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I recently took a look at the 2016 Passat R-line and I have to say that its a pretty sweet looking ride. Very spacious and classy looking. The 1.8t engine seems a bit underpowered for a car this size but its acceptable given its low end tq.
So why does this car not sell as well as the Camry or Accord? Is it because of long term reliability issues? Is it because of the cost to maintain a German vehicle? etc?
Last edited by louie0406; 08-29-2016 at 10:15 AM..
For one the previous generation of the Passat was more expensive. It was marketed that way from the beginning. Consumers may simply be unaware that the Passat is less expensive than it used to be.
Another reason is simply that VW has never had a large market share in the US.
Production restraints are yet another reason. VW couldn't build enough Passats to meet demand at the same level as the Accord or Camry at this point in time.
Lastly, VW's diesel scandal has really hurt their brand image. It will take quite a while to recover from that.
For one the previous generation of the Passat was more expensive. It was marketed that way from the beginning. Consumers may simply be unaware that the Passat is less expensive than it used to be.
Another reason is simply that VW has never had a large market share in the US.
Production restraints are yet another reason. VW couldn't build enough Passats to meet demand at the same level as the Accord or Camry at this point in time.
Lastly, VW's diesel scandal has really hurt their brand image. It will take quite a while to recover from that.
-Signed an auto industry analys
This is true! I was surprised at how affordable the '16 Passat is. Sure once you start adding features the cost can rise quickly, but its pretty much on par with its rivals.
Had I not just recently picked up a '16 Accord Sport I would have seriously considered the Passat R-line.
VW's dealer network is sparse as well, same problem with Mazda. People flock to those big fancy looking dealerships.
Where I live, there's an entire ave of dealerships. VW and Mazda included. Took a friend recently to look at a Honda HRV and I decided to walk right across the street while she took care of the financials to check out what VW had. Was impressed with the '16 Passat. Sad to say that I was literally the ONLY person in the dealership at the time. Meanwhile right across the street Honda was selling cars like hotcakes! Mazda has a huge dealership on this same ave although we didnt stop inside. Surprisingly Toyota looked kind of quiet while Nissan had a pretty good crowd inside!
A lot of their reputation was ruined by their reliability issues in the late 90's to early 00. Accords and Camrys haven't been known for bad reliability.
FWIW. Their incentives are insane! Fully loaded passats with sunroof and all the fixins for less than 24,000. 4-5k off MSRP What a deal. The 1.8t of this current generation are having some issues with main seal leaks. I test drove a 2016 SE with connectivity that was 5k off MSRP and the thing had rear seat heaters (My kids would love those). The fake leather was softer than the last generation. It wasn't bad at all.
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