Great News! The 2011 Mediocrity is actually getting produced!

[Philly]

Here's likely the first image of the upcoming Volkswagen New Midsize Sedan, set to emerge from the Chattanooga, Tenn., factory next year. It looks slightly different from the upcoming Europe-only version of the Passat. What does VW have against excitement?

There's an old story about Robert McNamara, the leader of the "Whiz Kids" at Ford in the '50s, telling the engineers he'd come up with an idea for a new car. When the engineers asked to see his idea, McNamara handed them a piece of paper with a bunch of numbers - the dimensions and capacities of his ideal model. When they asked what it should look like, McNamara said he really didn't care; the number were what mattered.

New Volkswagen Passat-Sized NMS Is Like A Jetta XLThe NMS looks like it'll be on the big end of the midsize class, probably get decent fuel economy, and have nice rear legroom and an ample trunk. We'll bet there are some great cupholders inside, especially since this isn't a European model. But excitement? We may need to take a number.

What's wrong with cars that are cool in any way, shape or form? I'm saddened that it seems that everybody is suddenly trying to be the next Toyota.

 

[YSSMAN]

...Especially when this already exists...


Still, I like the fact that Volkswagen is looking to bring some of it's vehicles back to the real world in terms of pricing, but these kinds of sacrifices really aren't worth it.

 

[Keef]

It's Volkswagen broe. It's supposed to be modest and understated. I find over-designy Volkwagens - the whole previous-gen crew from the Passat, Golf, Jetta, and especially the CC - to look ridiculous. The words "Volkswagen" and "emotion" should never be mentioned in the same sentence. That's why I really like the new, modest, clean designs of the Jetta, Golf, Towrig, and this Passat thing.

 

[Philly]

I think the designs could at least be distinctive though. I really do like the appearance of a lot of the older VWs (2000+) and they manage to have a conservative appearance that isn't obnoxious while still being attractive and unique. This car (and the Jetta) honestly looks like little more than 'a car.'

I think that slightly more distinctive styling also goes along with the kinds of products they should be building - a typical car that's something more, with good driving dynamics and nicer interiors ect.

 

[Keef]

I kind of see what you mean. If it were my decision, I'd just start building MKIVs all over again.

I wonder if they could do new retro MKII design. That would be sweet.

 

[Tornado]

I test drove the new Jetta a little bit before Thanksgiving. It is awful inside and out, and it drives like a sponge.
The worst part is that I drove to the dealer in the MK V that my uncle owns (He drove it home. He's also gone owned various Volkswagen Golfs, Jettas and Passats over the past 25 years), and you could feel the dealer's anticipation when we asked for a test drive. And when we were done we were close to tears from holding back the laughter when he asked if my uncle was interested in trading it in. The laughter broke when we got back in the car.

That's why I really like the new, modest, clean designs of the Jetta, Golf, Towrig, and this Passat thing.

They are modest, clean and completely anonymous. The Jetta and this thing look like the cars that companies come up with in video games when they can't get licenced vehicles. This thing and the new Jetta look like some kind of late 80's Chevrolet that was recently restyled so it could be sold as new in third world countries. The Mk IV and most of the Mk VI models were conservative, but they still look like Volkswagens.

 

[homeforsummer]

Since when has any mainstream VW looked interesting? Lets face it, they've always had a solid-yet-bland look going on. Of course, some are better than others (the latest Polo for instance is a very good looking car, in an understated way) but for a Passat class car I'm not quite sure what you were expecting.

 

[Tornado]

Something that didn't look like a domestic car from the 1980s?

 

[Jim Prower]

Well, Give us an R36 this time around, and I may be able to forgive them. May. If I can get past the fact that this looks EXACTLY like a USDM Honda Accord.

I am, though, now seeing a CC on my daily commute. It's quite sharp.

 

[skynyrd]

Er...the previous cars at least looked like Volkswagens. This one...I wouldn't know it was a VW if it didn't have it pasted in the middle of the grill. It looks like the average of every bland 4 door car that came out five years ago. I thought that sort of style was on its way out...

 

[Jondot]

Since when has any mainstream VW looked interesting? Lets face it, they've always had a solid-yet-bland look going on. Of course, some are better than others (the latest Polo for instance is a very good looking car, in an understated way) but for a Passat class car I'm not quite sure what you were expecting.

Maybe it's just me but I actually think the last gen Passat looks pretty edgy. Particularly compared to something like the current A4 (which, admittedly, they've made the new one ape ridiculously). Not to mention it does the impossible and manages to look just fine without alloys the size of mars bolted on, which is something you certainly can't say about the way the Mondeo's gone.

 

[YSSMAN]

I kind of see what you mean. If it were my decision, I'd just start building MKIVs all over again.

I wonder if they could do new retro MKII design. That would be sweet.

The MKIV, despite it's overall shortcomings, was a solid car. They did a great job of being low-key while still maintaining their Volkswagneness that differentiated them from the rest of the pack. I still double-take on the later GLI models, they look damn-good five or six years later.

I'd be all for going MKII-style. That'd actually be pretty awesome. I demand bringing back a high-RPM 1.8L!

 

[homeforsummer]

Maybe it's just me but I actually think the last gen Passat looks pretty edgy. Particularly compared to something like the current A4 (which, admittedly, they've made the new one ape ridiculously). Not to mention it does the impossible and manages to look just fine without alloys the size of mars bolted on, which is something you certainly can't say about the way the Mondeo's gone.

Disagree on that one. I've never liked the current Passat. It just about passes the "okay, I guess" test in R36 trim but every other version looks very bland and can't get away from the massive lump of metal on top of four Smarties look.

Wheras the A4, despite being just an A6 set to 80% on the photocopier (or an A8 set to 65%) is at least a lithe looking vehicle with a pang of prestige even in poverty spec.

I guess my problem here is that I've never liked the Passat in the first place, so I don't really care if VW are making it the dullest car on earth since it already was. What the design does at least show is that VW's current grille doesn't work on everything they put it on.

The two best looking sedans VW have ever produced are the Passat CC and the Bora/Jetta Mk4. The CC is fantastic, imposing and sleek, and the Mk4 Bora is verging on timeless. Perfectly proportioned, well detailed and suitably compact.

 

[YSSMAN]

I guess my problem here is that I've never liked the Passat in the first place...

Not even the B5.5? I'd say it, much like the MKIV GLI, was one of the best-designed Volkswagens created.

 

[Keef]

It really is a fantastic looking car. It has such a distinctive, yet plain shape. Simple and elegant. I hardly ever see them on the roads anymore.

 

[Philly]

That's strange... I still see those cars all over the place.

Not even the B5.5? I'd say it, much like the MKIV GLI, was one of the best-designed Volkswagens created.

I really don't know what to think about the B5.5. I think the car is gorgeous when properly maintained (there's a wagon around Holland that's always in tip top shape ) but they look awful to me if the get dirty and get the headlights clouded over, which happens to the majority.

It is a shame. It's on my parent's list of cars to replace the Volvo some day but I just can't get into the idea because I know the car won't be loved enough to look beautiful like a clean B5.5 does.

 

[YSSMAN]

Despite my Volkswagen woes, I'd love to own a B5.5 wagon with the 1.8T and the BBS wheels pulled off the W8. There is just something so absolutely awesome with the car, I can't quite put my finger on it. Part of the problem is that properly maintained ones are becoming more difficult to find, although Holland seems to have a treasure trove. I've never understood the love of Volkswagens here on this side of the state. Ever. I don't think I will.

 

[Pupik]

The Jetta and this thing look like the cars that companies come up with in video games when they can't get licenced vehicles.

Or the cars scrawled in the foreground of planned architectural layouts, so as not to distract the eye.

I will say, I do double-takes at the new Jetta...my head tilts and thinks, "what is that boring-looking thing"?

 

[Wolfe]

Somewhere in a dark, damp place in Germany, someone is getting flogged for coming up with the idea of adopting Audi's trapezoidal grille for VW's lineup. And this is the backlash.

 

[GT_Prologue5]

That thing is awful to look at. What's with VW and the new "boring design, lesser interior quality, for a bit less?" I thought they were cool before these 2 sedans (Jetta, Passat) are aimed at 50 year olds. The Jetta used to be a fun, child-ish like car, now it's all bland and stuffy. C'mon VW!

I honestly double-taked at the car, because I thought it was a Toyota Avalon.

 

[Philly]

Both this and the new Jetta are cars that are built specifically for the American market. And since Americans have no interest in pointless things such as interior quality or driving dynamics or excitement and only care about price and the box that says "will get you from A to B," we get these boring pieces of junk. Basically, this car is trying to be a Toyota Avalon. I don't get the car market in this country.

I'm upset at VW for doing this as well. VW had a good part of the market building cars that were actually created by those funny engineer types for people who wanted a good car and not by the marketing department who insist the car is built to a budget that can't be met with a decent piece of machinery.

 

[YSSMAN]

Well, we are neglecting one of the most-important factors about a Volkswagen. Regardless of how boring or stodgy the car may look, what matters most is how it feels behind the wheel. Perhaps, much like the new Golf and the new Touareg, it's actually fairly pleasant behind the wheel.

As long as it feels like a Volkswagen, they'll sell plenty of them.

 

[Tornado]

Well, we are neglecting one of the most-important factors about a Volkswagen. Regardless of how boring or stodgy the car may look, what matters most is how it feels behind the wheel. Perhaps, much like the new Golf and the new Touareg, it's actually fairly pleasant behind the wheel.

As long as it feels like a Volkswagen, they'll sell plenty of them.

I wouldn't hold my breath. The Mediocrity is going to be even further detached from the Euro Passat than the American Jetta is from the Euro Jetta, and the American Jetta is awful.

 

[Philly]

^^^ That one. There's a reason VWoA is in charge of this one, and why it's completely separate from the Passat. Probably has very similar architecture though.

 

[YSSMAN]

I wouldn't hold my breath. The Mediocrity is going to be even further detached from the Euro Passat than the American Jetta is from the Euro Jetta, and the American Jetta is awful.

I haven't driven the new Jetta yet, so I'm not likely to call it absolute garbage. My understanding had been that, despite it's shortcomings, it still drives like a VW. In my mind, that's the most-important feature. Otherwise, we wait for the GLI. That'll probably get the European multi-link rear suspension.

 

[Philly]

Yeah. If you want a Jetta that's up to regular VW standards, you'll want the GLI or the wagons. Those are all the European ones.

 

[YSSMAN]

The Jetta Sportwagen is still based on the MKV chassis, as I recall. Otherwise, yeah, it works out pretty well waiting or getting something entirely different.

 

[Tornado]

My understanding had been that, despite it's shortcomings, it still drives like a VW.

I suppose that depends on how rapidly you go from a Mk. V to a Mk. VI and vice versa. I did it almost immediately, and the Mk. VI drove more like a Corolla than a VW. My uncle went from Mk. VI to Mk. V (in addition to owning a Mk. V), and his opinion of it is against the AUP to post here. I suppose the GLI would be better, but I would just get the Sportwagon.

 

[spd]

They are modest, clean and completely anonymous. The Jetta and this thing look like the cars that companies come up with in video games when they can't get licenced vehicles. This thing and the new Jetta look like some kind of late 80's Chevrolet that was recently restyled so it could be sold as new in third world countries. The Mk IV and most of the Mk VI models were conservative, but they still look like Volkswagens.

Don't you overreact a little? I like the current Jetta much more than the the fat smaller-Passat-B6, pre-facelift one. And the coupe concept is the best looking VW in history in my opinion. That's just my taste, I like it much more than the new Scirocco, or even A5 for that matter. Seems to be close to production version too. Golf VI (V and a half in reality) also looks much better than the pre-lift one.
Photos of Jetta Coupe: http://www.carpictures.com/photo/viewer/10AA8433730146AB

As for Passat, I liked the pre-lift B6 front, but hated the tail lights and generally the heavy back, similarly to the new Skoda Superb's. The interior is of much inferior quality to that of B5 generation. And I have a comparison, I drive a 1.8T and my father the 1.8TFSI (VW group N/A direct injection engines clog and lose power as the time passes by by the way, no matter if it's Audi RS4 or Golf 1.6).

I see some of you praised the B5 generation, but it has its flaws. One is overcomplicated multilink suspension both in front and back, a ticking time bomb on polish poor local roads. Another fading chrome lines around the windows (which were mandatory, no BMW-like shadow line available), which in my eyes are ugly to start with anyway.

 

[YSSMAN]

In 2011: Apparently, VW and the Passat Are Back! (?)

Volkswagen is pulling a Jetta on the Passat, making it bigger, while also making it cheaper. The car is pretty much all-new, and yet, it is pretty familiar. The 2.0T is dropped from the bottom-rung in favor of the 2.5L I5, the 2.0L TDI remains, and a slightly redone VR6 (3.6L) is added into the mix. Otherwise, the interior gets a slight downgrade (or so it appears), all for the low-low price of "under $20,000 to start."


As long as it drives like a Volkswagen, I'd be happy. But, I get this strange feeling that they're trying to re-live the MKIII glory days while completely missing the point: Volkswagen did well in the US because they offered solid value for money, with impressive German performance, that was very different from anything else on the road. This? A shade too generic. Color me interested, but it is a shade of beige.