I would be more concern on after-sales service. I read that one may have to book a service appointment about 1 month in advance as there are no slots if you book 1 or 2 weeks earlier. And VW is very strict with the mileage as they will consider the warranty of the vehicle to be void if the car's mileage exceeds the recommended mileage when the car is sent in late for service. Is this true? Other car manufacturers are more relaxed in this aspect. Ford actually has 1,000 km or 1 month buffer on top of the recommended mileage/period of sending the car in for service. The owner will not be forfeited if it is still within the buffer period.

i guess there won't be CC since passat come with 2.0?

Coming back to the new Passat. Not too sure on the advantages of DRY clutch vs. WET clutch. Any thoughts? It is unfortunate that the high-spec 1.8 does not come with a wet clutch and only the high-spec 2.0 comes with one. In terms of reliability and performance, I presume the wet clutch as a slight advantage? Any support or evidence on the superiority of wet clutch compared to the dry clutch?

Any idea if the Passat here comes with the beige leather trim?

The Ford Mondeo has a rather significant discount now, slightly below RM180k so I don't think the new Passat 2.0 high-spec will be cheaper than the Mondeo. Other than the price, it also depends on several factors. One of my colleague has test driven the Mondeo three times this year being an avid fan (though he hasn't decided to buy it yet), and he had also test driven the previous generation Passat. He likes the handling and feel of the Mondeo better (than the Passat). ALso, he mentioned that the Mondeo is a very powerful car, more powerful than the Passat on paper. Not too sure if this new Mondeo would be even more powerful but it was reported that the handling of the Passat still cannot match the Mondeo, and the Mazda 6.

Apart from power and performance in handling, there is also the interior and exterior looks also which is personal. For me, I do think the VW Passat looks better than the Mondeo in both interior and exterior. I don't quite like the interior of the Mondeo. No doubt the quality and fit and finish inside the Mondeo are superb - the nice leather seats, the fit and finish on the door panels etc. But I don't quite like the design which looks outdated. The VW Passat's interior looks classier and more tasteful, more modern.

Though Mondeo looks and feels like a huge car. The Passat looks slightly smaller. Not too sure which vehicle is roomier inside the cabin. In the end, it depends on what the user is looking for. All cars have their pros and cons.

The Mondeo would be harder to maintain as there are so few on the road so spare parts is probably not ex-stock. However there are plenty of Passats so parts for common issues will not be a problem.

Careful. they will bring in the GTE version next year with EEV incentive and demolish the 380 version resale value LOL

Any idea if the Passat here comes with the beige leather trim?

Beige interiors are rather rare... they are only available on very few interior trims, sadly. I also prefer a beige interior, but not necessarily beige/white seats (because they do get dirty/colored easily... even by wearing jeans). Dark grey is much easier to maintain. Then again... if they preview the Passat with that car, it might have that interior...?

Most Malaysians don't know about wet clutch dry clutch, for them all DSG are scary. So yes, the 2.0 may be more reliable, but will second hand buyers buy it?

Many are aware of the more reliable wet clutch now. The 2nd hand value of the GTI is much stronger than all the dry clutch variants and yes, there is a demand.

What's the expected 3 years second hand value of a Passat in terms of percentage depreciation? Possible to buy at 50% of the new price in 3 years?

How much to allocate to maintain a wet clutch Passat a year which is out of warranty?

Yes, that is certainly a valid point as I also tell my colleague the same thing. Not that he did not notice. There are hardly any Mondeo on the road. At least I have seen one or two Mondeos on the road for the past 1+ year, but my colleague did not see even a single Mondeo on the road yet, other than the one that is parked in the showroom. That is the main concern really, the rarity on the roads which means the response to this Mondeo is lukewarm.

Nowadays economy is bad and less people are buying stuff and spending money, more so changing cars. Sales are bad and my colleague got texts from the salesman on the reduction in price for the Mondeo. I told him not to commit as the price will be reduced even further with this kind of economy.

Yes, that is certainly a valid point as I also tell my colleague the same thing. Not that he did not notice. There are hardly any Mondeo on the road. At least I have seen one or two Mondeos on the road for the past 1+ year, but my colleague did not see even a single Mondeo on the road yet, other than the one that is parked in the showroom. That is the main concern really, the rarity on the roads which means the response to this Mondeo is lukewarm.

Nowadays economy is bad and less people are buying stuff and spending money, more so changing cars. Sales are bad and my colleague got texts from the salesman on the reduction in price for the Mondeo. I told him not to commit as the price will be reduced even further with this kind of economy.