Avensis or Passat?

Gwynplaine

Looking to trade in Saab 93. Am currently looking at a Passat, and an Avensis. They look to be similarly priced. 2010 to 2012.
What would you go for?

selectamatic

If going Avensis get a facelift 2012+ model in a good spec.

If going passat avoid the 1.6tdi its very underpowered for such a car.

endacl

2011 9-3

No brainier.

Spook_ie

Gwynplaine wrote: »

Looking to trade in Saab 93. Am currently looking at a Passat, and an Avensis. They look to be similarly priced. 2010 to 2012.
What would you go for?

Assuming that the 2010 is the Passat, I'd look for a 2012 Skoda Superb, the 2 year difference is likely the premium for a VW.

Gwynplaine

endacl wrote: »

2011 9-3

No brainier.

I've had mine 6 years now. Time for a change.

TBi

Gwynplaine wrote: »

I've had mine 6 years now. Time for a change.

If you enjoy driving get a Passat, if you want reliability get an Avensis.

Gwynplaine

TBi wrote: »

If you enjoy driving get a Passat, if you want reliability get an Avensis.

Am leaning towards the Avensis. Looking at a 2012 with 60k miles. Am sick of getting jobs done on the Saab.

bazz26

TBi wrote: »

If you enjoy driving get a Passat, if you want reliability get an Avensis.

mickdw

bazz26 wrote: »

TBi wrote: »

If you enjoy driving get a Passat, if you want reliability get an Avensis.

To be fair, everything is relative I guess.

colm_mcm

B6 Passat is an awful yoke to drive IMO. It does feel more substantial than the Avensis though.

RoscommonTom

octavia or Aventis,

mickdw

colm_mcm wrote: »

B6 Passat is an awful yoke to drive IMO. It does feel more substantial than the Avensis though.

Any time I drove one, I never did get a feel as to what the back was doing. Didn't feel like it was properly attached to the front at all. Still take it instead of an avensis though... what a horrible thing they are.

The_Honeybadger

If you are sick of doing jobs to your current car just wait until you get one of those B6 passats I had one for a few years and it nearly cost me my sanity. It never failed to start or left me on the side of the road but the amount of silly issues I had was crazy.

I got an Avensis after and it has been rock solid, can’t fault it but it’s not a drivers car. A colleague of mine has one in the top spec (can’t remember the name) and it’s a much nicer place to be with a lot of extras like a touch screen media centre etc. I’m sorry I didn’t look for one like it

Elemonator

Never had an issue with the 4 Passats I've owned. Slightly underpowered maybe but that's my fault.

Mad_Mike

Currently getting rid of my 5th Passat (which is a B6 2.0 Tdi)
For me, they have been a very reliable car that will go on and on if they are kept any way right at all

My only issue is, within the last 5 years, I have developed back pain, and my cars for the last 5 or 6 years have been Passats

My wife had a Volvo 2005 for the last couple of years, and recently changed to a Saab, and any long drives in either the Volvo or Saab, I have never had issues with my back. While the Passats were fine for short journeys, I found that after any decent long drive (80-100kms), I would ache all over. Yeah, I'm not getting any younger, and that's bound to be a factor, but fact remains, the seats just don't offer the same support as some other cars. It's a pity, as overall, I've been very happy with Passats, but unfortunately it's time for me to leave them behind at this stage

The_Honeybadger

Good to hear, mine was a money pit. Some of the issues I had with my Passat were the handbrake system, steering column, window motors x 2, central locking system and both fobs failed, EGR valve, air intake manifold and the windscreen bottle reservoir split as well requiring quite a bit of labour to change out. It was also much fonder of suspension parts than any car I owned previously or since. The lumbar support in the drivers seat also collapsed and it was killing me on long journeys, that’s when I decided to cut my losses as I was sick of going to the garage with it.

Garage I used told me that most of the above is not unusual with them once they start getting older but I was hexed to have them all go wrong within a relatively short space of time (about two years).

Mad_Mike

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Good to hear, mine was a money pit. Some of the issues I had with my Passat were the handbrake system, steering column, window motors x 2, central locking system and both fobs failed, EGR valve, air intake manifold and the windscreen bottle reservoir split as well requiring quite a bit of labour to change out. It was also much fonder of suspension parts than any car I owned previously or since. The lumbar support in the drivers seat also collapsed and it was killing me on long journeys, that’s when I decided to cut my losses as I was sick of going to the garage with it.

Garage I used told me that most of the above is not unusual with them once they start getting older but I was hexed to have them all go wrong within a relatively short space of time (about two years).

Wow! That is certainly a lot of faults alright, and thankfully I haven't found myself in the same situation, although the earlier B5 and B5.5 Passats can be found all over the country with suckers stuck to windows, and bits of wood jammed in behind the door panels to keep the windows up alright!