FWD Passat R36

[Radius]

That’d be exactly what I’m looking for dinot81. Either an Arteon Shooting Brake VR6 or Passat R wagon VR6 (really don’t mind even if it’s naturally aspirated again.... the US Atlas is still using the VR6 3.6L). I agree Kleung, the 206tsi I’ve testdriven before and at normal Aus road speeds, it feels punchier from low revs than the R36. The overall car though just doesn’t have that unique feeling I get with the R36 though. It feels a bit like just another engine option for the B8 Passat. There used to be a real “R division” with properly unique R versions of the Golf, Passat and even Touareg. Now if you want a real R Performance VW, there is only the Golf.

The B6 Passat and Mk5 Golf/Jetta come from a time when VW took some risks and really went out there to take on the premiums on a budget. Yes, there are reliability issues due to over-complexity. Apparently Mk5 Golfs/Jettas are hated by panelbeaters due to the overly complicated front end shut lines and the number of components involved in a simple front-shunt. The following VW generations have brought in massive improvements in refinement and technology, they’ve dropped a lot of the unnecessary complexity / fragility, but they feel a bit like “GFC specials” in the sense that they seemed to have been designed with a factor of perceived austerity in mind. A small example.... I went to check out the Golf R during the last service. It’s an awesome car, I’m still to testdrive one and it’s still seriously on my shortlist. For me though, the back seat is always the first place I check out in a prospective new car as I’ve got kids / parents / in-laws to fit there. I found hard plastic renditions of the soft-touch front door cards in the rear. The sales guy rightly said to me that “no one really cares about that”, and don’t me wrong, I know it is a really little minor thing. But coming from a Mk5 Jetta and a B6 Passat which were consistent from front to rear, it was a tad disappointing and hard to ignore once aware of it. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll completely forget about it once I actually testdrive the Golf R LOL.
Sorry for the rant, I’ve just been really keen to update from the Passat R36 and if there was a direct new version, then VWA would have had my money ages ago.
There’s lots of talking up about the Mk8 Golf being a massive leap forward, and definitely the next Touareg looks like a step in the right direction. I just don’t want to be waiting that long.

[kleung]

There used to be a real “R division” with properly unique R versions of the Golf, Passat and even Touareg. Now if you want a real R Performance VW, there is only the Golf.

It seems odd that VW started diluting the R brand almost immediately after its introduction. All three of the original R models - the R50, R36 and R32 had fairly extreme engines for their respective classes. The R Touareg was dropped altogether, while the VR6-powered Passat lived on for a few more years in the B7 Passat after the R36 was discontinued along with the B6 range. The R32 was replaced with an admittedly even more potent turbo 4, but the performance is just no substitute for the noise that 3.2l VR6 engine made.

The B6 Passat and Mk5 Golf/Jetta come from a time when VW took some risks and really went out there to take on the premiums on a budget.

And it showed. There's so much clever stuff in the B6 Passat and the Mk5 Golf that hasn't been matched to this day. Sadly, VW has again diluted a lot of the clever stuff no doubt in a bid to cut costs. For example, even today, few mainstream manufacturers use laser seam welding to assemble their vehicles. The telltale is the uninterrupted roof line - if you look, most cars have a trim piece that runs fore-aft on either side of the roof. This covers up the seam where the body panels were welded together. VAG cars don't have this trim piece.

What's really remarkable is that VW never really actively marketed this stuff. Some of these things were so simple and subtle that you'd barely notice them, yet VW baked them in to the design. Something as simple as triggering the auto headlights early if the auto wipers operated at greater than a specific frequency for a period of time. Such a simple thing, and so easy to incorporate, yet few manufacturers do it. VW never really marketed it either - the car was fitted with auto headlights, but unlike most other manufacturers, they really were automatic, and not just dusk-sensing.

they feel a bit like “GFC specials” in the sense that they seemed to have been designed with a factor of perceived austerity in mind.

But that's a core element of VW design - conservative yet elegant designs. They tend not to do 'look at me' designs like most American marques do, and what Honda is currently doing with the design language on the current Civic range.

[QUOTE]But coming from a Mk5 Jetta and a B6 Passat which were consistent from front to rear,[QUOTE]

Not quite. The lower part of the door cards on the B6 Passats are a hard scratch plastic, as are the plastic sills below the side windows in the cargo compartment.

There’s lots of talking up about the Mk8 Golf being a massive leap forward, and definitely the next Touareg looks like a step in the right direction. I just don’t want to be waiting that long.

VW don't really do 'massive leaps' I think. Their designs tend to evolve. There was a marketing photo done for the Mk7 Golf where they parked all 7 generations side by side, and you can see clear links and family resemblances between each generation.

Personally I think each generation has been an improvement on the last (except perhaps the Mk4-Mk5 changeover - the Mk6 was probably what the Mk5 should have been), and having had a Mk7 110TDI Highline as a loaner a few years ago, I'm quite impressed with the Mk7.