Anyone with experience of the new VW Passat 1.6-litre FSI petrol engine

There seems to be a lot of negative comments out there about the 1.6 petrol engine in the new Passat. A review in the Sunday Times says "notable exception is the noisy 1.6 litre petrol unit, which should be avoided like a pint of time-expired prawns."

I was considering going for the 1.6 engine until I came across some of these negative reviews. Does anybody here have any first-hand experiences of the 1.6 engine? If you had a choice between the 1.6 petrol engine or the 1.9 diesel, which is the smarter option? Thanks.

In every way the 1.9 diesel.

I was driving the brothers 1.9 tdi 06 estate. It pulls well. ANy 1.6 in a car this size will be gutless. Too smal an engine for the car. The low end torque of the tdi makes the car very driveable at low and motorway sppeds.

I would suggest go and drive both one after the other.

why do people buy the 1.6 biggest dog ever put in a car,when buying a vw the diesel is the only one up to anything

The low power to weight of the 1.6 in a heavy car like the Passat is only a problem if you want performance. You have to balance that against the extra cost of running the bigger engine, and consider how much mileage you are doing, and the depreciation etc. Lots of people are only concerned about getting A-B and thats all. That said I'd get the diesel if there was nothing else to consider. Most of the reviews I read said the 1.6 was ok, but was slow and if pushed was noisy.

1.6 petrol is not up to the job in a car of this size and weight.

I don't agree about it only being a problem if you need performance. We all need to overtake sometimes, and the less time spent in the other lane the better. I remeber driving a 1.6 Vectra a few years ago that was a regular sloth. It was downright dangerous.

Another issue is how hard you'd need to drive this car to manintain regular road speeds. The engine would be worked quite hard and this would lead to poor economy and increased and possibly premature wear and repair bills.

The diesel is much better.

Since most of my driving is urban in traffic I can go weeks without overtaking anyone and my average speed on my commute is about 19-25mph. Somehow I think a 1.6 Passat would have no problem in maintaining that without being unduly stressed.

In the past I have driven many so called "underpowered" cars where overtaking was difficult, so you simply didn't do it, or you had to plan it well in advance and try to conserve momentum. Its not dangerous unless you choose to drive dangerously. The 1.6 FSI has a 0-60 in about 11-12 secs whereas many 1.0 and similar cars, or even base diesels have 0-60's in 14-15 secs. I know thats not the in gear times but it gives you some idea of the relative performance. That doesn't make them dangerous it means you have to adapt your driving style to the car.

Obviously if your overtake a lot then you would buy a car that suited that type of driving style. (or perhaps leave earlier - ) But theres fun to be had in extracting the best out of a low powered car without trashing it.


IMO of course YMMV

Eggerb don't mind the people that tell you to go for a diesel Passat. Do they actually drive them? Do they pay the high service costs. Have they broken down with the countless problems with them, Gear box problems, Flywheel problems, Clutch problems, Turbo Problems, Cat problems, W/bearings, Ecu's and all the other elec's that go wrong. Can they account for the 8 broke down in our yard for the last 12 weeks waiting on parts. I'd doubt it. Petrol is a little lack luster but they don't break down as much as the diesel. I don't understand people's "Dream" that is the passat or for that matter any German car.

Personally I prefer the design of German cars, with the exception of perhaps the Accord. But there are more reliable cars if thats the be all and end all of your buying criteria. Though I see BMW have improved their relaibilty quite a bit in recent years. Any VW we've owned always had a lot more niggly things go wrong. For example our old Vento diesel need a lot more TLC than the Jap cars to get to 250k. Ditto our other VW's over the years.

A friend has a new Passat 1.6 FSI and I have to say its a lot of car for the money. 26k vs 30k for the diesel. Interior is lovely, lots of room and I like the design myself. As long as you can live with the fact its not a sports car. TBH it would be more suitable for my current usage then my current car.

But in the busy lifestyle's we have now are you willing to have to go into a garage every time you have a niggly problem, Answer is no! And how annoying is it going throught the toll bridge with out a window working or not been able to lock your car, or no light working on the back of the car, You end up taking days off to come to the garage and loose your holidays or pay, and god only knows where you were going to when she broke down. But if you put "style" over being stressed out and wondering how your going to pay the next €1000 repair bill, stick with them were only to happy to take money off you.

I have a 1.6 FSi Golf...I find it fine..not the same kick as a TDi version but still plenty of passing out power. However Id be very wary of having a 1.6 FSi Passat. I think the car would be too big and very underpowered for such a small engine. Might be fine for the Sunday drivers out there

Passat 1.6 FSI [SIZE=-1]1520 kg[/SIZE][SIZE=-1] vs Golf [/SIZE]1.6 FSI [SIZE=-1]1359 kg. Difference of 161 kg which is what, (and I'm guessing) about 2 passengers? or 1 passenger and full tank? I thought my Primera was lardy but I looked it up and its [/SIZE]1270 kg.
[SIZE=-1]

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Mr2 said:

Eggerb don't mind the people that tell you to go for a diesel Passat. Do they actually drive them? Do they pay the high service costs. Have they broken down with the countless problems with them, Gear box problems, Flywheel problems, Clutch problems, Turbo Problems, Cat problems, W/bearings, Ecu's and all the other elec's that go wrong. Can they account for the 8 broke down in our yard for the last 12 weeks waiting on parts. I'd doubt it. Petrol is a little lack luster but they don't break down as much as the diesel....

Click to expand...

Mmm ... that has me thinking Mr 2 - are diesels really that much bother? Maybe I should start another thread - if the discussion hasn't already happened. (I'm only doing about 10,000 miles a year). Thanks for the input everybody.

I think hes talking about VW Diesels rather than Diesels in general. I doubt the Honda or Toyota Diesels suffer as much.

Recieved brand new 1.6 FSI VW Passat Feb '06. (Was my first new car purchase) Sold April same year. The engine is totally underpowered (for anybody with warm blood flowing through their viens) for the job it is intended for & is not helped by a six speed gear box, which entails constant shifting to keep revs up when overtaking, going around roundabouts, pulling away from lights etc. I am by no means a boy racer, but appreciate a little bit of power when overtaking grannies doing 40kmph. From this perspective, the 1.6 FSI is a dog. I would have alot of critisisms of other aspects of the new Passat aswell but I guess some of these are subjective. ie Electronic handbrake release hard to get used to, (I never really did) parictularly when pulling away from lights quickly on a hill, the balance of clutch, accelerator & automatic handbrake release is tricky in these circumstances & can leave you stranded embaressed at lights. Also the ride/seats are very firm, I found after a long journey on typical crappy, down the country road surfaces, I would get a sore back, which I never had before. Anyway.......traded in for 2 litre diesel Volvo S40, paid an extra few bob, but definatly worth it.

Hope this is of some use to you !!

have a 1.6fsi sportsline passat since nov 05 and can't have any complaints about the car - most of our driving is urban/sub urban with the odd trip down the country and as other have said it's a lot of car for the bucks - haven't had a single problem with it (not even a blown light). i commute on a motorbike so do appreciate a bit of oomph bu thave never been disappointed in the passat. have a few friends (one with 130bhp a4 diesel) who have also remarked on comfort/finish of our car versus theirs.
would definitly recommend it.

I was just giving out about the V.W. diesel, But you could always buy a 1.3 dls or 1.4 dsl if you wanted but in a different make of car.

When taking off in the passat on a hill start you leave the h/brake on and once you start moving the car will release the h/brake for you so you don't have to balance the car.

But on the flat or on a decent you have to release the h/brake your self.

Mr2 said:

But on the flat or on a decent you have to release the h/brake your self.

Click to expand...

Just to clarify this - you don't have to release the handbrake at any stage manually - just try move off and as soon as the clutch starts to bite the handbrake releases - it took approx 2 days to get used to the handbrake - great invention I say and it leaves tons of room in centre console !

Yes but only on a hill start. There is a load of little things on the car we can change to make the car more like what you want, We can turn on and off that 3 flash indicator, Some people love it some hate.

Locking wise we can prog the key to open only the driver door when pressed instead of all 4, press it twice and then it opens all 4 doors.

A lot of people dont know that the ring on the end of the key has a little button than when pressed releases the top of the key so you can only put that part into the dash, A lot of people have either the bunch of keys hanging off the dash or carry the car key seperate and loose it.

Tried the borthers car. 06 passat 1.9 tdi

The handbrake stayed on while trying to reverse out of the drive uphill.

Back end of the car was lifting so bite had well been reached.

Had to foot brake and manualy release the handbrake to move.

May still be some bugs in the brains of these cars.

Seat belt must be on! Clutch pedel must be full pressed to the floor for the clutch position sensor to pick up what your doing, When you start to reverse or drive forward of course the h/brake will remain on but once you've made your move it will release.