Have You Seen This Volkswagen Passat? Not in the Real World, Says Consumer Reports

It has happened before, even at IL.

Remember about a GT500 test, which didn`t run as expected, you guys complained to Ford, then basically they said it was something about the air filter, brought back the car, and boom, whole new perfomance.

Or with the first tested 2007 335i`s, which ran as crazy, then things settle down to lesser perfomance.

CR brags that they buy their own cars, just for this reason. If that's the case, they should never drive a press car.

The 2004 Odyssey EX-L I drove for Car and Driver in 2004 felt stronger than my own 2003 EX with the same drivetrain. Premium gas might be an explanation, although... Always had a doubt on that one. Still, in a minivan comparo, what's the value of a few tenths off the 0-60 in the final tally?

The pre-production Grand Caravan we got (1st year of stow n' gow) was a dog next to other GCs I had driven, so it can go both ways.

The real question is, how many people buy a car based solely on the recommendation of a magazine? In a very real sense, that would be like making your purchase decision simply because you like that product's TV ads.

If one bases their purchase off of test drives of multiple cars (and actually uses that opportunity to fully inspect and evaluate those cars), this is as moot as moot can get. Utilizing assorted media is great for helping inform the consumer before going in for a test drive, but that's it. You should always end up buying the best car for YOU, regardless of what CR or Edmunds or Car and Driver think.

Passat TDI SEL demo models at dealerships that I've seen also have the cover on both the right and left side trunk hinge.

The fact that VW went cheap and changed from a non-obtrusive hinge is significant, not having a cover is minor.
VW also went cheap to a prop rod for the hood instead of struts. VW went cheap on the rear vents for rear seat passengers by moving the vents from center console to under floor plastic plenums.
Seats are only partial leather on top trim level SEL models where entire center insert is "Dynamica" suede type cloth made from recycled plastic.
Climate control dials feel cheap, look cheap. Clock looks cheap.

Rest of car is sold effort. It drives like a VW.
Overall pretty decent car with some obvious bean counter cost cutting measures.

re: fmonk
There are a large number of conumers that place utilize CR as there guiding expert before they actually set foot in a dealership. A bad review in CR eliminates many vehicles from a shoppers list of possible new cars.

If we did not care about what other people think we would not be posting and reading Edmunds.

Amusing how the only "proof" CR has is the plastic cover... Of course, they can't provide anything else, since CR doesn't actually test the car's (or any other item/gadget/appliance) performance or anything relevant that can produce the actual numerical values (they sometimes mention the fuel economy numbers, but it's not necessary to test the car to get supposedly "tested" MPG rating - just pick the random number between EPA's official ratings for "city" and "highway" mileage).

Frankly, the plastic covers look cheesier than the painted hinge. As far as switching hinge types, most of the cars in this class, including some that are widely praised on these pages (Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima), don't use gas struts even though they cost as much or more than the Passat. Many more expensive cars, like the Hyundai Genesis and BMW 7-series, don't either, although they usually conceal the hinges by boxing them inside trim panels that in some cases reduces potential cargo volume. It will be interesting to see whether the Fusion and Mazda6 continue to have trunk struts when they are redesigned--although with the Fiesta and Focus, Ford has shown that it is possible to mount the gooseneck hinges far to the sides above the wheel wells where they really don't affect cargo volume very much, and use space-saving springs rather than torsion roda to pop the decklid upward.

How is this even a story? Trim bits vary from car to car all the time.

feloniousmonk: "The real question is, how many people buy a car based solely on the recommendation of a magazine?"

I know lots of people that make many of their purchasing decisions based primarily (not solely) on what Consumer Reports says. I disagree with them in doing so, but that's the way it is.

"In a very real sense, that would be like making your purchase decision simply because you like that product's TV ads."

Very different. One is based on what they 'believe' is an independent, unbiased, organization that's acting in the best interest of their customers. The other is based on a biased company that's acting in their own best interest / profit.

brn says:

"Very different. One is based on what they 'believe' is an independent, unbiased, organization that's acting in the best interest of their customers. The other is based on a biased company that's acting in their own best interest / profit."

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Nope, whether you base a purchase decision solely on what a magazine says or upon what an ad says, you're not making your own decision. Both the advertisement and the magazine can be sources of information, but that's all they are. Use that info, test the product yourself and choose what suits you and your needs the best.

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moparbad says:

"If we did not care about what other people think we would not be posting and reading Edmunds."

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I never said that we shouldn't "care". I said that we should use the information such publications provide and then personally test the vehicle to see if it is the right product for us.

Good for CR. This is clearly deceptive. When an auto manufacturer provides a car for review and represents it as a production car, that is deceptive.

I've got to ask: isn't this much ado about nothing? Really. Does it affect 0-60 times? Does it affect braking? Does it worsen the fuel economy? Does it limit the ability to stuff items into the large opening of the capacious trunk? (And, by the way, that picture of the rear with the trunk open shows off an impressively large potential cargo capacity with a shallow liftover.)

Also, let me ask: if you bought a Passat with your own money, would you honestly feel ripped-off if you were lacking one plastic trunk hinge cover? I think that is the correct question to ask. So long as the car continues to perform well over X years of ownership, aren't you going to be satisfied?

Aren't the press cars noted as being 'pre-production' cars? Doesn't that mean that final trim and other things may be different from production cars? If so, this seems like a story about nothing.

There's more to a car than just its performance numbers, so even if the trim piece doesn't alter performance, it still matters to the people who feel like it adds quality. As noted it may not be as bad as Ferrari, but it is still dishonest.

Changes are made to cars all the time between pre production and production.
A bean counter decided the second cover wasn't needed, so it was omitted from the production cars.
CR is desperate to regain some vehicle related relevance.

"If a manufacturer will go to great lengths to put an extra plastic cover on the press version to prevent criticism, what other lengths will they go to game the system and perform better in evaluations? Tweak the suspension, flash a computer, blueprint an engine, add extra sound deadening?"

One word: Hyundai.

"One word: Hyundai"

Examples? Or you just can't believe Hyundai/KIA can build good cars?

I can't believe Hyundai/Kia builds cars as good as the automotive media contends they are. It smells.

kplacer: "I can't believe Hyundai/Kia builds cars as good as the automotive media contends they are. It smells. "

Agreed. The Hyundias/kias that I've looked at, have not begun to live up to the hype from the automotive press. For me, it tarnishes the reputation of such publications.

"It smells. "

No more smelly than the love affair that the auto press has had with VW. Nice testing cars that have HORRIBLE reliability over the long term. The LT Jetta....a really mediocre car given a pass by IL. Well I should say given a pass after an exclusive interview with a VW exec. Before that interview the Jetta was shown to be what it is....a really boring mid-packer....then all of a sudden a bunch of positive posts were made about it.

All of the Kias and Hyundais I have been in lately have been just as nice as the press says they are. It is just bias when somebody says they are not as good as the competition...because they are. Are they better? In some ways and in some ways not, but they are fully competitive.

bodyblue, I could deal with it if the automotive press said they were competitive (with pros and cons). The problem is the automotive press would have you believe Hyundai/Kia is heads and tails better than the competition for less money. That's when they lose me.