2004 Volkswagen Phaeton W12 Start Up, Engine, and In Depth Tour 

The Phaeton is one of those cars that looks completely normal to most people, but to a car person will make them stop whatever they're doing and just stare in awe.

The Phaeton is one of the most under-rated vehicles in the automotive world! I always thought that this was a wonderful car.

A shame the American public didn't take enough interest in this car. It was so sophisticated in many ways. The only thing they did wrong was not borrow Audi A8's space frame for the chassis. But this car is essentially the Bentley Continental Flying Spur.

This car is freaking nice even for today's standards. It has aged really well

Still impressive looking after more than ten years!

It's funny that a 2004 vw phantom is still more advanced than most American cars today

This is one of those cars real car guys know.

Proof that VW makes the best cars in the world. The Phaeton is highly underrated.

Ahead of its time. more luxury than cars of today. 10 years later.

I'm not a Volkswagen fan by any means, but this truly is one of the most impressive cars I've seen, especially with the kind of technology it's got. Vent controls like that may seem like over kill, but the idea and technology behind the entire car is just amazing.

for a 2004 this Car was way ahead of its time 🖒🖒

i'm the only one who hasn't seen this car in real life????

The fact that Welcome to the Family came on just gives me another reason to want one

let me be honest: people around the world (specially Americans) were stupid to prefer Mercedes-Benz s600 to this masterpiece just because of the brand's name. it's a car that remains modern, feels modern and looks modern even after 20 years. but when you look at a 2004 Mercedes-Benz s class you say: this is an old Mercedes. it was the last masterpiece of ferdinand piech before retirement. he is ferdinand porsche's grandson.

wow incredible options for 2004

This car was light years ahead of its time..... Only true car enthusiasts can pick out a Phaeton on the road and appreciate the amazing engineering put into it. I saw a Phaeton just yesterday but I couldn't get close enough to see if it was a W12...

Such a special car and a shame VW gave it the same key as a Golf 😂😂

Really looks like the best 2004 car money can buy, including A8, BMW 7 series, etc. This thing is luxurious as hell and does 200 mph...that's insane.

Phaeton's Are Some Underrated Bad Ass Cars😭😭💖💖💖💖😍

Those trunk hinges though....

I believe that's an ash tray, not a CD player.

Okay I have to post another comment. After watching the entire video I am dumb founded by how innovative this car is, and it was made seven years ago! Thank you so much Kyle for this awesome find!

A fail here in the states for "luxury car" market because it said VW on it but I've always had a thing about liking those possibly because it looks simalar to the passat at the time and would be a good sleeper if it didn't say W12 on it the passat driver would be confused when it zoomed away; I'll love that car forever.

Wow this is the first time I've ever seen the Phaeton. I usually go for name brand cars like Mercedes and BMW and this honestly surpasses both the S Class and 7-Series of its same year. This is Bentley-type luxury and I love the unique detail on ever inch of this car. I'd get myself a W12 of these if I would find a good one around me but sadly they are extremely rare, even the base V8 models are hard to come by. After all.... I think this was 20 grand more than an S and a 7 at the time so that may been the reason there are so little because people would spend 20 grand less and get a name brand s class recognizable on the road. But for me with that same mentality, I really like this car

Good and terrible car at the same time. The W12 engine and attention to detail are amazing, but at $100,000 you're not paying for the car, you're paying for the logo. The rich don't want to drop their money to be seen in a Volkswagen. If this had a Mercedes or even Bentley nameplate instead, this car would have sold like hotcakes. Arguably the best car in the world when it came out in 2003 that nobody wanted.

Enormous...amazing ...because its easy and few expensive(quality/price ratio) to drive a phaeton w12 for all days using. .. and if you can found it because its rarely... for a fraction of Bentley price you have this car in perfect condition...

Holy shit this is 2004 VW??? Its nicer than a my 2004 Audi A6 Quattro

I bought one of these about 3 months ago and put cutouts right after the header and it sounds hilarious. I've one to so many car meets and no one knows it's me

Wow this is one of the nicest cars I have seen I would buy it if I had the money

Will ALWAYS be one of my favorite cars. I dream about owning one

This car was waaaaaaay ahead of its time!!!! The outside is pretty ugly, however the inside is beautiful. I can't believe all the features on this 04 VW!!!!

Holy crap. All the features... and thats especially alot for a 2004 car! What a beautiful car!

Phaetons are nice, my grandad has one, it's not long until he goes to heaven and I'll get the phaeton:)

Thank you man ... I have always loved the quirky luxury cars over my life time and this is one I never knew about.

Excellent presentation, especially on the beautiful interior. Overall, this car represents the Bauhaus Design very well. As a retired Human Factors Engineer (ergonomics, etc.) I find the instrumentation layout quite nice and efficient. Does anyone know how reliable these cars have been?

That W12 , sounds so smooth I bet you if you put a glass of water on top or near the intake manifolds there's going to be practically zero vibration

The amount of Engineering is amazing

When i first got this car (my dad) i wasnt really a fan of it however i started learning about the gadgets and what not. Much more advanced than a lot of cars these days

this car is awesome i have a jetta vr6 and its got a lot of kick but i can't even imagine how fast this is

EPIC! Love the Phaetons! no one appreciates how nice they are!

If you want to know how it feels to drive a Bentley but don't have the money, this is the car you should buy. Excellent value!

This boy is a real auto mobile enthusiast. I wish he can buy whatever car he is dreaming to get. He deserves it.

Nothing says European car like not being able to see any part of the engine.

Love that sog when he turned on the radio: "avenged Seven-fold, Welcome to the family"

Secondhand, you can get these for 16k euros. And for that kind of money, you can even get it with an extended wheelbase. I love the Phaeton.

i absolutely love that exhaust set up

Man this car screams for some cooler wheels, dark tint, and a suspension tuck

that w12 engine is an amazing engine, its an amazing car!

That NSX 😱

Those trunk struts are BEAUTIFUL. This entire car is BEAUTIFUL. I desperately want one.

I don't understand why some people would not own a Volkswagen. What is wrong with owning a VW? "The Logo" what is wrong with the logo? Why can't VW have expensive models? I'm a proud owner of the rare VW Corrado VR6 why should I be embarrassed of its Volkswagen badges? Why can't VW be a worthy Make? They been in the business since the 30s way before Nissan Honda and Toyota. Just don't understand the hate for VW. All you VW or German car haters continue to drive your cheap everyone and everywhere Toyota and Honda.

Ultimately the best car on this earth!

Avenged Sevenfold !5:48 where do you live where they actually play good music on the radio?

This car was so ahead of its time

This car can reach a top speed of 201 mph delimited, as said by Jeremy Clarkson. I hope that's true.

hell yes!!!!! just made my day kyle, wanted to see you make a video on this car in this configuration for SO LONG!!!! awesome man, love you long time!!!

This was a real competition with Mercedes

this is one of the most if not THE MOST under rated car.

once you need to maintain it . it will properly bankrupt you . just like Audi , BMW , and Mercedes Benz . nice look advance auto mobile that will kill your wallet if you don't have enough money on you . unfortunately i love it !!!

A pure luxury!😍

these cars are well slept on, only because of the Volkswagen badge.

one of the best cars ever produced...hands down

good song lol

I would LOVE to own one of these. Thanks for all of your in-depth videos!

Unexpected car from vw!

All those features!!! That's just an amazing car. Nice review ,Kyle!

no doubt it a beautiful car, unfortunately its the most problematic VW ever made!!

Looks better than a lot of cars on the road today

Avenged Sevenfold at 6:03!!!

Man when Welcome to The Family played by A7x, I was rollin.

It was a mistake getting rid of this model

This car is criminally underrated

This isn't an '04. '04s didn't have the wood around the center console cup holders like this one does.

This car was way ahead of its time.

CLOSE THE DOOR!

I have an 04 Beetle. It's crazy how the interior parts and controls are familiar because of that... like I have the extreme bare bones version of this.

poor mans Audi a8 :D

Impressive! The Phaeton really is the automotive equivalent of ShamWow - you just have to say "wow!" every time.

This car was ahead of its time.

I am totaly speechless! May the New Year give you great joy, Happy New Year to you and your family!

The most over-engineered car possibly ever, but what a great car! I think a V8 Phaeton with limited frills and fancies would do me just fine though, this W12 beast is a little imposing! People are always saying that they don't understand why VW made this car when they have the Audi A8, but the A8 has always been about relatively light and sporty luxury whereas this car is all about pushing the engineering limits, so I agree that it deserves a place in the world.

This is one handsome car. The trunk hinges are my favorite simply because they are so beautiful... Don't judge me.

That has to be the most feature pack car you have reviewed yet! Great review, getting all the functionality in. Happy new year as well!

Damn look at this car... Almost 10 years old and it look like vw just commercialised it! Definitely getting one when my car reach 250 000km's.

A Phaeton?! This just made my god damned day.

I didn't pay attention to the year when I clicked on the video I just saw a pretty Volkswagen, and when you said 2004 I thought "no way, it looks at minimum of 2009." This is a car I could see myself driving. Thank you Kyle. Happy New Year

What a fantastic car! Thank you for doing this review.

This is a great car! The bentley continental flying spur is build on the same platform, when you look at the interior the gps and the buttons on the seats are exactly the same just that there is a little more chrome in the bentley. The chassis is the same, the engine too. But the Bentley has to turbocharger which help it to perform 560hp an the 4wd is the same too.

The new 2011 model year looks even better. Its the Best looking new Luxury car on sale today.

This video made me buy my own Phaeton :)

This car was before its time. so awesome

Simple and elegant design but with extremes of luxury

I like how the wood grain lifts up to reveal the vents when you start the car. I have personally never seen one of these. They're cool.

I have been putting work/interest as an enthusiast with cars since 7, and Audi is my #1 car, in my opinion most solid engineered German, been doing amazing, stepped up their game since around 2007 +, but for the MSRP that this Phaeton carried, why I would not buy this ? and what is my (personal) reason? this is a Flagship luxury full size Sedan that is just simply outstanding, now I do not know about the maintenance and parts for this vehicle my guess it will cost less than a full on Audi A8L or etc, but still as much as the higher model A6 with the V8 perhaps which I can't guarantee, I might be wrong. BUT what I am saying is it cost more to purchase than your average Audi. With maintaining for similar prices, why not just go for the Audi, I'm beyond humble and do not, at all show-off but I have to mention why pay for a 100 Large for a vehicle along with the price up keep to own, when people, & trust me the average majority will see it maybe as a 40K affordable/luxury German Sedan for the middle class joe, for example, I wouldn't want to spend around $100,000 Dollars on a car and have it mistaken for a 40,000$ passat, give or take, more or less.

I love how the song that comes on first is one of my favorites

The corresponding model of Passat of that era was a nice car, the last one to be built in Germany for the NA market. It did had problems with the engine head and turbo when non synthetic oil was used (1.8T engine), costly suspension arms, door lock actuators, etc. The 1.8T engine was really weak in city but great for overtaking. For a german car, it was really well made with great driving position and handling on the highway. I suspect the Phaeton to be even times better which should actually be quite impressive.

That is such an underrated car!

One of my favorite cars. Thanks for doing this one!

Personally i don't like the VW brand but after watching this video of the Phaeton i changed my mind!

As soon as he closes the door. Woosh! No noise at all!