Let me start off by saying that the trade in of my 2013 Passat diesel for the current 2019 gasser was not driven by anything other than my health. I have a series of health issues (I'm almost 72) and the chance to provide my wife with a car with a six year, 72000 mile bumper to bumper warranty bought from a VW dealer close by that we have no complaints about was what drove the deal. I also prepaid VW scheduled maintenance for 80,000 miles for her.
One does save a good bit of money doing that vs paying as you go. We have had the car now for about three months and below are my views and feelings on the new 2019 Passat.
GOOD
Fuel economy is GREAT. Here is a full size sedan with a very large back seat area (what attracted us to Passats in the first place) and an extremely voluminous trunk that has already given us 41+ mpg on a three hundred mile trip. And that was measured by actual fillup. Recently, my wife took it from central PA to Ocean City MD loaded with her quilting stuff, luggage for her and a friend and the friend as well. There was some city driving involved. She filled up in Ocean City for the return trip and her mileage coming back, including dropping off her friend in southeastern PA, was over 39+! With the lower cost of fuel vs diesel in the old Passat, the cost per mile to drive is about the same.
Comfort is quite good. We find the seats (black leatherette) to be comfortable and very supportive on a long trip. Seats are heated and have electronic controls on the drivers side and manual controls on the passenger side.
Fit and finish are excellent. Gaps around doors and trunks are even and symmetrical the way they should be. Doors and hood close with ease.
I find the electric power steering to be quite good. I always feel the road, the steering is tight and very responsive (helped by the Continental Pure Contact tires) and the power system makes it very easy to manipulate the car in parking lots and during parallel parking maneuvers.
So far, with only about 3000 miles on the car, there is really no noticeable oil consumption nor is there a "gassy" smell to the oil when I pull the dipstick. This is a two liter 4 cylinder direct injection engine that has a modified cycle. The engine uses the new 508 VW spec oil which is 0W-20 or 5W-20, forget which.
Interior is quite functional and actually very comfortable considering that the car is the lower of the two levels offered, the other being the R model. We like the blind spot warnings that light up on the outside mirrors if someone is coming up on your side.
Very easy to mate our cell phones to the car"s system and use Google maps on the car screen. Really no need anymore to pay the car manufacturer for an in-car nav system.
This vehicle comes with a six speed auto trans (NOT a CVT and not a DSG). First gear seems a tad too low when starting out but the overall driving experience with this system is reasonably good. My wife likes it which is what counts.
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Engine can be loud at times, especially when accelerating and going up a steep hill. Not sure if this was intentional to give the illusion of more power or if it is a result of the combustion cycle of the engine. Intake valve closes during intake stroke early on to give a smaller air charge. But the power stroke allows for the smaller air/fuel charge to expand the entire way. When you hit the throttle, the intake valve stays open for the entire intake stroke.
As noted above, the tranny seems to have a very low first gear which sometimes can be a real "WOW" factor when giving it throttle from being stopped. I have learned to control it but it did take some getting used to.
The car has regular cruise control, not the adaptive type. SInce I bought this car off of the showroom floor to get a very good deal, I could not order anything that was not already there.
SUMMARY
Very good car so far for the money spent. It is a pleasure to drive and very economical. I plan to do 5000 mile oil changes even though VW calls for 10,000 miles. I never took any of my VWs in for warranty work and I am hoping that this car delivers the same kind of long term performance.
