Test drive Volkswagen Passat B5 2000 - 2005 sedan

There is Variant

VW Passat W8 with a body of type Universal combines many advantages
 
To get the most powerful Passat for a test in Moscow turned out to be difficult: the official dealers of such cars are still a few, and they are sold, as they say, instantly. But in Wolfsburg, where the annual press conference of the leaders of the Volkswagen concern was held, it turned out to be simple to do. So, having visited the factory and listening to the gentlemen Ferdinand Pikh and Berndt Pishtsrider (more about this - in the next issue of AI), I did not deny myself the pleasure of rolling a total of more than six hundred miles. It is in pleasure: an all -wheel drive comfortable machine with a 275 hp motor with a power of 275 hp. Passes to travel to any distances and along different roads.
 
To Hamburg - for dinner
 
What is two hundred with a small kilometer one -way along Germany’s roads in a good car? A mere trifle. Therefore, the Moscow representative of the VW and I decided to go to Hamburg after lunch, arrive there and shoot Passat, walk around the city, dare and have time to return to the hotel until midnight. Well, we’re cutting time.
 
14.15. We are settled in a finished one - leather and wood - salon and give the task of the navigation system. By the way, the W8 already in the basic configuration seems to have everything necessary, and even in addition. You can order additionally very little, such as a wooden steering wheel. Or choose a modification with TipTronik automation with the possibility of manual gear shifts. All this was in the car provided for the test.
 
The navigation system (this is a lady with a pleasant voice) reports that the path is calculated and displays a map with data on the monitor screen: distance - 223 km, arrival at the destination (old city) - 16.43. That is, it calculates the average speed of about a hundred kilometers per hour. Obviously, she is aware of the capabilities of the car and that the German autobahns, thank God, is allowed to go as quickly as possible on this particular vehicle.
 
14.17. Having set up a seat for yourself, a steering column and mirrors (it is easier to do it thanks to a wide range of adjustments and electric drive), we touch the road. To cast a glance at the screen of the navigator located to the bottom right, the driver is not at all: the direction of movement is displayed on the rectangular screen between the dials of the tachometer and the speedometer. We are not moving to the autobahn as fast as we would like, but the time of arrival on the scoreboard does not change - the lady takes into account speed restrictions in the city. When moving the railway tracks, I note that Passat is equipped with a comfortable, but rather stiff suspension - what, in my opinion, is necessary with this power.
 
14.33. Finally we go to the autobahn. In the left mirror I see that a truck is moving in the right lane on which I need to integrate in two hundred meters. Will we have time? Not a question: the accelerator pedal is on the floor, and - delight! Explosive acceleration, no slip. 7.8 seconds to hundreds transferred from paper to asphalt are impressive (modification with a mechanical checkpoint accelerates even faster). Full -wheel drive (the differential of torsen) on dry asphalt provides an equal distribution of torque between the axes. But if necessary, electronics can redistribute power in a ratio of 75:25, transferring most of it either to the front or rear wheels, depending on the situation.
 
And the sound? Is a song. After 4000 rpm, with sharp acceleration or at high speed, the engine gives out a melody caressing hearing, which definitely increases the amount of adrenaline in the blood. It pours out of huge chrome pipes, clinging the attention of those who move nearby.
 
The left strip seems to be free. Confidently and rapidly, our Passat is gaining pace. Very soon, my fellow traveler does not withstand and says: before the trip, I noticed that the rubber is designed for a maximum speed of 240 kilometers per hour. “Nothing,” I reassure, “she probably has a reserve.” - And yet you should not take risks ... - So the speed is all the same is limited by electronics, so do not worry. In addition, the car has many latest systems - exchange rate stability, for example. And yet - there are many airbags, there are lateral ones ... But, I look, it does not soothe it very much, so we go on a compromise - 230, no more.
 
15.10. Rain is coming. As soon as I reached for the lever, the controller of the wipers, as they earned on their own. Comfortable.
 
On the wet track, it was possible to feel the operation of the ESP electronic stabilization system. In general, it acts quite correctly, although, for my taste, it is scared a little earlier than the driver. Perhaps this is necessary. In addition, it can be disabled. A little later, I noted another important circumstance: despite the type of body, the severity of the back is not at all felt when passing turns: the car goes along a given path as along the rails. This is what 4Motion means, Folkolkswagenovsky. And when the luggage compartment with a volume of 450 liters is not at all burdensome at all, this is another advantage of the car.
 
Another system was also useful in the bad weather - anti -circus. It works very clearly, providing effective acceleration on the slippery surface. By the way, such a system is simply necessary for powerful engines aggregated with a machine gun, since the automatic transmission during slipping easily fails.
 
16.30. Nevertheless, we managed to save the time allotted by a lady-navigator for the trip: we drove into Old Hamburg. Where to choose a suitable place to shoot and put, as required, the car turned out to be not easy. But still fulfilled.
 
Our further stay in the city is of little interest to the reader. I can only say that the sound of W8 is not too familiar to the Germans themselves, who was surprised to consider the usual Passat with such a voice.
 
23.35. We drove up to the hotel in Wolfsburg. On the way back, by the way, we fully appreciated bixenon headlights.
 
Demand is provided
 
Passat W8 in the concern is considered as a kind of bridge to the segment D, in which the VW Phaeton now debuted. However, despite the appearance of a more luxurious car in the range, I demand for the most powerful Passat will surely remain. The company is also counting on this, intended to produce about 10 thousand W8 per year. 50% of them are intended for the US market. However, in Europe, the demand for such cars is great, it is, apparently, in Russia. We have a new product from $ 54,000. True, as already mentioned, the car was filled to the maximum, there are very few options.
 
According to marketing research, 50% of future W8 buyers are those who are already traveling to Passat. Other 50%, according to VW managers, should come from competitors-these are the current owners of Mercedes C-class, BMW of the 3rd and 5th episodes, Toyota Camry, Nissan Maxima and other similar cars. There are many people, for example, these are higher and middle managers who want to have a powerful car, but do not want to stand out especially, ”the representative of the concern told me. It may well be.
 
Oleg Osipov
 
 

Source: Newspaper "Automobile Izvestia" [No. 4 (7), 2002]