VW Passat 4.0 W8 4Motion Estate

[arcbeer]

I've been looking into the VW Passat 4.0 W8 4Motion Estate (rolls off the tongue nicely!). They seem fairly rare. Anyone on here know anything about them?

Many thanks

[pentoman]

No, but the idea of a 4.0 Passat is kinda cool.

[vee]

Thirsty I would imagine if my 2.8 4motion is anything to go by.
Probably never stops depreciating and might be difficult to find anyone outside VW dealers to work on it ?

[MookMonster]

Ultra rare. Not very good in the mud, despite the 4WD. Very thirsty (20+ mpg) and depreciate like a stone.

But other than than, a fantastic car that generally comes with every extra. Oh and that engine sounds great as well.

[dougc]

This is pretty informative. Had a ride in one when they first came out. My friend worked at at VW dealership and pinched the demonstrator for a spin. It had all the goodies including a TV tuner for the satnav screen (great for traffic jams, useless the rest of the time?) though I'm not sure how much of the stuff was optional as it was a demonstrator.

From memory it was quick, but not as quick as you'd expect from a 4 litre, 8 cylinder engine in a smallish car (it's no 7 series alternative) and by all accounts pretty thirsty too, even when you're not pushing on.

Edit: I've just had a look on Autotrader and these things are a bl00dy bargain

>> Edited by dougc on Wednesday 1st March 12:22

[arcbeer]

dougc said:

This is pretty informative. Had a ride in one when they first came out. My friend worked at at VW dealership and pinched the demonstrator for a spin. It had all the goodies including a TV tuner for the satnav screen (great for traffic jams, useless the rest of the time?) though I'm not sure how much of the stuff was optional as it was a demonstrator. From memory it was quick, but not as quick as you'd expect from a 4 litre, 8 cylinder engine in a smallish car (it's no 7 series alternative) and by all accounts pretty thirsty too, even when you're not pushing on. Edit: I've just had a look on Autotrader and these things are a bl00dy bargain >> Edited by dougc on Wednesday 1st March 12:22

Me too hence the question!

Don't mind 20mpg, not going to be doing high mileage and I'm used to that sort of figure from the Cerbera.

As you say, they come with all the goodies, the tricky bit is finding one that's an estate and a manual.

[Iceboy]

Still they must hit 60 in under 7 secs right? 155 limited?

[arcbeer]

Yes, according to official stats, 6.8 to 60, 155 limited.

[url]www.autoexpress.co.uk/driven/22699/3/verdict/volkswagen_passat_w8.html[/url]

I think it makes an interesting alternative to say a BMW 330i touring or C Class Merc. I'd like to know more info such as service intervals and costs, when parts need replacing e.g. cambelts, common faults or things to look out for but I'm struggling to find much info. From the reviews I've read the manual seems better than the auto, mpg is around 20, ride is set-up for comfortable cruising and it doesn't feel as quick as it should (I'd like a go at an ECU map) that's about it.

[pentoman]

What other cars got the W8?

Was it a practice exercise for the W12?

Seems a bit strange to me business wise (but I'm not complaining - better than another boring Audi/VW/Skoda oops they're all the same identicar!)

[MookMonster]

Nothing else got the W8 - I'm buggered if I know why the heck VW went down that route, apart from to give people buying them second hand a fantastic bargain. The depreciation from new is almost as bad on the W8 as it is on the Phaeton...