I just recently made my first automobile purchase. I had spent many months, most of a year, searching and searching to find the perfect car for my needs. I found it, easily, with no runners up.

I bought a GLX V6 Passat Sedan, Automatic, with the luxury package. And let me just tell you, I have never been in such a comfortable, powerful, and intriguing car ever before.

First of all, I absolutely fell in love with the unique design of the car--what the manufacturers call the "Greenhouse" design. The rounded feature of the roof gives the car a small feel, but gives you a sucker punch when you sit inside and see it is just an illusion. The interior is very roomy--I know this is hard to believe, I am 6'4" and I keep the seat about midway on the track. In other words, there is still room for me to move the seat back, but it’s just too much. What does this mean? More room for the real passengers, and that to me, is a definite plus.
With my V6 Auto, comes standard Woodgrain trim and Chrome accents to shifter. Now this spells CLASS. It gives the entire car a +10,000$ look. It creates an elegant feeling that makes you proud to show it off, and not have to brag about not paying extra for it. Definite plus.
Along with the auto, or shall I say Auto/manual, is what VW calls Tiptronic Shifting. Designed by the people of Porsche, you can do your daily driving in an automatic mode, or if you feel the need, manual. Sound funny. Well it's not. While in drive you can just shift over to the right and your instantly in manual mode, with the gears posted on the computer in front of you. It is a simple little gizmo, basically a straight line. Do you want to shift up? Push the shifter towards the plus. Do you want to downshift to gain some speed? Pop it back to the minus. Simple as that. And the best part? NO CLUTCH. Makes it easy on standard gimps like myself.
The seats in this car are just amazing. Some may call them to hard. But, we need to think in terms of our backs, these are perfectly engineered seats. The front two have adjustable lumbar supports, and a jack like lever is used to adjust the seat up and down. Absolutely comfortable.
The luxury package is well, mostly a sunroof, visibly. But it does have some great features. In the back window there is a manually controlled screen that you can pull up, and when it is sunny, block that harmful sun out. I have found that during night, if the shade is up, I can barely see out of the window. Mainly because my tint is black, black. The sunroof is a very nice feature; in fact I wouldn't have bought the car without it. It is easy to control and you can set it at any level you choose.
The Monsoon radio System, that is also an option, is very powerful. It comes with eight speakers, 200watt amp, but only a cassette. And get this--if you want to buy an in dash CD or a six disk change...$995.00! Same price! And of course it is only wired for VW parts. But I have found a way around this. If you go to www.crutchfield.com, they have some great audio equipment. I found an adapter, by OEM that allows you to use the VW wires, and a changer by Panasonic that works directly with the VW radio, no frills. $309.80. And the instructions are sent on how to install, and let me tell you, it is very easy. Almost plug and play standards. That closes out that awful racket.

There are a few minor drawbacks I have found with the Passat.
I have found the glove compartment to be small, although it does have its own air vent--for those of us who like to keep sandwiches cold in the glovebox, you know who you are.
The cup holders that come with the Passat are hidden, that’s good. But when they are shown are not really that impressive. But once again, we need to think European. This is a GERMAN car. They don't have big gulps there. They easily fit a standard twelve-ounce can, and anymore, well that’s just overkill by their standards.
I have always thought that a nice sport package would do nicely on this car. Too bad there is none to choose from. But what I am hearing is that VW has in the works a new package offering for many types of styles.

As you can see, I absolutely love my Passat. I am planning on driving it for many years to come, and am very secure in knowing if I have any problems; my warranty will cover it. VW offers a 10-year/100,000 mile drivetrain warranty. Any lubricated, moving part is under warrantee. Say your engines stops working, or your suspension dies--they fix it, their cash. I find this very promising. It shows me that VW, with their problems they had years ago, are trying to make up by saying, "Hey we have a great car here, and were putting our money on it."

Amount Paid (US$): 28250 OTD
Condition: New
Model Year: 2001
Model and Options: GLX V6, Automatic, Luxury Package, Monsoon System