Volkswagen Passat US price cut by $7000

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By Brett Davis | May 27th, 2011

Volkswagen in the US has just announced a drastic price cut for the upcoming new 2011 Volkswagen Passat sedan, which will now start at US$20,765. The price reduction will put it in direction competition with the popular Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

In the US, the price of the Toyota Camry starts at US$20, 195. Compared with the 2010 Volkswagen Passat sedan, which retails for US$27,945, for most buyers in the Camry segment, the Passat is a stretch too far. With the new model though, which is set to be launched in the country during the second-half of the year, Volkswagen has decided this gap should be closed, providing serious competition to the Camry and Accord.

The 2011 Volkswagen Passat will be available with a choice of three engines in America, including a turbo-diesel variant. Turbo-diesel and diesel engines are still a relatively new concept in the US in terms of normal passenger cars, it will be interesting to see how it shapes up against its rivals, especially with a claimed full-tank range of just under 1300km.

Volkswagen currently has a number of marketing campaigns going in the the States which are trying revamp the Volkswagen brand. Christian Klingler, head of sales and marketing for Volkswagen worldwide said in a recent Automotive News report,

“Volkswagen is back.” Adding, “Our intention with this Passat is to broaden the appeal to more customers.”

It’s a pity the Volkswagen Passat in Australia is unable to be priced so competitively with cars such as the Honda Accord Euro and the Toyota Camry (the Volkswagen Passat starts at $38,990 here in Australia, excluding on-road costs), although, our range is considerably larger than what is offered in the US.

Click here for our full review of the brand-new 2011 Volkswagen Passat.

o

Sigh, wheres our $7000 cut =(

Freddo

Go buy a Honda Euro…at least it wont fall apart like these do.

Aussie bender

You own one freddo?
I had a 07 Passat for 3 years – never gave me so much as a niggle in the way of problems.

Freddo

If it was so good why did you sell is straight after the warranty expired?

maple leaf

Freddo, how many kays did you do? I am thinking of getting the Tdi version but many VW owners have advised me against buying the Passat due to failures after 3 years!

so what is the deal with VW reliability?
sven

ahh, freddo the trolls back..
Thema

VW brand name in the US is not that good. Dogged by reliability issues….hence their marketing relauch VW is back.

Plenty of anti VW websites in the US dedicated to junking the brand.

Sumpguard

…..and all run by other manufacturers no doubt. The best thing VW did was stop making the Golf back home. A step in the right direction. The next step is to get rid of their ridiculously overpriced serving costs and spare parts ripoff.

I might sound anti-VW but I actually love their cars…..from a distance. I wouldn’t take the risk on them personally but I had a Jetta hire car a couple of years ago and was extremely impressed. I like the new Polo, Amarok and Golf but whilst my heart says yes my head says no.

Sumpguard

Should have read “Start maiking the golf back home”. Not stop. Sorry.

http://Frosty Hicks

The same place reasonable pricing is for all euros in Australia.

Snowy

The US Passat is different to ours anyway. Its made in the US and is a completely different car. Made alot cheaper so it really rivals the japs

JD

so a Volkswagen Passat in the USA can buy me a Volkswagen Polo here in Australia.

BTW, are there any differences of the camry made here and that made in the USA. Last time i was in the states, the base model looked like a crossbreed between the altise and ateva models, interior being more like Ateva, outside, similar to the altise.

i am aware of the different market sizes, but 30k for a camry here is not justifiable, considering Canada pays around 24k for it, and has a similar population(36mill)

plus we cant complain about the geographic location as the camry is made in Australia

Phil

Well ours is a standard automatic, where as they pay $2000 on top of base price for automatic.

I’ve seen Camrys advertised here for 27K drive away.

Mad Max

The standard car here is the $38’990 trendline which comes standard with leather, cruise, full safety (8 airbags, ABS, stability control, traction control) touch screen stereo, full Ipod conectivity etc and 7 speed DSG. So by the time you option up your gutless 5 speed Camry the price is nudging the Passat price plus you have the Camry’s hopeless resale. The service price on the Passat is around that of Mazda6, Liberty/Outback and a little bit lower than Honda Accord Euro.

Frank

JD- We cannot even hardly get a Polo for what you could get a Passat in the US. Auto prices here are out of control and for no reason. Our dollar is worth more than ever in the history of having the Aussie dollar on the international market, but have you seen price of cars go down? If anything they are going up.

Tariffs, duties and taxes are killing the auto market in Australia and really at the expense of paying for far inferior cars with respect to safety features and fuel economy because we get charged so much for new technology. Why the high tariff and duties? Who the hell knows, we certainly cannot be protecting much of a domestic market, 2/3rds of Ford & Holden fleets are re-badged imports.

Pricing for cars in this country is truly out of control and nobody appears to be trying to do anything about it.

BbrGc

The passat sold 0 vehicles last month in USA.. and sold only 7 passage in March..

Able

They last had the MY10 in the US so that’s KINDA understandable…

http://www.caradvice.com.au David

I hope they do get a different car in the US, the ones we have here now look are a much better classy looking vehicle.

Aussie bender

Thats the new Passat which we will be getting here too.
It has lost it’s classy lines and gained generic VW looks.

kimmik

your opinion is biased.

“I had a 07 Passat for 3 years”

bold

in us usually this comes with zero interest rate, zero first repayment, etc.
KD

Caradvice, why don’t you tell the whole story?
The reason that the American Passat is so much cheaper than the older (Euro) model is that they have a specifically designed model, built in the US. It rides on a different platform, has totally different engines and no where near the amount of technology that ours has. It is a cheapened down, dumbed down version because yanks won’t pay a premium for VW

bangel

Asolutely correct KD , you would make a proper car jounalist , all the facts help .

Stood in a VW showroom today , and checked out the new passat , much better in the flesh than pics .

Quality finish inside and out , they have raised the bar again .

KD

Oh, and why don’t you post a pic of the American Passat to show the differences?
Justin

Freddo I agree with you! Dads is a lemon, had it 4 years and there has been atleast 2 major problems a year, the biggest one being the fuel injectors blowing up (diesel btw)

bangel

Old wives tales , more holden homie stories from the front bar of the boganville hotel .

Mad Max

Agree Bangle. My wife has had her Diesel Golf 2 1/2 years 45’000kms now with ZERO problems. Not a squek or a rattle, nothing. It simply goes in and gets serviced at the dealership. Service prices are right on par with her previous Mazda 3 with the exception that at 60’000 the DSG gets its service. That a $900 service including the regular 60’000. The Mazda 3 was serviced every 6 months or 10’000k and over the 125’000 kms the car did, I expect them to come out about equal. The crap you read about VW reliability and service costs is just that, crap. I’ve ordered my new Passat 125 highline diesel and can’t wait to get it. Drive away it was cheaper than a Mazda6 sports luxury hatch and Honda Accord Euro luxury and has more toys and way better fuel economy.

maple leaf

do you have any stats? I mean every VW owner I know says keep away from them. I am confused. Please state facts and ownership experience.

bangel

I have owned a mk4 and mk5 gti , no problems , correctly serviced , both with ECU upgrades .

Every brand has its duds , a lot of it comes down to servicing and not thrashing your car .

There is a lot of tripe spread here by homies with an axe to grind or maybe even employees of the evil empire car co’s from america .

Bent 8 Brigade

You’re talking about ‘homies with axes to grind’??
Bwahaha oh god i’ve got a stitch from laughing too hard

bangel

Spent 8 all the holden homies cant help but hate imports , so they create these myths in their bogan minds to justify their boring purchase .

http://Nissan Kazuo

agree,all commodore drivers r stupid
jamison

You’ve owned 2 generations of GTI, have you compared your ownership experience with that of another owner who owns a comparable car but different brand?

Your experience is limited in a way though.

I have 2 friends who complain ALL the time about service costs and parts costs of their GTIs. Im not saying other manufacturers are better but these 2 friends stated they know other people who pay 50% to 75% of what they pay generally for maintenance. $1200+ for a non-major service can HURT a few months if you know what I’m saying…

Mad Max

What a load of rubbish!! We have a MK6 diesel Golf. All of the service are between $300 and $500 with the exception of the DSG service at 60’000 and 120’000kms which are $900 including the routine service and the DSG. These prices are in the same range as Accord Euro, Mazda6, Liberty/Outback. I’m not sure where you get this routine $1200 from. We have the option of getting non-dealer services done for a bit less but the car is always valeted and the dealer gives us a free loan car for the day so its not really worth the hassle.
ShockJock

Volkswagen annual services. Toyota subaru Mazda six monthly services. Do the math ‘son

Golfschwein

I’ll be upfront. My Golf hasn’t been perfect, but then I’ve run it for 100,000 now. But it’s been less imperfect than a brand new Commodore and Camry I’ve run. And it’s a very enjoyable car, which is why I’m a fanboy and will buy another in a heartbeat.

Anyway, why do people expect to buy and operate a car and have zero, zilch, nada go wrong with it? They’re cars! I’ve had 17 of them. Stuff happens! Go to Bunnings, buy some wood, build a bridge and get over it, people!
cruickster

My Mark IV golf absolute lemon. Owned since new, paint bubbled, had to be resprayed. Front drivers and passenger glass dropped down into the door replaced twice under warranty. Gear box imploded 3 months after service. Challenged VW they tried to say out of warranty so not covered. Lucky each time we got it serviced at an authorised VW dealer we made comments about the gear box not fealing right. The list goes on.
We have a Toyota RAV, yes not as class, two issues we had was aircon overgassessed, fixed after 1000km first service and second the fabric where the seat headrest penetrates was a couple of mill oversize so they replaced the whole seat. After five years of ownership zero problems. Now have a new liberty, a lot of people also don’t like these. Only issue after 14 months is a wiper rubber had to be replaced. I agree our VW might have been a lemon but I have also seen and heard from other VW drivers that suggests that they are not reliable. They are stylish but give me a Toyota or Subaru anyday for their reliability.

Sumpguard

Subaru have had a lot of reliabilty issues over the years too. We had a 98 outback and it was brilliant but others haven’t been so lucky.

It’s interesting that these guys keep defending the servicing costs and yet every motoring jounalist worth their salt has reported on the high ownership cost due to servicing.

Your gearbox issue probably stemmmed from the dealership getting carried away when topping up the transmission oil at around $30 a litre such as happened to a client of mine a couple of years back. His didn’t feel right either so he checked the oil himself and they had way too much in it.

Matt Man

I have had a few Golf’s, and now have the new Polo… 7 years never had a problem. Had a commodore company car, for 18 months, went back to the shop 6 times.
So dont know if I had bad luck with GMH or really good luck with My VW’s. But for a fact, my company now only has Golf’s for cars, in a year there has been less problems with the entire fleet than with one commodore…
not stats, but my experience

Freddo

Yep tdi injectors are common. No start….$5k with of injectors.

paulb

Are VW the Jekyl+Hyde of the Automotive industry.They lead in engine technology+fuel efficiency,but dont sound like there Toyota reliable.

Phil

Well the model in question hasn’t been around long enough to tell.

A freind of mine had a earlier 2001 Passat untill this year. It was problem free for the about first 5 years, then it had two problems – one was fuel pump I think and other was electrical issue, was about $500 each to fix. The leather was also wearing after just 90,000kms. The dealer service was poor and very expensive. It otherwise had rocksolid fit and finish – felt as tight as a drum even at the ten year mark, handled well and had massive fade free brakes (even on a trackday). This particular B3.5 generation was based on a Audi A4. The later Golf based version doesn’t seem to have fared as well.
Doctor

I remember the first generation Passats – good until 120,000 clicks and then everything was worn out except the engine. Kinda like Falcodores really…….

paulb

Falcons dont normally play up till about 175,000 to 200k.Interesting to hear from vw owners..

bangel

Most of them with 175k are residing in tall grass in bogan town where you never check the oil , who the hell keeps a car with that mileage on it , take it to the dump , i would be rotting inside and out if its a ford .

paulb

Falcons are tough bangel,look at the taxis.Tasmanian Green Inderpendent Wilkie is going to vote against the proposed LPG excise increase.It wont get through the House of Reps with the opposition opposed.
Thats great news for the new LPI Falcon coming..LPG will stay $0.70litre.
Phil

My freinds 1995 Falcon still drives like new with just over 300,000kms on it. The only problem is that they drove crap when new….live axle rear end with leaf springs. Brakes fade almost straight away – 276mm sized discs on a 1650kg car with a 4.0 engine (and even the XR8 model used these Yaris sized brakes)! The engine is whiny at low revs and harsh & breathless at it’s idea of high revs (which is only about 4000rpm – the power vanishes at about 4800).
Andrew M

Leaf springs on a 95 Falcon sedan??

You sure know your stuff…….
Bent 8 Brigade

Probly a wagon or ute, didn’t the wagon have leafs?
Phil

Wow Andrew M, aren’t you Mr Presumptious?

How did you decide my freinds Falcon was a sedan when I never mention what shape it was?

Go have a look under any Falcon wagon or Ute. Every single one has leaf springs.

Oh and my freinds Falcon is a wagon….
Sumpguard

Great news? $0.70c a litre for something that costs around a cent a litre to produce. When I left Melbourne in 1993 it hovered around 12 cents a litre and they were making a killing on it then. Once upon a time it was simply burned at the top of the cracker that refines the petrol we use.

Golfschwein

I had a Camry that wasn’t Toyota reliable. It’s an incredibly well nurtured fairy tale. They have issues just like any other car, and that’s from personal experience. It’s a lottery out there and not every ticket’s a winner.
ShockJock

Toyota = recall. Known worldwide fact. When will you wake up to this Australia? Second rate vehicles in every respect. No class leaders. Bland bland blander. They are nowhere in any market with discernment and taste.

Tim

Why cars are much cheaper In US than here. Not fair!!!

NotTheStig

Why are our cars so much cheaper than they are in Singapore ?

It is just the way it is in our market. Accept it and move on…
Phil

They probably think it’s not fair that we have free healthcare.

Thumbs Down Magnet

Our healthcare is not free, Phil. Medicare levy cost 1.5% off our pay cheques to start with…

Phil

Well it’s free for about the first 20 years of your life anyway!

Hung Low

Ever waited for 8hrs in the que Phil?
I will pay the extra thanks!

War Rocket Ajax

No passat on the VW US website. Obviously they are not yet selling it, which is perhaps why they sold 0 units (according to BbrGc)

Note: $40,000 US for the Passat CC V6, and that’s including the extra sat nav and dynaudio kit. About $70k here. Such is life…

kimmik

thats actually rather good, compare say a 50k audi A7 transforming into 100k here.

anthony

I had a 2007 Jetta which was fault free,now have a 2011 Accord Euro,and have to say that the build quality of the Honda is way better.
The climate control does not sound like boiling water,and it is rattle free.
VW dealers are a problem,as a few of them are FULL of attitude.

My attitude was to take my business elsewhere next time,and thats exactly what I did…
Justin

With my dads, his injectors went around 150,000km but he always had problems with electronics. His collegue at work bought one at exactly same time, his was fine, no troubles at all until about 150,000km again and his injectors went. There was 20 engines built between the two.
Car Fanatic

And as usual all the VW knickers who had a friend of a friend of a friend who had an issue with their VW therefore making it the worst brand in the world.

Like Golfy said, all cars will have some problem at least once. They aren’t perfect, though neither are some car owners. I know loads if people who swear by Subaru because they are reliable, yet my sister had three lemons. I believe it wasn’t the three cars but the owner and the way she drives and maintains ( or partial lack there of) the car.

Grow up.

QAZ

dude thats how brands build up their reputation. If VW is really that reliable and value for money, even more people will spread the goods rather than bads.

And seriously for a car that commands a 3-4k premium extra, you want it to be worth it.

UMWHAT

hey man a friend of my cousin’s friend’s brother-in-law’s daughter’s stepfather had a golf once and it had a transmission issue
Fan of another make

2011 VW Polo fuel pump replaced after 2 months and the problem has returned within weeks

Still a VW fan

Mine had the pump replaced a month ago, and the noise is back! Have you taken it in again?

Hung Low

Pretty sad when the VW fanboys come out to justify VW reliability!
How many mechanics/workshops use or drive VW’s?

maple leaf

I see a lot of delivery vans which are VW diesels. I mean courier cos will not buy something if it is not reliable??

Hung Low

Yes I had one of them once (transporter), blown gearbox at 40000km, electrical issues before and after that. Failed fuel pump, injector problems etc etc……absolute piece of crap!

http://volkswagen Mal

There’s an awful lot of Passat taxis getting around in Brisbane. You’d think the cab companies would do a little research before taking these things on, instead of a Falcon.

http://caradvice Onepoppa

Although the American Jetta is only different from the European car in terms of engines, suspension and trim the American Passat is not the same car as the European Passat – not just engines and trim, but a different body shell as well although it looks much the same.

It is priced as a non- premium product and from US reports it certainly isn’t one.
Car Fanatic

So what do they use and drive Hung? As you are the brains trust around here. Let’s hear the facts instead of the drivel that you usually write.

bangel

FUNG HI , holden homie i guess , but they never tell you exactly what their mode of transport is for fear of ridicule .

Hung Low

Typical VW fanboy, quick to snub other brands because of your disillusion that VW stands for prestige. For you information Bungle I do not own a Holden as daily driver, but I do have an 80′s HDT classic that is worth 4X of your crummy Golf!

paulb

What model Hung,thoes early Brock classics are awsome.Like HSV”S Blue Meany copy.
bangel

Daily drive a magma ,and weekend the dumb VH bathtub junk yard dog , wow awe inspiring rubbish .

paulb

bangel.thoes early Brock Commodores where the pioneers of todays HSV”s.
bangel

Those early brock opels were rubbish , rusted before you eyes , trashy paint , now a classic with bogan set, cheap .

Hung Low

Talk about writing drivel, at least I do not have the need to elevate my sad life by a short story on a car blog about my socio/economic status to justify why one drives a VW! Ring a bell Car Fanatic you sad case?

For your information, most mechanics will be behind the wheel of something Japanese or Australian. I have been both direct and indirectly in the trade dealing with workshops long enough to know this!

bangel

My son is a mechanic , hes got the good oil on the crapster cars , and the reliable , quite funny , no time for korea and aussie junk .

MK

The real sad news is that for the price of a base BMW 3 in Aus you can almost have a M3 in the US.
hugespud

This is great, have you noticed that with every VW story, that the comments section goes on for ever and filled with love and hate. Just like a good mid-day soap opera should be.
Pauly

All the talk of VW being unreliable is from cars that have done lots of KM’s and from much older gen cars.

Is there any reports of the Golf 5 and 6 being duds? No
Is there reports of the new beetle being a dud? No
Is there reports of the passat (current gen, which was recently replaced) as being a dud? No
Is there reports of the caddy, transporter being duds? No
Is there reports of Tiguan and Tourag being duds? No
How about passat CC? No

All of there modern cars (past 8-10 years) have been by enlarge, pretty damn good.
pugphile

Got a Jetta…the German made model with a crooked boot badge, jetta badge fell off and left rear door lock stopped working…only 2 y.o I only use it to commute on the freeway about 80 k return.
As a friend of mine who has one himself, if you want a reliable car, buy Japanes…his wife has a accord Euro ..

anthony

pugphile,the Jetta was NEVER built in Germany…
First in Mexico,then in South Africa,and now in Mexico again.
Also built in China,Russia,and India for various other markets around the world.
How could the badge fall off,if J E T T A are individual letters ???

I do agree that nothing beats a Japaneese built car for quality and reliability,and the Accoed Euro is a good example of this.
But Jettas are also good,I have had 1 of each.

Phil

See Mitsibishi and Suzuki’s results in any reliability/satisfaction survey.

They’re Japanese, yet consistantly rank at or near the bottom.

CaliforniaLA

Japan Vs Germany

Japan WIN
maple leaf

I finally did a decent run in a new Passat and a Jetta Tdi. The interior is way better than a Toyota. It feels solid. the door shuts with a thud. I have been impressed with the diesel + DSG. VW needs to be sharper in its price though.

jamison

COnsidering the Passat and Jetta Tdi are about 5-10K more expensive than the Toyota comparable (Camry/Aurion). I am not surprise.

Mad Max

Where do you get your prices from? A MY11 Passat 118TSI sedan comes with leather, touch screen 6 stack stereo, Ipod connectivity, heated front seats, cruise and fully safety features and 7 speed DSG standard. They start at $38’500 + onroads taking the drive away price to around $41’500. The closest Aurion to the specs is the ZR6 Sportivo but it still misses some things like Ipod conectivity, heated seats etc. The ZR6 is close to $44’000 driveaway but has a much worse resale (45% to 54%) comparred to the Passat. Toyota does not have a diesel option so you can’t compare the Highline Passat and it does not have a wagon. Toyota offers the Rav4 or the Kluger. The RAV4 Cruiser L is the closest to the Passat petrol wagon but the RAV4 cruiser L is around $45’000 drive away so I’m not sure where you get you VW being so expensive comments from.