2001 Volkswagen Passat - Page 1 Review

Shopping for a 2001 Volkswagen Passat? MSRP: $21,450 - $31,835

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"Badge engineering" is the derisive term for the practice of selling the same basic car as multiple models, under different brand names, with only the badge on the fender and maybe some minor trim differences separating one model from the other. Examples include the Chevy Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire, the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable and others like that. They're basically the same cars. Buy one, buy the other -- it doesn't make much difference, other than the price difference.

Now, some other automakers take a different and altogether more appealing approach. Volkswagen and Audi, which are intertwined companies, provide an example. The VW Passat sedan, for example, is similar to the Audi A4 -- in fact, it's closely related to its Audi cousin. But it's not the same car under a different name. The Passat is built on a stretched version of the A4's platform, or underlying chassis. And though it offers the same basic drivetrain choices: turbocharged 1.8 liter four cylinder engine, 2.8 liter V-6 engine and front-drive or all-wheel-drive, the finished product is a substantially different machine, and not just in terms of how it looks.

In fact, the Passat has some functional attributes that may make it the better car than the A4 -- depending on what you're after. In the first place, the VW is bigger and roomier than the Audi. The Passat's wheelbase is 106.4 inches; the Audi's 103 inches, even. The overall length of the VW is 184.1 inches, while the Audi A4 is appreciably shorter at 176.7 inches.

That means the Passat can handle more people more comfortably than the A4 and it has a smoother, "big car" ride. Yet since it shares the same basic engineering and suspension underthings as the Audi, the Passat also retains the tight handling qualities one expects of a German sport sedan.