VW features the BMW didn’t have:

– Bluetooth integration with address book

– SAT SiriusXM radio

– voice commands for phone, media, radio

– 60/40 folding rear bench

– heated seats and steering wheel

– remote opening trunk

Features I miss from the BMW:

– luxury suspension

– horsepower

– power sun shades

– adaptive window wipers

– cruise control buttons on steering wheel (VW has them on lever)

– substantial horn

My first impressions of the Passat are all positive. Very roomy cabin, with nice look and feel of all surfaces in plain sight inside the cabin.
The car is highly functional with huge legroom in the rear, a humongous trunk and split 60/40 folding rear seats for even more cargo space.
The engine is a civilized modern 2.0l directly injected diesel engine and it gets 45mpg when driven at 70mph on cruise control with the AC running – a given in Texas. The steering is responsive and the DSG shifting (double clutch manual-automatic gear box) silky smooth. The feature I like best though are the state of the art consumer electronics in the car that the 2001 BMW 740iL was lacking. Integrated Bluetooth, iPod integration, satellite radio and hands free phone integration, including sync’ed phone contacts, are all features unavailable in the BMW from 13 years ago. And I really love that stuff. The google maps NAV streams the audio for directions right into the premium speaker system – brilliant!
Low points of the vehicle are definitely (lack of) power: with 140 diesel hp this isn’t a race car. I’ll chip it at some point to 180hp but even then I don’t expect the car to outpace the 300hp gasoline competition from a full stop. Elasticity for acceleration from 35-65mph though will be the car’s strong point. Combined with the stellar fuel efficiency this is a neat package. Creature comforts are amazing considering the price tag. The suspension is just adequate, compared with the 740, but that’s kind of expected when comparing a $28k car with a $80k car when they were fresh off the production line.
So I’m quite happy with the car I got for $28.5k. Some features just stun me (hill start assist, electronic steering, SAT radio, auto dimming rear view mirrors – just to name a few).
Will I miss the Diva? Definitely. The 740 is hard to beat on the highway at 65mph+ speeds. But after driving her for 8 years or 80,000 miles it’s time to let go, as I’m not a car collector – or at least that’s what the wife says.

After driving now for 23 years without an accident I came awfully close to totalling the Beamer this morning. As an experienced driver, you don’t come across a whole lot of new situations any more that can get you into trouble, but this morning was different.

On the last stretch on my way to work I drive on a 2 lane road with a 55mph speed limit. There’s a right shoulder and our turn-off to the office is to the right.

I was driving in the left lane in heavy traffic, trying to get past a truck, before making my way over to the right lane and then to the shoulder for deceleration to setup for the right turn into the office parking lot. I always make a point of not cutting in closely in front of a truck, so I went really close to the next car in front of the truck before merging into the right lane. Since I was moving through the right lane to the shoulder I wasn’t too concerned about violating the safety distance behind that SUV – I was following the vehicle at about 10ft, going about 60mph. The truck was closing in from behind, but I was moving out of his lane. Then when I got over onto the shoulder and onto my brakes, I got the shock of my life: there was a broken down car sitting on the shoulder. I locked up the brakes and waited for a long second, when it became clear that I wouldn’t come to a stop behind that car (a Jetta TDI with an american flag as a bumper sticker – funny how much detail the brain processes under stress). Merging back into the road was out of the question, as the truck was too close for an emergency braking maneuver and the truck always wins. So my only options were hitting the parked car or move onto the grass to the right. The car wasn’t blocking the whole shoulder, so I kept my left two tires on the asphalt for better friction, while the anti-lock brakes did their thing. ratatatatat, and I was moving my right two tires into the grass – debris flying everywhere. I came to a full stop a half car length in front of that stranded vehicle. Then it was quiet – first I thought my engine had died, but it was just idling silently. I was really shaken, but nothing had happened. I slowly drove into the parking lot and said a thank you to whoever was listening. That was the closest I’ve come to a collision in a long time. And the fault would have been all mine. (Re-)Learnings: Safety distance and visibility are your friend. BMWs are great cars. 🙂