Visit to France

[Martin S]

:Blush: :Blush:

Just returned from a holiday in France and have to say that I am mightily impressed with my Passat Estate which had done just under 2000 miles when we left and has now done about 4400.

Comfortable, able to swallow masses of luggage, (my wife doesn't understand the concept of travelling light), cruising along at the legal limit in France, (i.e. around 130 k/ph in many places ~ fast enough to make good progress ~ not fast enough to scare the horses), uncrowded roads for mile after mile, (rather like it was over here 35-40 years ago), and fuel consumption averaging around 48 mpg.

2 or 3 lumps of 400 miles + in one go were effortless and relaxed ....... and perhaps the most surprising thing is that this is a lowly 1.9S Estate, (if I had had the option I would have gone for a 2.0 ltr and the next spec up but when the company is providing it as a 'freebie' you can't complain).

Having read a few press reports of the 1.9 deisel, I had feared that I would have found it all a bit dissappointing, but a long journey really does flush out the strong and weak points of any car. Sure - the car is no ball of fire but at my age that isn't what I am looking for anyway. Faults ?, the electric handbrake stilll baffles me occassionally, (but overall I like it), and the engine is a bit gruff at low revs, but I am seriously impressed with the quality of the engineering and the solidity, stability and the balance of performance of this car.


Shell garages in France sell ordinary deisel and V-Power Deisel, which I have to say did seem to be better in terms of performance and driveability. (My wife runs a Smart Roadster which is supposed to be run on 98 RON petrol, we always use Shell V-Power petrol in that and it is definitely better than the other high octane petrols on the market). I havn't seen V-Power deisel available in the UK anywhere, has anyone else ?).

So, compared with the other cars that I could have chosen I feel as if this was one of my better, (there haven't been that many), decisions.

[Quatrelle]

What problems have you had with the handbrake? Ensure you put the clutch right out (pedal to the carpet) and it should release cleanly. There's more on some of the other threads here.

[Martin S]

What problems have you had with the handbrake? Ensure you put the clutch right out (pedal to the carpet) and it should release cleanly. There's more on some of the other threads here.

The only problem I have experienced is with it not always releasing when I try to set off, usually on a hill start.

You say that you need to depress the clutch fully!, I thought that was in order to start the engine, I know that you have to press the brake pedal firmly before the parking brake will auto release when you drive away but mine doesn't always seem to work. At first I thought it was me not pressing the brake pedal firm enough but now I make sure that I do give it a good solid push but it still occassionally seems to be determined not to release. (probably about 1 time in every 30-40).

[Quatrelle]

I think the only time you should have to press the brake pedal to release the handbrake is if you are driving off without your seatbelt done up.

You must press the clutch fully out - it's caught me a few times when I've been lazy - to release the handbrake, then as soon as you touch the throttle and start to release the clutch it will release. It's worth trying a few things somewhere quiet, preferably on a slope.

When I first had mine I didn't bother to read the manual thoroughly (400pp=information overload!), and was forever pressing the button to get moving.

Likewise if you stall the engine you've got to virtually go back to the beginning, pull the 'key' back out to the intermediate position, depress the clutch, push the 'key' back in etc. as usual - not much fun if you're at the lights at the head of the queue....Which gives us the definition of a millisecond: The time between the lights going green and the car behind tooting.

Hope this helps. John

[Martin S]

John, Thanks for that, I will give it all a try as you suggest, perhaps I will even read the handbook !!!

I'll let you know how I get on.:beerchug:

[BenR]

My previous car over 4 years and 80,000 miles was an A4 saloon and although neither car is a top-of-the range executive or sports model, I am definitely enjoying the Passat more than I did the A4. It drives better and is more spacious and comfortable.

The A4 was also remarkably troublesome and the local Audi dealer seemed to employ only morons with an inflated opinion of their own social importance so I'm glad I never have to suffer their snooty trial and error service again.

[Mimmo]

I must have been in France at the same time as you. I drove my 1.9 TDi SE all the way to Sicily as I got married there. As my wife came up with the brilliant idea of getting wed 3000 km away, driving down was the only sensible option when the baggage limit on the airlines is 20kg and there is a wedding dress, bridesmaids dresses, clothes for 2 weeks plus honeymoon etc... The car swallowed it all up and we managed to get from Belgium to Genoa (to catch the ferry) in about 12 hours including a two hour standstill at the St. Gotthard Tunnel! We only stopped twice for fuel in Luxembourg (0.89 Euros a litre) and Switzerland (got rid of some old Swiss Francs I had).

Whilst in Sicily, the car was used for several airport runs picking up relatives and their luggage from the two airports at opposite ends of the island in the run up to the wedding. The car coped superbly with potholed roads, expansion joints on the long, long bridges and even the narrow twisty streets, whilst still returning 44 - 46 mpg!

As an added bonus, we saved quite a bit too as we used the car as the wedding car. After at good clean, my Passat looked better than the Lancia Thema that the limo company had available (for €500!) and was way bigger than their alternatives, a Mercedes C-Class, Alfa 159 and BMW 3 Series.

On the way back, we took in most of Central and northern Italy before heading back to the UK. This was at a more leisurely pace, but the car could turn it up when it had to and if you have driven on the Italian Autostrade, then you know how useful that extra bit of wellie can be.

Like you, I thought that I might be missing out by buying the 1.9 Tdi as opposed to the 2.0 L version, (I had to save some cash, I had a wedding to pay for :o ) , but I can honestly say, I am really pleased with the car.

[BenR]

Posts like these are a nice antidote to those disheartening posts complaining about trim noise etc.

[carl s]

Posts like these are a nice antidote to those disheartening posts complaining about trim noise etc.

Very true :biggthump

Earlier this week I got caught up in the floods traveling up to Leeds. The journey took me nearly six hours each way. Numerous jams, divertions down country roads that were under upto a foot of water. The car behaved impeccably and myself and passenger arrived unruffled by the journey despite the adverse (and sometime downright dangerous) weather conditions. I can testify that the brakes continue to work well even under several inches of water as one village we went through a stream had burst its banks and had re-routed itself down a 1/4 mile section of the high street!
Also it was very stable in the strong sidewinds during the gales. An awfull lot less affected than some estate cars I've owned. So yes some bits of trim do rattle or creak occasionaly but a drive like that puts them into perspective.

[Quatrelle]

A lot (all?) of the glovebox noise seems to have disappeared since I followed the advice on here re 'greasing' the catches. The main improvement might be because I jammed a piece of foam above and below the weighty driver's manual in its cubbyhole. I'm looking to refine (!) this with a bubble-wrap envelope.