volvo has a stronger built feal over all, and I'm sure it actually is. <P>As for the 2.4T, a good choice. The same suspension for US models as the T5 and the GearTroic (a poor sub for a manual) is only $200 option on all automatic 2.4T's .The 2.4T with leather and touring package is a easy to find car as they almost all come that way. I also got the 16" wheels, which again are more common and the Versatility package which brought the sticker to $37575 along with a few other items, and I gave them 15000 down, and pay $400/month on 60mo. The lease on it would have been $500/mo after tax but you are limited to 12000 miles which didn't work for me. As for speed, the 2.4T actually has a better low end torque curve than the T5, so unless you REALLY step on it, you don't notice much difference in the two. Again, the T5 is a full second and a half faster 0-60, but that's not how you'll drive this car all day long. And 0-60 in the high sevens is not bad anyway. Top speed on both is too high to achieve on any US roads.<P>Either way, It's a good investment (good resale) and if you can get the 2001, you can beat the close to $3000 price hike! There arn't many changes in the straight 2.4T other than some standard features that were options.<p>[This message has been edited by V70SAM (edited 11-07-2001).]
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by V70SAM:<BR><B> The VW is a bit small for a wagon<BR></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>From the information I gathered, the Passat wagon has just slightly MORE interior space than the V70. For all intents and purposes these two cars are the same dimensions inside and out, however. Size is the one thing that doesn't really need to be part of the equation, in my opinion.<P>
I don't know. I think the V70 seems like a bigger car, and I've test driven both, but I guess figures don't lie.<P>On the Passat, you can get a pretty much loaded GLX for about the same price as the V70. The materials are very good on the Passat for its price, putting it far beyond its more intended competitors such as the Accord and Camry. The interior's wood is real, but more important to me is the awd is available at around $31K. When the Passat has automatic, it's always with their Tiptronic shiftable tranny as well.<P>That said, the V70 will have much better resale, so leasing might be more reasonable. The snob appeal is also better.<P>If you want to modify the cars, then there is a larger VW aftermarket, but I'm not sure what you'd really want to do to the V6 Passat anyway beyond suspension which IMHO is not as good as the V70 in stock form.
Darrel, I agree, the VW is a bit larger interior volume wise, however the Volvo seems larger as the width is about 3 inches more and that makes a big difference in how large the car feels. It is about 1.5" longer and 1" lower than the VW which also makes it seem larger. Additionally, the Volvo is about 200 lbs heavier. But, effectively they are the same size. The Volvo just looks bigger.<P>Very important is that the Volvo is probably safer. Just compare the head rests on the Insurance Safety Institute web site, Volvo is far superior to VW in that area alone, let alone other areas.<P><p>[This message has been edited by V70SAM (edited 11-09-2001).]
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Not sure what your time frame or budget but the Passat W8 is coming out in 2002. I believe the sticker will be around $40k, about the same as a loaded V70 T5 or XC. <P>Also, Audi redesigned the Avant for 2002, it may be another option to compare. The previous Avant was smaller than the V70, I'm not sure about the new one.<P>Of course, if you are mainly into performance, go pickup a used '01 S4 Avant for about $35k.<P>W8 write-up at vwvortex: <A HREF="http://www.vwvortex.com/news/06_01/06_21/index.shtml" TARGET=_blank>http://www.vwvortex.com/news/06_01/06_21/index.shtml</A> <P>Also, compare warranties, VW changed their warranty for 2002, they no longer offer a 10/100 powertrain warranty...if that matters to you.<P>
I'd like to get a car with manual transmission so A6 Avant is out (plus it's about 50K). For the same reason Passat W8 is out (I don't believe VWoA will be selling 40K+ car for enthusiasts). I also read negative reviews on W8 driveability and performance. To top it off, Passat is a 1998 body style which while looking good will be changed to B6 some time soon.<P>Another reason is that I have a VW GTi and don't really want to buy a bigger version of it <IMG SRC="http://www.swedespeed.com/ubb/smile.gif"> the interior is almost identical and part reuse is making me sick. It's great to buy a 20K car that have door handles from 40K car but not vice versa.<P>I'm hoping that Volvo will bring PCC2 concept to the States and it will be priced reasonably. So far I was looking at T5 which can be had for 38K which is reasonable I think.
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