The Passat W8 4Motion wagon doesn't look a whole lot different from any other Passat wagon. Put a dog and a kid in the back and it looks like your typical mom-mobile.
But, if mom's a car geek, she could give the kid and the dog the ride of their life...
The Passat W8 4Motion came with VW's W8 engine. This is an insane engine. Motorweek did a good job describing it:More accurately described as a ''double V'', (the) W8 (is an offshoot) of Volkswagen's proven narrow-angle VR6 engine. It uses two banks of cylinders, aligned at an angle of 72-degrees. But within each bank, pairs of cylinders are further separated at only a 15- degree angle. Each bank of cylinders is topped by a 4-valve head, each with dual adjustable camshafts. While vibration is controlled by a pair of balance shafts, which move in opposite directions at twice the speed of the crankshaft. Which is itself an unusual ''flat'' configuration, designed to maximize torque.
Got it? Even if you don't understand all that (and I just barely understand it), what's easy to understand is the 270HP and 273 pounds-feet of torque this engine puts out. That's enough to get this car to 60 MPH in 6.4 seconds. All that power hits the ground through VW's 4Motion AWD system. Just imagine what kind of fun you could have with all that on a mountain road.
These cars didn't sell well. There was nothing really wrong with them, it was their price that kept people away. $34,000.00 was A LOT of money to spend on a VW in 2003 (and now). For that kind of money you could buy an Audi, which was almost as quick, had an arguably more advanced AWD system and a far more prestigious name.
But, in my mind, that's what makes this car so cool. It's not an Audi. It a VW Passat. People expect great performance and road holding abilities from an Audi. They don't necessarily expect that from a Passat. The W8 4Motion is a very cool sleeper.It seems like most of the Passat W8 4Motion wagons for sale these days have about 100,000 miles on them and sell for around $10K. I chose this car because it's a 6 speed (the automatic transmission raised the 0-60 time by a full second), appears to have been well taken care of and looks great in silver.
Located in Weymouth, MA, click here to see the AutoTrader.com ad.