Just spent the last two days driving a new Passat gttdiiididi (or something)

Did about 600miles.
Nice shape, quiet car and comfortable.

But what the f@+k is all the bells and whistles about.

Electric handbrake, buttton on the dash, cant release untile you put your foot on the brake, great for hill starts!!!

No key slot plastice brick in the dash and push, sounds ok until you realise that the car has to be in neutral, clutch and brake depressed before it will start.

Stalled the thing in the middle of a busy roundabout and spent about 5mins trying to start the bloody thing.

It must have whistled and rang bells at me a thousand times . What a load of unnecessary nonense.
Indicators that signal three times whether you want them to or not!!!
bell to tell me its cold!!!
Bell to tell the washers are Low
bell to tell me the pasenger seat belt is undone.
bell to tell me im in reverse
bell to say i have started the car
bell to say i have switched it off.


Ahhhh "the bells"

Why do manufacturers do that, whats wrong with a normal handbrake or a key for gods sake.

It got ot the stage that i was very glad to get rid of it.

I was looking forward to driving the car but all the gimmicks spoiled the expierence.

Bad Move VW

My Skoda Octavia is the same... you get used to it! Though glad to say no electric handbrake or starter card...

Steve

I don't have those problems in my old series three landrover

I don't have that problem either....... on my CBR600RR! http://www.p4nts.co.uk/bike
mind you, I wish there was something to tell me to not go out this afternoon as it was damn freezing, and I was slip, sliding away on ice a couple of times, and as if that wasn't bad enough, the guy I was buying wiring supplies from, kept me talking and I had to ride home in the dark, with a tinted visor and no front lights!!! I really, really didn't want to do that!!!

You want sympathy!

BUY BRITISH!

Oh sorry, none left, everyone wants Made in China, now

ATB

Simon

modern cars pish!

Yup, had a Passat for a while.

Wait until you get the "bing" for that guy walking past looks a bit dodgy.

Or the "bing" for I think your going the wrong way.

I got a new warning light come on the dash once whilst on the M9 near Stirling. Pulled over, checked the manual, said "Do not proceed, do not pass go, do not collect £200 go straight to main dealer, major engine problem." I nearly sh*t myself.

Took it in to the dealer, who spent an hour with it plugged in to a machine, had a look at it, and told me the brake light switch on the pedal had stopped working.

But it was OK as there was a pressure switch too.

So I drove home perfectly OK.

Mike

Oh yeah, almost forgot the "best" feature on mine!

When driving in a spirited manner, I had occasion to rely on the ABS. VW seemed to have fitted a system that muted the radio when the ABS activated, I guess so you know you are about to skid to your imminent doom!

Well that's great, but as my handsfree kit was wired through the stereo it tended to cut you off as you skidded. Did panic my wife a few times as I was talking to her, said something like "uh oh" and then the phone goes silent!

Mike

This started early on with VW - I'm minding my daughter's Mk4 Golf GTi at the moment, and I refuse to drive the stupid thing. As you say, you get a ping when the washer fluid is low... and then you get a ping every bl@@dy 5minutes until either you finish the journey, fill up the bottle, or put your boot through the dash. There's a prominent light in the middle of the dash, for goodness sake!
I also hate its fully automatic heating system that has its controls down by the gearstick - if you want to turn demist on or off you have to take your eyes off the road and go rooting around trying to find the correct button amongst a row of others.
Oh - and I'm not over-impressed with VW's so-called build quality either, when compared to the 3 or 4 Toyotas I've owned to date.
<rant over - now where's the valium?>


David

It does make you wonder.....I suspect most new features make their way into cars through manufacturers trying to differentiate and out feature each other and because if Ford has it then VW must have it and so on.

I wonder how different cars would be if the driver could truly specify what he needed and wanted in a car rather than have to choose the best compromise and a list of optional extras dreamt up by the marketting teams (and before anyone says it, I know what effect that would have on the cost of the individual vehicle).

My pet hate for VW group cars is the central locking which locks all the doors as soon as you drive off. I'm told this feature is there for the American market !!! Fortunately if you pester a main dealer hard enough, they can turn this feature off

Maybe all this is factor in choosing to build my own car?

I do wonder whether there's a market for a quality car without the fancy bells and whistles - just plain old good ride, handling and performance. Not talking about expensive cars here - just a mid-range saloon.

David

<extra Golf-related rant>
I forgot to mention that I don't think the 1.8 turbo Golf GTi is a particularly fast car considering it's 150BHP - quite lardy, in fact.
<end extra rant>

It used to be that most cars sold in the rest of europe were of a lower spec, (when things like sunroofs, electric windows and mirrors on the nearside were extras) but they were cheaper because of it, in the UK we got all the extra's and paid more. my brothers Taunus (cortina i think) didnt even get a radio.

quote:

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Originally posted by Johnmor
Electric handbrake, buttton on the dash, cant release untile you put your foot on the brake, great for hill starts!!!Bad Move VW

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This sort of interlock have been on automatic cars for decades - you can't start unless the gear selector is in P or N. This is fair enough, as you don't want the car driving away immediately.

However, millions have drivers have managed to start a manual car and drive off under full control without such interference - what is the point, apart from gimmickry?

quote:

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If all the interlocks are satisfied (ie. doors closed, seatbelt on etc) doesnt the handbrake automatically release when you raise the clutch?

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Yeah, remember that wheelspinning surge in second.

I think they are limited in first gear.

Mike

the one that pissed me off the most was when I had a 307 courtesy car. When driving 'spiritedly' and just catching the abs going into a quick bend this would trigger the hazard warning lights to come on. I was in control and enjoying pushing on a bit, next I'm half way round a bend with my hazard lights going with oncoming traffic, groping around on the dash to turn the ruddy things off, talk about distracting from the concentration I had on my driving.

Ned.

Bought an Audi A4

It's nice driving, had a subaru lagacy before which was really good at cornering. 4 WD

But compared with the A4 it's a brick!

Before the Subaru a had a Toyota camry customwagon i pushed it to 418.000 km still drove relaxed. Probably the prince of zimbabwe is driving around that one.

So back to that Audi. Last weekend I have build cruise-control into it (original). Steeringwheel off, airbag of, etc. Cause the module has to be displaced and one stick. Costs....
Last but not least.... You have to goto the dealer because it's a CAN-bus....
Nice they manage to build a car where stupid people like us can't do anything. So don't give the acces to local workshops... prices rises....
I don't like it, I want to make it myself.
Maybe sometime the European Commission will force to have USB-connections in cars?

Passat 2007. I haven't used dashboard switch for handbrake for a week, since it stuck 'ON' while in heavy traffic. Luckily it did release after a dozen frantic attempts. Helpful message on screen when this happens is: Take car to VW dealer. Grrrrrrrrrr.

This would be a bit of a problem if stuck on motorway with handbrake jammed on. Or on a level crossing?

Total lunacy, just another example of manufacturers making everything on the car 'dealer only fix' ££££££££££££ of course.

Welcome to the forum but...



Is there a prize for "oldest thread resurection in a first post" 'cos I think over 6 years might win it

quote:

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Originally posted by Johnmor
Just spent the last two days driving a new Passat gttdiiididi (or something)

Did about 600miles.
Nice shape, quiet car and comfortable.

But what the f@+k is all the bells and whistles about.

Electric handbrake, buttton on the dash, cant release untile you put your foot on the brake, great for hill starts!!!

No key slot plastice brick in the dash and push, sounds ok until you realise that the car has to be in neutral, clutch and brake depressed before it will start.

Stalled the thing in the middle of a busy roundabout and spent about 5mins trying to start the bloody thing.

It must have whistled and rang bells at me a thousand times . What a load of unnecessary nonense.
Indicators that signal three times whether you want them to or not!!!
bell to tell me its cold!!!
Bell to tell the washers are Low
bell to tell me the pasenger seat belt is undone.
bell to tell me im in reverse
bell to say i have started the car
bell to say i have switched it off.


Ahhhh "the bells"

Why do manufacturers do that, whats wrong with a normal handbrake or a key for gods sake.

It got ot the stage that i was very glad to get rid of it.

I was looking forward to driving the car but all the gimmicks spoiled the expierence.

Bad Move VW

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