My toy is home

[vanDub]

I have just arrived home after clocking up 5000 Km in 2 weeks after taking delivery of our new Passat in Melbourne. As the car was trucked to Melbourne we had no handover from the dealer but since then I have resolved most questions by trial and error and reading the manual. Here are some observations and items that may be of interest.

1. The 125 Kw TDI was initially very noisy especially through the gears but had quietened and freed up markedly by 800Km. It now has a pleasant purr and is dead quiet at cruise.
2. The engine pulls like crazy and takes you over any speed limit before you know it even with minimal accelerator pressure (MFD speed alert is my God). The speedometer appears to read 5-6 Kph faster than actual speed at 100 Kph based on GPS speed.
3. The Continental SportContact 2 tyres were surprisingly quiet and smooth on better quality roads but I was extremely disappointed with the harsh, noisy ride on poorer quality roads until I found out the tyre pressures as delivered were set for maximum load at 45-46 PSI. At recommended pressure for 2 adults + luggage of 33 PSI ride was vastly improved.
4. The disconcerting scrapping noise heard when hitting dips at speed was only the front mud flaps bottoming out.
5. Heated leather seats are useful in Queensland as they do wonders for a sore back. It’s like having continuous Deep Heat type cream.
6. The Oil change debate – for those that insist on 15000Km for the first oil change, read service schedule page 6:
a. “Diesel fuel in some markets has a high sulphur content. An oil change interval of 7,500 km applies for vehicles using this diesel fuel. This also may be required for vehicles operating under severe driving conditions.”
b. The emphasis is VW’s and there is a similar comment on page 7.
c. Australian diesel is high sulphur at 50 ppm except for the BP Ultimate diesel on trial in Perth which, at 5ppm, matches the low sulphur diesel in Europe.
7. Dipping passenger mirror used to be standard fit, but on MY08 model is only fitted with the Electic seats with memory option. If anyone knows what’s involved in getting it to work without the seat option, I would love to know.
8. Footwell lights (red) are in each door but I can’t get them to work as the MFD setup does not match what the manual states about getting them on or adjusting them. Any advice would be appreciated.
9. Towbar – I will do a further writeup when I have some pictures but the VW optioned towbar is a removable tongue based on square tongue in square hole held in place with a pin except that the attachment is vertical (hidden behind bumper) as opposed to the more common horizontal setup. A factory fitted towbar incorporates a Trailer Stabilisation function that is integrated with ESP. Only problem is that it only has an 85Kg ball weight limit.

I have just done my first mod, the tip of the oil dipstick has now been sprayed white. I can now see the oil level easy as and it hasn't used any to date.

[DaveMack]

Congrats on the new toy ... it looks the goods. Are those standard rims? Or did you specify different ones with VW? (They look great!)

Cheers,
Dave

[JET-28L]

very nice mate i like it yeh those wheels are really nice

[rark]

I
6. The Oil change debate – for those that insist on 15000Km for the first oil change, read service schedule page 6:
a. “Diesel fuel in some markets has a high sulphur content. An oil change interval of 7,500 km applies for vehicles using this diesel fuel. This also may be required for vehicles operating under severe driving conditions.”
b. The emphasis is VW’s and there is a similar comment on page 7.
c. Australian diesel is high sulphur at 50 ppm except for the BP Ultimate diesel on trial in Perth which, at 5ppm, matches the low sulphur diesel in Europe.

I pretty sure that Australian diesel in now classed as 'low sulphur' via the introduction of various state legislation circa 2006/7.

Good review though.

[rark]

Are those standard rims? Or did you specify different ones with VW? (They look great!)

Those rims are the standard 17" for the 125kw Diesel VW Passat. I agree they look good, and I stuck with them when we got our Passat.

[vanDub]

Rark is correct, they are the standard 17" rims on the 125Kw diesel.

I forgot to post the most important part of my drive home.

First 2 tanks of mixed city and hilly country driving using Brackies run in technique (lots of gear and rev changes and giving it some poke) resulted in fuel consumption of 6.3 L/100K calculated from fuel added to fill tank Vs distance travelled (not the optimistic MFD figure).

Last 2 tank fulls gave 5.9 L/100K of purely highway driving at the speed limit without really trying. Best leg was 1144Km on one tank from Tenterfield to Rockhampton via Ballina and Hervey bay with some driving around each stop.

[vanDub]

Makes the oil level real easy to see.

Some paint gets rubbed off the bulges at the tip and above the reading area as the dipstick is removed / inserted but the reading area is not affected