GTP Cool Wall: 1996-2005 Volkswagen Passat B5

[Rotary Junkie]

Cool by way of me being very biased. I own(ed? more on that later) one. '01 1.8T 5-speed FWD with every option available at that trim level, so heated leather seats, sunroof, decent audio, etc. Put 28.5k mi on it in 22 months and a week. Rode well, but in spite of the soft suspension setup it didn't disappoint getting flung around, likely because it was actually engineered to be good.

It's an A4 with rear legroom and MkIV Jolf interior bits.

Now I've found out how it does in a crash, after a Yukon decided to drive into the front corner of it slightly head-on. Aside from a very broken arm because my reaction to them pulling out was brakes + horn, I'm impressed. Passenger compartment wasn't even slightly tweaked in spite of how bad the hit truly was.

So tl;dr, it may be beige but it is quite possibly the best in the world at being beige.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

Vehicular anodyne. And as a wise teacher once said, "drugs are bad, m'kay".

Uncool.

 

[YSSMAN]

The B5.5 Passat is a personal favorite, but, I'm hardly a guiding post for great taste in automobiles.

A well-dressed GLX with the 1.8T or the fantastic W8 were lookers, and drove quite well - but that doesn't necessarily excuse the rest of the lineup. Still, mid-size wagon. Six-speed manual. All-wheel-drive. Eight cylinders. Yes, absolutely, yes.

 

[niky]

This seems somewhat apt, given the current discussion:

 

[Famine]

Car.

 

[Jet Badger]

This seems somewhat apt, given the current discussion:

*cough*German-built VWs*cough*

 

[Rotary Junkie]

This seems somewhat apt, given the current discussion:

Only time my CEL did anything other than self check was when the 145,000 mile old spark plugs caused a misfire, at which point it blinked at me but it didn't happen long enough to throw a code.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

I never understood why people put neon coloured rims on cars, especially VWs.

Much prefer something like this.

Coincidentally I also much prefer that car in general. Dunno what it is about the Bora but it looks considerably more interesting, especially with the optional Oettinger Sports package.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Nope, not cool at all.

Funny thing, my aunt owned one of these. I never took a ride in it when she had it and I'm okay with that.

 

[homeforsummer]

Uncool. Rendered so because it's well within banger territory, and because VW guys seem to believe even the dullest VWs are somehow amazing.

It's not actually such a bad design, if not especially interesting, and the pre-facelift ones like that in the OP are preferable to the slightly squinty look of the facelifted cars.

 

[Luminis]

Google image search the word 'boring' and I'm pretty sure the B5 Passat turns up as a result.

Too inoffensive to be SU, but uncool still. The AWD W8 version might get bonus points for being a bit of a sleeper, but still.

 

[Liquid]

I really like these but they just aren't cool at all.