This car looks good man.

There are talks here in this thread about the Passat 2.0 being a GTI without a boot. In other words, this remark is implying that the Passat 2.0 is basically a GTI hatchback. Sure or not? No doubt the engine or all electronics may be based on the GTI but how about the suspension and steering tuning? There are reviews that the handling of this car cannot match the Mondeo and Mazda 6, and there is a "disconnected" feel with this car as mentioned in one motor review.

Although this car may have good handling for a D-segment, I suppose by claiming that it has the performance of the GTI is perhaps stretching it a bit too far? THe power in acceleration ie. 0-100 km/h may be close to the GTI but handling and driving dynamics it is surely not a GTI hot hatch I reckon?

What's the 0-100km/h of the B8 Passat 2.0?

Yes I would like to have the ACC definitely but I don't think it is that cheap. I think being CKD, many of the more advance features are brought in from other countries. If you factor in the cost of transport and exchange rates, the price should be a lot higher than what you list.

The driver fatigue warning system is a waste of time. I rather they give me something else than that nonsense. I agree, it doesn't work. It never comes on even when I was starting to feel the weariness.

The things I want in the car are as follows

2.0 GTI engine (220Ps)
6 or 7 speed WET clutch
LED headlights or HID is fine
Electric folding mirrors
Adaptive Cruise Control
Auto Air conditioning 3 zones
17 or 18 inch wheels
Don't really care much about the DCC or electric chairs or electric boot or the radio player that much. Lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring system or reverse camera I can do without as well

Different people like different temperatures. I'm good with 22°C usually, my mother prefers 19°C. So when we drive together there's always some fighting over the temperature... thanks to dual zone aircon that problem is solved.

I feel they should have priced the B8 2.0 at about 170k to 180k. That would have made the price extremely enticing. There's currently nothing in the market that can actually match the performance of the 2.0. and kit wise, it quite up there with the luxury marque.

The closest rival in terms of size and specs would be the 320i/A4 B9/C200. If it was priced at 175k - 180k, the gap would have been much wider and thus more appealing for those who wants luxury but not willing to pay over 200k for the car. At 198k, it loses quite of a bit of the advantage it commands. Most of the luxury entry level sedan is priced around 238k to 250k region.

my short test drive of the passat 2.0
1. engine doesnt feel like it has 220 bhp . power comes smoothly and without lag.
2. DCC , as far as damper comfort is concerned, there is not a huge difference between eco until sport. and there is no physical button to switch DCC modes.
3. self parking works well
4. kick to open boot is functional and practical.
5. the digital gauge display is gimmick. looks cool at first but functionality similar to regular gauges. only cool thing is the gps maps which we probably seldom use.
6. switchgear and materials quality feels quite cheap .
7. touchscreen  is responsive and fast. despite being the low end model

For me, the only flaw (other than with the price) with the B8 Passat is the passenger space and the high hump transmission tunnel. In terms of everything else such as cargo loading (boot space), it's actually one of the best in its class.

Performance and handling wise - also among the best in its class.

The Camry, Accord, Nissan Teana or Peugeot 508 isn't going to match this car anytime soon in terms of power or handling. Arguably only the Ford Mondeo Ecoboost and possibly the Mazda 6 are the only cars that may equal or better it in terms of handling but not power.

The B8 2.0 EA888.3 engine has been known to produce easily 220 to 230PS of power on an actual dyno - which is exactly what is stated on paper or more. The same can't be said for the other cars listed above.

To put that power in context -

It has higher horses compared to the F30 320i facelift and about the same figure as the F30 330i facelift
It has higher horses compared to the A/CLA/C/E200 and A/CLA/GLA/C/E250

This is a car really for the performance junkies.

No. The high hump is for AWD, as you can order the Passat with AWD and thus there needs to be space for the propshaft.

Aside from packaging issues with prop-shafts going to rear axles, the primary purpose of the transmission tunnel is to stiffen the floorpan.

Lonitudinally, a transmission tunnel acts as a crush tube, which can initially be rigid and act as a safety cell, but once deformed absorb significant amounts of crash energy.

In a side impact situation, a transmission tunnel offers somewhere for the impacted seat to move into, away from the crash site.

In bending of the floorpan, the tunnel effectively replaces one large plate like structure with two half sized ones - this raises the first natural frequency of the floorpan significantly. As bending vibrations are the ones which couple most effectively with sound, this is also a good thing for NVH.

Going further, a stiff floorpan also reduces the problem of scuttle shake, and contributes to overall body stiffness. Where the ends of the transmission tunnel are effectivey built in to the remaining structure, there is an enhancement of torsional rigidity - if the ends of the transmission tunnel terminate in unsupported panels, there's no torsional rigidity gain.

"The transmission tunnel serves dual purpose - 1] The central hump adds tremendous stiffening of the floor pan in a monocoque chassis and that helps in the chassis dynamics; and 2] the fuel lines, exhaust, brake lines and other wiring are routed through the transmission tunnel, thereby helping in the safety quotient of these plumbings, wires, etc and also helps maintaining appropriate ground clearance of the car.

sit in the back of a Civic and you can actually feel the rear of the car sway from side to side even while going in a straight line! That is not to say that this might be the only reason for the Civic's flawed dynamics, but maybe the lack of a transmission tunnel does have a role to play here."

It's a nice car nonetheless. Dont mind to own one if have money to spare. Handling and power much better than my Golf MK7 1.4. I really like the virtual cockpit.
The only downside for me is wood thingy interior in the 2.0 Passat.

the hump is there for one main reason only lah.....

for u to put a girl in a mini skirt in the middle rear seat....

If you can live with the quirks of VW DSG transmission :
- must step on brakes to shift out of neutral to drive
- some jerkiness when under crawling traffic
- the transmission fluid is not cheap and must change every 3-4 years
- unlike normal torque converter transmission, this one need to change clutch pack like a normal manual after some distance.
- and need to change 2 sets at the same time as it is a "dual" clutch transmission
- higher chance of mechatronic failures (maybe tak boleh tahan our climate and traffic conditions)

If you're driving route is jam most of the time, don't suggest getting it.

But it is a nice car for outstation type of driving condition.