Not all that way back, Volkswagen tried to eschew the entire “individuals’s automobile” schtick and transfer its product line up-market. The outcome was automobiles like immediately’s Good Value or No Cube W8 Passat: the fanciest Passat ever. Let’s see if its worth now makes it one for the individuals.
Numerous individuals appreciated the 1998 Cadillac Deville we checked out final Friday. Nicely, what we actually appreciated was its $1,800 price ticket. That’s E-Bike territory, and whereas the Caddy might not be the sportiest or best of rides, it does have a roof and, in line with the advert, working warmth and A/C. The results of that characteristic set/worth match-up was a stable 93 % Good Value win.
Right now, we’re going to go for one more arguably low-cost eight-cylinder saloon, however one which leans a bit extra closely on expertise and Germanic type than the normal American method of the Caddy.
We should always notice on the outset that immediately’s 2004 Volkswagen Passat W8 is a mannequin that might not have even existed had been it not for one man, then Volkswagen Group Chair Ferdinand Piëch. The grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, Piëch had a imaginative and prescient of an upscale Volkswagen, which led to him driving the event of such pie-in-the-sky automobiles as this fancy Passat. He argued that Volkswagen wanted to develop its market presence upward with the intention to develop and revenue. What resulted was automobiles just like the range-topping Phaeton, the flowery off-roader Touareg, and the costliest Passat the world had ever seen.
Volkswagen launched the Passat nameplate in 1973 as a fastback doppelgänger to Audi’s mannequin 80 saloon and two-door. Each fashions shared the identical property physique type with model separation dealt with by becoming totally different grilles, badges, and lights.
Over time, VW alternated between Audi-style inline overhang engines and Golf-like transverse setups for the Passat fashions. By the point the B5 dropped in 1997, it was as soon as once more utilizing the longitudinal structure and the identical AWD setup as Audi’s Quattro, simply rebranded for Volkswagen obligation because the 4Motion. This era of Passat was initially made accessible with a spate of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, topping out with the quad-cam 2.8-liter V6, the mainstay of the competing Audi lineup on the time.
That may all change in late 2001 with the introduction of the W8 engine within the newly restyled Passat. Alarmingly described on reflection as a ‘check mattress’ for later W12 and W16 engines, the ‘W’ motor would later make its means into rather more costly automobiles.
The 271-horsepower eight-cylinder could be slotted into the Passat as a part of an effort to make a shorter leap between it and the upcoming Phaeton. In structure, the 4.0-liter engine was two VR6 motors, every with two cylinders lopped off after which wedded collectively in an unholy trend. Shorter than a standard V8, it nonetheless fills the Passat’s engine bay like a espresso cup with no room for cream or sugar. The automobiles got here customary with the 4Motion AWD and provided the selection of both a six-speed stick or a five-speed automated.
This explicit Passat W8 comes with the automated. It additionally has 182,000 miles on the ticker. That’s outstanding, contemplating the reputational woes the W8 engine has amassed. Based on the vendor, the automobile “Runs and drives good and tight” and boasts that it simply handed its state-mandated smog check.
Aesthetically, it’s a little bit of a blended bag. This seems to be a very good 10-foot automobile, with a couple of nicks within the paint and a few curb rash on the still-handsome BBS ‘Madras’ wheels noticeable upon nearer inspection. Two of these wheels are additionally lacking their heart caps.
The inside additionally exhibits the miles within the put on of the leather-based on the driving force’s seat. That’s utterly worn by way of to the froth on the squab. The whole lot else appears to be in tremendous form, and the wooden trim does heat the place up a bit.
Below the hood, issues appear simply as tidy. There is no such thing as a proof of mechanical monkey enterprise, and all of the plastic covers and trim are all intact. The automobile comes with a clear title and a $2,750 asking worth.
Is that rather a lot to ask for a Volkswagen of this caliber, no matter its authentic aspirations? Or is {that a} honest worth to pay for a peach from Piëch?
You determine!
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