V60 Vs Passat - advice welcome!

[Adrian888]

I have owned 2 VAG products with DSG and diesel and sold with over 110k miles. The second was a much later and much improved model and far smoother than the first generation version. I towed a caravan many thousands of miles all over EUland without any problems. As an alternative to the Passat i suggest you look at the Skoda Superb along with the Octavia. If you want a more sporting style and outright volume isn’t of concern i would look at the Leon estate too. The V60 is a very solid and comfortable car but is unexciting to drive and fit and finish is not upto VW standards. Servicing costs and insurance are also much higher than the Passat too.

[DanH]

Hi all thanks for the replies. A little more context based on some of the comments:

After an estate as generally bigger and a lot cheaper than a compact SUV equivalent. Good boot size and backseat space essential. Focus/Leon etc class too small.

Interested in V60 as on paper it's in the sweet spot of not so big on the outside but good amount of space on the inside. V90/5 series/A6 too big for my wife. By contrast A4, 3 series weren't nearly big enough. V60, Passat etc struck a balance for boot and back seat size. V60 at the smaller end of that spectrum though

Test drove a v90 back to back with a v60 over the summer. It wasn't much bigger on the inside but way bigger on the outside.

Re Skoda Superb as an alternative - it's around £1-1.5k more than equivalent Passat. No idea why but I'm not paying a premium over a VW for 10 extra litres of boot space and a Skoda badge.

Not, in any way, interested in the first generation V60. A Civic hatchback has a bigger boot.

Plenty of manual V60s for 2018-19, mainly D3, not many D4. Seems they're now discontinued with introduction of mild hybrid tech.

Quite a few of you are confident VW is the better car under the skin. . My dad, a company car driver for 30+ years and owned everything (other than a Volvo, though he came close to a S60 this time) has same opinion.

[Hogster]

My previous car to my V60 was a Passat 2.0 TDI 150 SE Business, so exactly the spec you are looking at. The Passat was lovely. It was a company car which I had specced up with matrix LED lights and the digital dash and I completed 76,000 very happy miles in it. I was very tempted to buy it when I moved to a car allowance, but I was rather keen on an automatic (too many hours sat in traffic on the M3 and M25) which made me look elsewhere, and then I test drove the V60.

The V60 won my heart, not only from a looks point of view, but just from the whole package. It's just a bit more "special" that the Passat. Perhaps that sounds snobby, but it's a nicer place to be, and doesn't feel quite as utilitarian as the Passat. The D4 engine is very smooth, and whilst there is a bit of hesitancy in the auto gearbox, you soon adapt your driving style.

The boot capacity on the Passat was a fair amount larger than the V60, but I haven't struggled at all with the smaller boot on the V60. Before the Passat I had an A4 Avant, and I find the V60 much easier to live with than that car. The Passat was almost too big for my every day needs, with me needing to use bungee cords to hold my bags in place! For the few times in the year when I need a really massive boot, the V60 has coped without too many problems. Mainly I've needed to leave the tonneau cover off in the V60, where in the Passat I could still use it.

Spec-wise, if your budget can stretch to it, then look out for a Momentum Pro, rather than the straight Momentum. I think you'll then find a similar spec level to the Passat then. You can always buy the Smartphone integration as an aftermarket if you're desperate for this.

If, after all this, you're still set on the Passat then I'd say go for it. They are lovely cars, and if I couldn't have the V60 then I'd certainly seriously consider getting another one. Just remember that there are thousands of them out there, so they don't hold their value, but it also means you can shop around for a good one.

[DanH]

Thanks @Hogster that's really really helpful. Pro spec is certainly something I'd go for if budget allows. Inscriptions have a similar valuation to them according to autotrader, it's just a case of rationalising the extra outlay! V60 certainly less utilitarian like you say. Glad to have my theory of the Volvo sitting between the passat and A4 size-wise confirmed too!

[amadan]

One thing occurs and I’ve no idea whether they’ve got any better and I don’t have a diesel Volvo so don’t know what they’re like but, I used to own a 2013 Skoda Octavia (mk3 184bhp cr tdi) vRS diesel and the DPF was bl00dy awful. I guess the VAG DPF of similar age are probably the same parts and my skoda was enough to put me off VW diesels.

Constant regens if the car was even threatened with short journey and even on decent driving Id still have noisy interrupted regens. SWMBO once got 7mpg over a week and a bit doing 4-5 miles runs to and run work over a Christmas period with interrupted regens each night coming home with horrifically sluggish performance until I took the car for a decent run.

I traded it in for a BMW diesel and never had an issue with regens again.

On the topic of Skodas - Octavia is pretty good, the vRS anyway is good fun but no where near the quality of the passat especially lower down in the cabin. Hard plastics at floor level etc.

[badonkadonk]

Moved from Passat CC 170ps diesel manual to S90 R design D5 so can't comment specifically on XC60, but I think I would summarise my experience as:

Engines - VAG diesel gave better economy and sounded more refined. Both engines drive well with plenty of power. I haven't had DPF issues on either platform
Interior - VAG was disappointingly rattly, Volvo is definitely a class up
Driving - VAG was much harsher ride and crashed quite a bit over potholes, Volvo is much more refined ride

[finnster]

I came from an Octavia VRs estate to my V60, my comparison is -

Space - There was a lot more boot space in the Skoda, actually far more than I normally used, most of the time it just had my rucksack and sports kit rattling around in it.
Engine - The Skoda did seem more urgent when I floored it, although the V60 has a little more power it does seem a bit more sedate. The Skoda engine did seem slightly rougher than the Volvo.
MPG - I do seem to be getting at least 4mpg more from my Volvo and it seems more consistent with its MPG too.
Driving - The Skoda had large alloys and a very stiff set up, which was great when I wanted to have fun but was a little annoying at other times, my R Design also has a "Sports" set up but is still very comfortable and smooth over most surfaces.
Interior - The Volvo is far more comfortable and better screwed together, but I would expect that from the class up, but for me in this respect they are a country mile apart.

I don't thing the Passat is a million miles away from the Skoda, so I suppose its a fair comparison?

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Adrian888

I have owned 2 VAG products with DSG and diesel and sold with over 110k miles. The second was a much later and much improved model and far smoother than the first generation version. I towed a caravan many thousands of miles all over EUland without any problems. As an alternative to the Passat i suggest you look at the Skoda Superb along with the Octavia. If you want a more sporting style and outright volume isn’t of concern i would look at the Leon estate too. The V60 is a very solid and comfortable car but is unexciting to drive and fit and finish is not upto VW standards. Servicing costs and insurance are also much higher than the Passat too.

I disagree. The fit & finish of a Volvo is much better than a VW.

I'm not implying that VW's interior's are cheap or full of plastic, but Volvo is definitely ahead in that respect.

[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.

[DanH]

Hi guys, these replies have all been really helpful, I appreciate all of your input and comparisons so far!

To respond to a couple of the points raised:

Fully aware that the Passat is as dull as dishwater - I'll be buying to use as a family car so driving enjoyment not at the top of the wishlist! If it was it'd be a 3 series touring, as there are plenty of well priced examples. However it's just too small!

As mentioned, I owned a Scirocco with the 150ps TDI - never had any regen issues etc, was a cracking engine, so would hope any future VAG diesel would be similar and avoid DPF issues. Also hoping a VW cabin would be incrementally nicer than any Skoda, including sound insulation, fit & finish etc but That's not to take away from Skoda - if I were buying new and on a budget, I'm not sure anything else makes sense!

Certainly the Volvo will be a step up in terms of cabin quality over the VW - I test drove a momentum V60 with basic cloth/pleather trim and while it was ok I would ideally upgrade to Pro spec for leather or take the plunge with the rare 'city weave' blonde interior which I think looks lovely.

In terms of comments made about fit and finish between the two, I can imagine given I'm after a late mode Passat (it's been around since late 2014) vs a very early V60 MK2 (they started late 18 reg I think?) there might be some disparity there. But given VW almost certainly sell an order of magnitude more Passats than Volvo does cars they should bloody well have got their panel alignment right! Undoubtedly the Volvo will be a nicer place to sit. But £3k nicer?

Thanks again all - hopefully society will let me drive some cars soon and new Volvo's will stop holding their value so well (have you seen what 2 year old xc40s go for!?!?)