brickboy

I’ve had my Passat B5.5 PD130 sport (6-speed manual) for 5 years and 62,000 miles (company wheels), and it’s making way for a new Mondeo.

For what it’s worth, here’s my impressions and experience of ownership.

First, I didn’t really run it in, I just drove it. Even keeping below 3K rpm, you’re still moving quite nicely.

It’s been serviced at 10K intervals, using 505.01 oil (not long life). Uses about half a pint of oil between changes.


Pros: grunty engine, the trademark VAG PD instant torque, and perfect ratios in the top 4 gears mean overtaking and cruising is always quick, punchy and stress free. Dare I say -- great REAL WORLD performance?

Excellent m/way cruising at 2700rpm in 6th (about 85mph). This gives an average of 50 – 55mpg on a run. This car really is more economical cruising at this speed than at 70mph, where you’re constantly swapping lanes and unable to maintain steady throttle due to trucks, etc.

Long-distance comfort is good, and the cabin is a nice place to be for 500-mile days. Sport suspension controls body roll well.

Big boot swallows all the gear needed for a 2-week family holiday.

Interior and exterior finish has held up very well, even the alloys still come up nice despite being washed only once every 3 months.


Cons: handling is, er, safe. Very little feedback or involvement, but understeer does not become terminal. Ride can be a bit jarring and crashy over bumps.

Refinement could be better, the engine is quiet & smooth at cruising speed but in town and when cold, it thrums and throbs prominently (although a bit less now it’s properly loosened up).

The front suspension knuckle joint, the B5.5 Achilles Heel, got me at the second MOT. £400 for one side only at a good independent. VAG dealer price £550.


Average fuel consumption: 46.5mpg over the period of ownership (real mpg, not on the trip computer). This is brilliant for a fairly hard-driven, 1.4 tonne family barge.

Apart from the knuckle joint, I’ve had one hose clip on the intercooler break (my fault for fiddling), and one brake light bulb blow. That’s it. Still on original clutch, brake pads & discs.

One tip – Conti SportContacts are the best tyre for longevity. The factory-fit set lasted 33K on the front, and 50K rear.


In conclusion, I wanted a tax-efficient company car for family barge purposes. I got all that, and a lot more besides. If you need an all-rounder, a Passat B5.5 with FSH (and evidence that the front knuckle joints have been done) should serve very well.

dpb

Youve come to the right place

RobEvo5

iTrader: (9)

These have been my firms pull cars for a while now, but just in process of upgrading. But these cars are a freek of nature IMO. They are such good cars in every respect and the real world driving power is hard to match with even 200bhp+bhp cars.

Last firm passat on a 03 plate with just over 100K miles and FSH went for 4K which represents huge value for money as a second hand buy.

They certainly get my thumps up.!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

They pull ok granted but the owners are usually used to a 1.8 repmobile and therefore think they now have enought to challenge some proper fast cars, you need a remap for that.

I am slightly kicking myself for going petrol again seeing as I manage about half the economy you are getting, then again on my short commute I dont think a diesel would do much more than 35.

gt5500

I test drove one of these a while back,the power delivery was very nice and it felt a lot more powerfull then my 150bhp petrol car, didn't really push it hard but going up hills in 5th at quite slow speeds it would pull really strongly. However the thing I could never live with was the suspension even in the sport model. It felt like it had the grip but the body roll was too much and at times it felt like the car was pitching and rolling just for fun. The worst thing though was that it not only felt soft when cornering but somehow managed to crash over even the smallest pot holes, strange combination really soft and crashy. I imagine that some suspension tweeks would sort this out but I think I would rather get a mundano (mondeo). By the way how was the reliability? I have heard many owners complaining of numerour electrical gremlins in the recent VAG cars.

robby

a couple of years ago i had this engine in my Fabia VRS and it was great, i then had it remapped at Jabba and it was 180+bhp @320lb/ft which left most cars standing in midrange but still gave 50+mpg

about 3-4 months ago i bought a facelift A3tdisport (140bhp model) which i expected to be as good as if not better than the VRS in standard form but what a let down - 35mpg and poor performance.
i had that car for 2 weeks before i traded it in

brickboy

@ GT5500, mine has very little roll but you're right, it can lose composure and crash & thump without much provocation. Reliability-wise, it's had one brake light bulb fail, and the auto-release for the fuel filler flap stuck (open), but that's it. The niggle with the Passats (and Audi A6) is the front suspension joints, they corrode into a big lump which means ££££ if you need to replace a ball joint.

@ Robby, yep, the VAG PD130 is a good old motor, wonder if your A3 was a Friday afternoon car?

gt5500

Thats funny the one I test drove was only a couple of years old and had only covered about 30k, yet any time I turned in a bit sharp it rolled like an ocean liner. I know its a big car but it just didn't feel right for a so called sport model, in comparison I recently drove my brothers 51 plate 530i which is just an SE spec so no sport suspension and that felt much more confident with half the body roll and that really is a big car.

Kevin Mc

Some torque figures here:

Jabba Sport - Motor Sport

I've got the PD130 in my Skoda Superb - thinking about the custom remap, but also would like to know about the knuckle joints and when they are likely to go (mine just being a big Passat )

brickboy

Knuckle joints = to be more accurate, it's the ball joints that fail. The problem is that changing the ball joints means splitting the knuckle joint.

Some effing bean counter at VAG reckoned they could save 0.01 cents per car by using an unplated steel bolt to hold the knuckle joint together, rather than a stainless bolt. So after 4 years or so of road salt, muck etc, the bolt has corroded solid.

To sort it, you have to unbolt the entire front suspension assembly on that side of the car, remove it, then cut the bolt (and sometimes cut the suspension arm).

BUT BUT BUT you only do this if a ball joint fails. You'll know if one has gone 'cos it will clonk over bumps at low speed. This only happened on the driver's side on mine ... it happens on some cars, not others.

brickboy

@ B20, I knew a couple of Passat people that had maps done by Upsolute, very satisfied they were too and I believe it was about £250.

brickboy

Never saw that warning light, perhaps it needs an Italian tune-up?

I would recommend checking all the vac hoses are snug & secure on the connectors etc. I also used to hose the VNT actuating arm & lever with WD40 every couple of months to help stop it sticking (not the vacuum valve, but down the rod where it couples to the lever)

I also blocked off the EGR on mine (it was built in 2003), on these and earlier cars you can do this without warning lights or ill effects. Just remove the vac hose from the EGR valve, find something like a small screw etc that fits snugly in the hose, then reconnect the hose. This stops the risk of further soot build-up in the ECG / inlet assembly.

boiledshrimpnbutter

seems VAG products are'nt as reliable as there advert used to say !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

over priced, and in some cases over rated !!!!!!!
gearboxes are usually weak , so are turbo's ,

no wonder GSF are so busy