V60 Vs Passat - advice welcome!

[Backinavolvo]

I came from a mk3 2015my octavia vrs 2.0 184 diesel..

I completed 120k.

Had 1 problem which was water pump failure at 80k.
DPF never gave trouble, but was always on my mind as it always did weird things etc, like regen alot and fan was annoying if you interrupted one. In my V60 it is FAR more stealthy.. I have no idea it would even have one..

Boot and cabin storage is far greater on the octavia/passat/superb.. but I have gained some back by modifying my spare wheel to upside down, and removed some polystyrene from around it, meaning I can store some things under the boot floor I use infrequently.

I have test driven 150 18 plate passat, and 240 bi tdi passat and they both left me bored after the vrs, which felt sprightly, even compared to my now 200 D4. (200kg or so extra I guess).

Quality and sense of occasion however is where the Volvo excels. Being 'back in a Volvo' after many years reminded me of the little attention to details. Love the app, I find the infotainment better, better stereo, love the door handle lighting, pilot assist, better cup holders, nicer seats, better ride Quality (im on 19's) heated rear seats, adjustment of passenger seat from drivers side, better seat adjustment etc etc.. flat floor with seats down is easier too.. open the bonnet and look at the quality, the suspension design etc, its just more 'solid. I use a specialist wheel alignment guy, and he always commented how good the Volvo's are.

50,000 fault free miles so far.

My Vag car was good, but my Volvo wins my heart.

Hope no one fell asleep through that!

[bornmiddleaged]

Originally Posted by Backinavolvo

I came from a mk3 2015my octavia vrs 2.0 184 diesel..

...I use a specialist wheel alignment guy, and he always commented how good the Volvo's are.
...

Apologies to the OP for thread hijack.
BackinaVolvo: where do you go for the wheel alignment? I feel like there is slight vibration through the wheel once I get up to motorway speeds. I am just outside Soton.

To the OP: Get a V60! My Dad had a couple of Passats when I was a kid and they were far and away the best cars he had after various dodgy second hand Sierras and Astras. I always thought I would get a Passat one day, however, I ended up with an Octavia and then Superb as that was what the budget allowed. Had a 2016 Passat as a hire car last summer and was really underwhelmed with it. Interior quality was not as good as the Superb and it just felt meh, if I may use that term.
Got the V60 last September and loving it. One of the best looking estates on the road and, as several others have said, it just feels more special.
On the downside, it's not got the raw space of the Superb or even the Octavia (which would be a fairer comparison) but it would take a lot to tempt me out of the Volvo now.

[Backinavolvo]

The wheel alignment centre, City industrial Park, Southampton. Unfortunately though, no one has got hold of him recently.. perhaps covid has meant he can no longer trade.. im am not sure.. :-(

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Adrian888

Finnster: the Octavia is built on the Golf platform, the older passats had more in common with the Audi A6 platform and the Superb is simply a stretched Passat under the skin.

I would happily bet good money that panel gap and panel alignement internally AND externally are measurably tighter on a Passat compared with a similar age/generation Volvo. The material finishes in my V60 are simply not as good as the Passat. The plastics are not soft touch and alignement is rubbish. The Volvo leather IS very good and the seats the best this side of a SAAB but then again my Passat had alcsntara so unable to compare. I agree the Passat is utterly unexciting to drive and if you want a drivers car then avoid both Passat and Volvo. Think BMW, Ford (if you must) or SEAT if on a budget.

Volvo's are built like tanks. Again, I disagree that a VW is a better finished car.

Read through this thread alone, the majority of posts say the same.

[Adrian888]

And please re-read my comments. Built like a tank, have you seen the panel gaps on a tank? Solidity and structural stiffness is not the issue and has no bearing on fit and finish. People confuse styling and colours with finish. Two different issues. We will have to agree to differ but i will not be buying another Volvo.

[amadan]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

Volvo's are built like tanks. Again, I disagree that a VW is a better finished car.

Read through this thread alone, the majority of posts say the same.

Used to be built like a tank maybe - my 2020 V60 certainly is not. After 3,215miles and 10 months there is a rattle behind the intellisafe array, a rattle on the drivers seatbelt adjuster on the B pillar and the armrest on the drivers door creaks under pressure from someone resting their arm on it.

I've never owned a VW specifically but the ones I've had on hire (I used to do 2x 250mile trips every 4 weeks for work with hire cars and when my Skoda blew it's water pump I was given a passat for about a week) with considerably higher mileage have been generally better built.

[nu11eaf]

I can honestly say I have never noticed a passat on the road for years, is it that they are so bland and un-noticable or is nobody buying them.

[Raddish]

[QUOTE=Backinavolvo;2712727]I came from a mk3 2015my octavia vrs 2.0 184 diesel..


“
Boot and cabin storage is far greater on the octavia/passat/superb.. but I have gained some back by modifying my spare wheel to upside down, and removed some polystyrene from around it, meaning I can store some things under the boot floor
“




Hi backinavolvo. I’m interested in your spare wheel mod. You got any photos of what you had to do and how it looks, I’m interested in copying your mod

[bornmiddleaged]

Originally Posted by nu11eaf

I can honestly say I have never noticed a passat on the road for years, is it that they are so bland and un-noticable or is nobody buying them.

This is all starting to get a bit handbags at dawn now but to continue in that vane, I would say it's the former, they are just that dull so as to become invisible.
Fewer estates around in general though, due to the inexorable rise of the SUV.

The thing is, if you ask on a Volvo forum about whether to buy a Volvo or something else, the predictable answer is that the majority of people will say go for the Volvo.
Have you posted the same question on the Honest John forum? At least that is brand agnostic, although I would put money on the response being "Don't buy either, get a Toyota".

[BlueDevil]

Coming form a country where VW is best-seller for 10 years in a row, and 2nd best at worst, ever since Golf MK1. There are a lot of Passats here, and I mean - A LOT.

I haven't drivent the V60, but have driven many Passats and (older) Volvos. Also I have an XC60 MY2015 atm.

Passat, like any VW imho, is dull. IT won't dissapoint you, it won't leave you on the side of the road, but it's DULL. D-U-L-L. It's kinda like having 19 years and having sex while you're barely standing on your feet (alcohol) and she's in the same boat. So yes, you do have sex, but it's kinda like squeezing a dead monkey.

Volvos, on the other hand, are a "working horse", meaning they'll last forever if maintained as manufacturer suggests, also will never leave you on the side of the street, but they have that something. A kick. Something dfferent to every different driver. A good acceleration for some. A comfort for another. A reliability for the 3rd person. And so on.

Every (local) Volvo owner I've talked to feels the same, and many of them have had or still have a VW in their garage, be it the kid's or the missus' car.