Proud to announce arrival of new baby (Passat Wagon)

[richdave]

Dad and "baby" doing well... Mum hasn't seen it yet LOL

What can I say but wow! Great car overall. No doubt I'll take a few days to get used to all the features and quirks...

Only 40k on the clock so there's plenty of driving to be done

The only disapointment so far is that the dealer did not fill the tank up and I had to put almost $57.00 (42lt) of diesel into her on the way home.

Looking forward to not having to do that too often

[drbass]

Hi Dave,

Congrats. I'm sure you'll enjoy your new "baby".

Bummer about the tank. Essendon VW were kind enough to provide my tractor with (almost) a full tank which was nice. So far I "frequented" a service station 4 times (6 weeks, coming up to 4,000 km, best tank 6.3/100) - nice.

Let us all know how you're going. I'm particularly interested in the leather (I chose cloth), heard that the seats are rather flat and unsupportive.

You've probably seen my two write-ups in the MY08 thread - check there for my experiences. Will add more after next week's trip to Sydney.

As I said, enjoy!

Seeya,
Michael

[Chuckey]

Congrats Dave, it does take a little while to work out all the features and I recommend reading though the manual as there is a lot of things which can be setup or tweaked if your that way inclined.

[richdave]

Thanks guys for the responses... I'll get into the manual after I have had some time to just drive it... unless of course someone has a "must have" or "must try" tip/trick they have discovered... I do like the enter/exit lights on feature.

I don't want to pee on my own parade here but I must admit that the iPod adaptor implementation is pretty piss poor esp for a $349.00 RRP option. Geez the 3.5mm plug that my BA had would have been a better solution IMO.

They could have at least put a USB socket somewhere (like say inside the console) so you can plug a standard cable into it.... That is MOD no1 for me... so I dont have that awful cable in the glove box.

I'm not to impressed with the bluetooth either... very rudimentary functionality and already getting complaints about echo and audio quality... MOD no2 will be to relocate the mic to the RH A-Pillar

The AM reception is poor too... getting tint tomorrow so bet the dealer blames that for the poor reception.... My answer will be I'll get the tint taken off but if the problem is still there you fix it AND replace tint..

OK... that said, the car drives like a beauty!!! these little gripes are nothing compared to the joy I have already by owning and driving such a great car...

@drbass - regarding the leather seats, I think so far they are nice enough, They are not up there with the leather seats in the wifes Beema and lack the side bolsters to keep you snug but they are comfortable and there's a wide range of adjustment inc the electric lumbar support. In all they look great and pass my scrutiny so far. BTW the wife has already tried out the heated seats and loves em...

Does anyone know what the little compartment in the tailgate is for? Theres a strange flip out thingy in there... I have not found it in the manual... yet.

[Lance B]

Congrats, Dave.

I had a hard time deciding between the 125kW Diesel and the V6 4Motion. In the end, the 4Motion won out as I like AWD too much. Still, I also loved the diesel and the economy was a big carrot!

I am sure you will love your new Passat as much as I love mine!

[richdave]

Congrats, Dave....

I am sure you will love your new Passat as much as I love mine!

Thanks Lance B.. your car sounds a blast now with the mods and all.

Only 100km done but loving it all the way.

[drbass]

Hi Dave,

Have to agree with you on the iPod "integration" - while I enjoy the sound (compared to the FM transmitter solutions I've had so far) the navigation and info display (or lack thereof) clearly stinks. Oh well, I can (just) live with it.

Good to hear you're happy with the leather seats. Yes, heated ones are nice (we have them in our Colt Cabrio!!) - will only get more convenient once the temps drop.

The compartment in the tailgate contains a warning triangle - if you buy your car in Europe/Germany that is !

Enjoy driving - I am!

Seeya,
Michael

[richdave]

Thanks drbass for the info about the tailgate...

Having played with the iPod some more it is not quite as bad as I thought and while you cannot use the wheel controls to change songs, it is more acceptable to me now I am more used to it. It is way better than the wife's 120i BMW where it is just an aux input with no control from the stereo.

As for the connector idea I had... after some more reasearch, a standard USB has only 4 signal lines plus GND so would not have sufficient signals to allow the car stereo to control the iPod. It would only allow charging and audio into the stereo. While that would mean you could possibly charge a phone or sim from the USB or connect a different MP3 player, I have scratched that idea.

I also "get" the reason for the cable in glove box - it's locable and since you dont need to touch the iPod once connected it's safe and secure.

That said, I'm thinking of relocating the cable to go under the console and up into the centre storage area and mounting a dock station in there... Not as secure but easier to access... The cable seems to be long enough to do it.

I did think of puting it in one of the little drawers next to the hazard button but the drawers are not deep enough for a "full size" iPod. I thought similar about running a charger cable for my phone into one but the phone is too big as well... maybe if I get smaller toys I might reconsider...

One other small anoyance... I have some "wrap round" styled sunnies and they are too big to go in the glasses holder... Real bummer since I bought them thursday and picked the car up Friday... DOH!

[drbass]

Hi Dave,

You can change songs from the steering wheel controls. Once your MFD is set to display the audio information the up and down buttons on the right hand side allow you to skip songs, or to go backwards.

Have thought about relocating the cable as well so the iPod is actually in my field of view - that way the song info would be available.

My RAZR V9 fits into the drawers - you must have a pretty big mobile ! Classic iPod definitely doesn't fit.

You're right about the sunnies. Mine are not particularly big but it's a tight fit.

Seeya,
Michael

[Chuckey]

Thanks drbass for the info about the tailgate...
One other small anoyance... I have some "wrap round" styled sunnies and they are too big to go in the glasses holder... Real bummer since I bought them thursday and picked the car up Friday... DOH!

Glad to see your enjoying you new toy Dave. As for the glasses you have 2 options. Find yourself a new pair of glasses, or for a car with a bigger sunglass holder.

I know what I would choose.