Good and Bad Reviews On The B7?

[rapport25]

Hi Guys,

I will be stepping out of my B6 very soon into a new B7 estate. Any good or bad points you have found with the B7? Forgot to mention mine will be a 2.0 tdi manual not sure if its a sport or se.

Many Thanks,

Rappy.

[rapport25]

Guys, please can you help?

[bigstuff]

Good - you'll have a shiny new thing!

Bad - You'll look even more of a boring b'stard than in the B6!

[rapport25]

:biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh:.

I will be able to get the dogs in which is a big plus. Also no worries if anything goes wrong.

Basically a win win :approve:.

[fireblade43]

Had mine since April. 140 ps TDi SE Est now done 5K. Car is good, clutch is dreadfull, I have it on good authority many have the same awfull feeling (pulsing & clicking) through pedal in traffic and parking (believe me it is very annoying). If you do proceed buy a DSG as VW don't want to help put it right! Spoils what is generally a very good car. Be aware mine was fine for approx 2000 mls. Unfortunately b4 ordering I could only test drive a DSG and it was fantastic but sadly out of budget, If I had driven a manual with a clutch like mine I wouldn't have ordered it. Love the car, hate the clutch and VW attitude. Such a shame.

[Passat Sport]

Had mine since April. 140 ps TDi SE Est now done 5K. Car is good, clutch is dreadfull, I have it on good authority many have the same awfull feeling (pulsing & clicking) through pedal in traffic and parking (believe me it is very annoying). If you do proceed buy a DSG as VW don't want to help put it right! Spoils what is generally a very good car. Be aware mine was fine for approx 2000 mls. Unfortunately b4 ordering I could only test drive a DSG and it was fantastic but sadly out of budget, If I had driven a manual with a clutch like mine I wouldn't have ordered it. Love the car, hate the clutch and VW attitude. Such a shame.
Not a problem that I've had with my 170 TDi Sport Saloon or with either of the cars that I tried before ordering - one demo, the other hire.

As for VW attitude, I'm not impressed with customer care. They reacted promptly to my complaint about TPMS, but I ended up needing to explain the differences in VW tyre pressure monitoring systems and what I expected to see.

[The Fingers]

Will i have had mine for about 3 months now and 4K and i am going to start the praise off and hopefully others will follow.

The clutch issue above i have not noticed (the clicking / pulsing) however i have noticed a slight engage / disengage issue when freewheeling in gear, when you go for the gas again i can feel the clutch as if is letting out the last inch of the pedal and giving full drive. Its almost as if it has part engaged the clutch while free wheeling in gear and then when it senses drive required again it disengages again. quite weird but not a massive problem and will be reported at service.

I had a dsg b6 for three years and 75K and loved it however this thing had two mechadoodoos and a new box by 60K, also the BIK tax bill on the manual is alot less. so manual this time was a no brainer really!!!

Now i have had a while and got used to the 6 speed manual again, i love it. Best car i have had to date. Granted once the novilty wears off it is a B6 in new clothes with a few minor revisions to switch gear, clocks, seats etc etc (compared to a 57 flavour B6)

The 140 CR does seem a smoother engine than the old PD lump, which i can assure you will be better matched to the DSG than on the old ones. It does feel now though as if its not giving its all and is actually detuned. Doesn't have the pull through third of the PD 140. Its no slower it just feels it. If you know what i mean.

All the new toys (comparing to 57 flavour, all you newer B6ers get back in your cage;) i know you have the new kit too) work well, stop start, bluetooth, MDI etc etc. The SE is a pretty well specced car now. Seats are better than old SE / highline (high line are se with leather faces) seem more comfy over a constant 250 miles.

Fuel ecconomy is listed as better, and although i dont do any real calcs the MFD reads about 7-10 mpg better than the DSG b6, BIK bill is half that of the DSG b6. So in that respect its winner winner chicken dinner!!!!

Colours - mines white (if you get this colour - mud flaps you will need some) but to date i have seen others which look great, Black, met grey and the bronzy brown one.

I have always found my local VW (smith knight faye - Hyde) to be spot on with diagnostics and fixing issues no matter the cost. I have never been fobbed off and they are always helpful. Sometimes even replacing stuff that i had not noticed without being asked. I think some times its how you approach them, softly softly catchy monkey. Start shouting and you become the one that nobody wants to help.

Sorry for all the waffle but i hope you now have the veiw of someone who has driven the old B6 for a lot of miles and now has upgraded to a new one. I am happy with the car just not how much i have to clean it.

I am sure you will be happy with it, the rear end looks a bit weird (saloon) but i dont look that bit often. Front end is a major improvement over B6 (my opinion).

After a month though once inside you will forget its new and its just like a B6.

[rapport25]

Thanks the Fingers :approve:. We both share a similar story. I will be coming from a B6 saloon with dsg and moving onto a new B7 6 speed manaul. But this time an estate.

Don’t really like the look of the B7 saloon. The rear looks all wrong. I think the estate looks better balanced. No rear led lights as standard not impressed. A step backwards I think Mr VW.

One of the big selling points of a B6 was led rear lights as standard to improve road safety.

[The Fingers]

Thanks the Fingers :approve:. We both share a similar story. I will be coming from a B6 saloon with dsg and moving onto a new B7 6 speed manaul. But this time an estate.

Don’t really like the look of the B7 saloon. The rear looks all wrong. I think the estate looks better balanced. No rear led lights as standard not impressed. A step backwards I think Mr VW.

One of the big selling points of a B6 was led rear lights as standard to improve road safety.


I was toying with estate but when i ordered i did it pretty much blind, i had not seen one in the flesh. have a parrot not a dog so didn't need the big boot.

I had both my rear led lights in the B6 replaced due to fish bowl water ingress killing them. Which to VW is not so cost effective as now you are pretty much on your own cause we have bulbs again. Drying out a leaky bulbed light and getting the owner to pay for bulbs themselves is miles better that having to pay for a whole new cluster cause the rain has made it KAPUT!! But yes i miss that cherry glow but i wasn't paying the extra as i dont like the led strip DRLs you get after upgrade there is nothing worse than come head on with a DS3 or even some of the audi's with them for that matter. Those DS3 led drls are a nightmare!!!

I think the rear end was either done first thing monday or last thing friday. Although the more time i spend with it the more it grows on me. The rear lights are not that bad and look quite nice in the dark, my brother thinks the rear looks 'Peachy'

Curry Hooks (bag hooks in boot) - there is now one both sides but, design wise THEY HAVE GOOFED THEM UP. They are now a fixed hook with about 10mm clearance over the top to get bags in. they dont pull down like B6. DOH!!!!

Auto hold feels a little Alien in the manual, especially when in traffic going down hill, you need clutch and gas to release it whereas DSG is just a tiny tiny tap of gas pedal and off we go. Takes a bit of getting used to. Now i have had it a bit if its a long traffic jam down hill i turn that off along with stop start and hold it on pedal then pop it all back on when we are free again.......

You will find all this out for yourself soon..................... tick tock tick tock time will drag!!!!

[rapport25]

When I first purchased my B6 saloon it was not an issue. But now we have two dogs it is. The pup is the same size as the 11 yr old :biglaugh:.

I remember reading about your issues with the fish bowl rears. Cant imagine they are cheap to replace. And yes a bulb is a lot cheaper.

With ref to the drl's I have to agree. I was toying with fitting them to my B6 but decided against. I use to ride motor bikes and as my friend put it. It now makes bikes invisible:banghead:.

I have had a good look round a few saloons and estates at the delaer and he said the shape will grow on you. And I have to agree. I dont mind the front now. As for the rear not so sure on the saloon. But like I mentioned earlier I like the balance of the estate it seems like someone has thought about the design. I seen a rather nice gold/brown colour I think the dealer said it was cashmere. Very nice:approve:

Shame about the curry hooks!!!

I'm pleased you mentioned auto hold. In the dsg its excellent. I guess I will need to get use to this. Also the stop start function.

Cheers Rappy.