The Strangest Car I've Driven - MANUAL Passat W8 

Oddball cars is definitely what we no longer have. So its fun to watch how manufacturers used to cater to niche markets. Instead of building cars that had mass appeal and comittee designed features that made them all very similar to the competition. Bring back oddball cars. Particularly fast wagons :D

I have the same car, but it’s a wagon version. Got it back on the road last week after 5 months of graft. Such a sleeper car & being 6 speed manual makes for a great driving experience.

VAG's golden era ended when Ferdinand Piëch stepped down. I have the W12 iteration of this engine concept. Brilliant. Before that a VR5 Passat and still have a VR6 Corrado, so yeah, I'm a VR fan 😄

This manual 6 gearbox was really fantastic: quick, precise and pleasant to use. It was offered on a lot of VAG models, petrol or diesel and it was perfect

This is the precursor to all modern "W" engines found on the Bentley, Bugatti etc. Performance wise any BMW or Mercedes-Benz of this vintage was far quicker but this was the 'car' to propell VAG into the future. We know the results.

I always liked the look of this generation passat beautiful design .

I see one of these every few days driving through my city and it just sounds sooo good. I kinda love it

I too am glad that you had a chance to experience driving one of these very rare cars, especially considering the rarity in your country. Watching you smile from ear to ear as the never-ending torque just built power and speed, all while listening to that very unique (Wookie-like) growl of that VR6-derived all-aluminum block W8. How do I know how enjoyable these are to drive? My husband and I own SIX (6) Passat W8's ranging from 2002 to 2004, three sedans, three variants, of which three are 6-speed cars. Luckily one of our Variants is a 6-speed, obviously leaving two sedans (one Reflex Silver like the one you tested, and the other one being Black). We enjoy them for all the same reasons you described in your review. The power, comfort, sound, and uniqueness. We are lucky to have them. Beating up on unsuspecting Mustang or Challenger owners is something we do quite often.

I am a proud owner of W8 passat. Love the stealth look (looks like regular TDI) but with 4 exhaust pipes. Unfortunately previous owner changed original rims. It is a fast car, can do nice pulls which glues you to the seats. Downside is its very hard to maintain it because parts are expensive. I wish i had a garage to keep this piece in better conditions than parking lot where people scratch the car, rain, leaves and dirt buildup. Anyways fuel prices are also driving us insane. 😢

Great review young man. Fellow Kiwi here, just stumbled on your video and I enjoyed your natural and very professional presentation. Subscribed. Keep it up buddy, you are doing a good job.

really cool that you reply to literally everyone. the kind of interaction that gets lost on larger channels

I have very fond memories of the B5.5 1.8T I had, learned to drive manual on that. I always wondered what it would be like to drive the same car with twice the cylinders. But the cost to replace that trick multi-link front suspension, sludging that eventually reared it's head, faulty timing chain tensioner that I had to buy OEM and oil leaks galore (gotta love a timing belt and chain setup) made me finally give up and switch teams to manual Acuras and Hondas. Haven't looked back since haha

I actually know someone that had one of these and they lost crazy amounts of money on it. It was the biggest money pit I've ever seen.

Great episode! I bought one of these in a beautiful dark green metallic back in 2013. It was an auto sadly, but still sounded mint and really shifted. Much better than the 2007 R32 engined Passat I traded it in for.

I have a 2004 here in Australia except mines a Auto as that's all that was offered here. Also have a 2001 Bora V6 4motion Manual. Owned both of them for close to 18 years now. Brilliant cars. Love the W8s noise and the subtle ride.

Perfect! Now, I want one

Love the camera near the exhaust clip!!

Had a 1.8T B5 Passat 15 years ago, ended in a 400HP Garret GTX28 Turbo Upgrade since Volkswagen used Audi S2 Rods in the first engine code AEB 1.8T engines which can handle more than 400Hp. Combined with a VW Golf 4 AGU Engine Management System which got an open enginge Management System to easy modify engine managment since the old AEB doesn't support OBD2. Old storys, great cars.

I’m a big Audi/VW fan. I had an Audi B6 S4,manual, I miss that car. I love your accent and the way you say Passat. Cheers from Canada.

👌💯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 That sound is amazing

This is rad!

I have the wagon version of this car, manual with the W8 and it is an absolute blast. I have exhaust cutouts I can open if I want it to be louder, makes for an awesome sleeper!

You can hear the VR6 in the engine note when you get on it. So cool. I really want one.

Sounds good!

awesome review

Sweet! these are not around in Canada anymore, super hard to find, especially the wagon, and manuals are non-existent. Very clean car, and it sounds great Thanks for reviewing one

Loved my '03 W8 6-spd. Very few manuals were imported into the states. It was quick but I had to rely more on driving skills to defeat fast cars. It suffered the characteristic cam position sensor failure but luckily it was under CPO warranty and was covered free of charge. Other than that it never had a hiccup. It certainly was a unique ride. I miss it dearly

OMFG THATS STILLWATER AT THE END YOU BLASTED DOWN, the east coast road turnoff!!! I knew I recognized it!! That's insane haha I live in stillwater and I'm telling you that road all the way to the bottom is one of the best/funnest roads I've ever driven, and drive daily haha. Didn't know you were in Auckland dude. What a cool video I remember seeing this car a few times too. Never knew what a gem it was. Alot of cool cars down stillwater village, there's a Ford Sapphire Cosworth I drive passed everyday too that'd be an amazing car to review. Again epic video and so random you were in stillwater hahahahaha.

My father in law has a W8/Manual Passat and the head of a local VW tuner here in the NW US who I know well (I have built many VW's over the last 30 years) had a Loden Green W8 Wagon but I believe it was a slush-box not a manual. Never knew they were that rare, it's a. fun car and really nice aside from the usual electrical issues VW has come to be known for and an interior that had some issues over the years.

I love the colour coded lower body on this car! I’ve always wondered what the Passat would look like with that, and it looks great! Too bad these W8’s are notoriously difficult and expensive to work on. Would love to own one, preferably a manual

Good score for a review, they're an interesting sounding car. I almost got an auto version but found the fuel consumption just a tad too high. I ended up with a V5 Bora which is unique sounding in it's own right, a lot cheaper to daily but not nearly as fast. Did it feel a lot nicer to drive over the VR5 Golf that you reviewed?

I had no idea they EVER made this car with a clutch! I kind of really want one now. 32 valves and 4.0L should be worth a lot more than 276 hp, though. Probably needs different camshafts and long tube headers with an X-pipe. The exhaust is easy to do custom, but getting cams welded up and reground would be a quest.

Even in germany this W8 cars are pretty rare. And the sound of this one you drove, reminds me to 6.2l corvette C7. Anyways, greetings from Germany.

I’d love to have this car. I used to have a regular 1.8T Passat and even that was pretty fun.

My neighbour has a Passat W8 wagon. VW was putting out some cool stuff in the early 2000's!

Kia ora - just the birds chirping in the background make me miss New Zealand already.

Makes a very nice sound 😮

here in usa not a passat fan but this one is just wow sleeper roomy simple powerful as f manual truly rare

back in the days they made individual cars like the vr6 renaul clio, focus rs 5zylinder and cars like this, miss those times

looking at you talk about gear change how you can feel gears meshing together reminds me of my golf mk 4

Nice car there is an estate version of w8 4motion 6speed, sounds good in near by village to about 1mile away from me .Regardss .Shaun from Wales

Crazy timing just saw a wagon version in otaki yesterday !

Also I like to point 2 more differences that u might missed about it with the regular passat, U get a chrome line on the taillights and for the headlights the turn signal switches place will the low beam

Check engine light gang!😅

This but a wagon. Maximum everything, visibility, passenger capacity, cargo, speed, ride quality. A dream!

This car needs some love on the exterior😬

Had a used one on our VW lot that I absolutely just ABUSED for a year and a half, it was basically my demo when I sold VeeDubs. 275 whole HP! A lot of people will tell you that you can't get all 4 of those 4 motion wheels going at 1 time, I'm here to tell you that you absolutely can with some effort.

Had the chance to buy one of these from New York in black but didn’t have the money at the time. Would love to have one one day as there aren’t many here in the states either but certainly more than 3.

What a rare specimen!

driving on the awsome Ara Weiti Road!

The engine note is super interesting. It's like if a v8 dressed down in PJs but still wore a Rolex Day Date.

I almost bought a wagon W8 some years ago that was on eBay. I only shied away from it because the mileage was kind of high. The VW engine design has a known kind of quick wear rate due to the way the cylinders are angled. It's spendy to refresh. It's kind of the same deal with the W12 Phaeton, just 12 instead of 8. They're cars you want to buy into at lower miles. Like he started with the RS4, or even the S4, gets you a V8 option with manual too. Passat sedan to S or RS4, it's a little hard to lean towards Passat. The Audi had a little more displacement and power. And the RS4 did even more so, plus a more rear biased awd setup that I don't think the Passat nor S4 ever got.

Hey man. Can I ask what watch are you wearing ? Really like the look of it 👍

You want to get hold of a VW Phaeton with either the 6L W12 or the 5L V10 turbodiesel. Looks just like a slightly larger Passat and shares a floorpan with the Bentley Continental. Or if you are into SUVs an Audi Q7 with the 6L V12 turbodiesel.

sounds a bit like the e39 m5. very nice

Sounds like the flat plane crank Ford Voodoo V8. I can definitely hear some VR6 in that too. Supposedly these were not even firing, so that explains the sound.

I have a B5.5 2.0 TDI Passat with front wheel drive and an Audi Avant Quattro 2.0 TFSI. The Audi wagon is well planted to the road, with sustained pickup power and great in corners and declines with out a doubt, although total cost of ownership is the kicker 4 me. Somehow the B5.5 Passat (a VAG Audi A4 by any other name) for me at least is the one I can drive, and drive it how it was made to be driven. The tiptronic transmission is a for me a sweet spot betwixt manual and semiautomatic. They do not last forever is the biggest complaint I hear about them, and if you have a sTDI it is to be expected the engine will out live and out pace the transmission because it is simply that good. I have driven Audi's starting with the 500's V8 / V6 / Quattro / 4Motion, VW Golf / Rabbits, GTI's and Cabriolets (All manual's up to the point), as well as Jettas's and Passat's. Give me a Passat or Audi TDI with any transmission, and see why it is a drivers car. I drive the BC coastal mountains in and from Vancouver as well the Rocky mountain range highways both in BC and Alberta. The esp on the 2.0 TDI Passat remapped or not combined with fuel economy and engine reliability makes it for me a keeper.

Just wanted to let you know, one of the sister cars to this lives in christchurch. I spoke to the owner earlier this year,he informed me he purchased it from a guy in Queenstown where it had been for many years. Same color and manual. He believes there is 4 in NZ and knew of one other in the south island. Although it could be anywhere now. Hopefully a bit of info for the owner of this car.

... beautyful car!!!

In the UK yiu get a choice of roughly 3-4 in the market at any one time. It’s one of my saved searches on Autotrader but it will need to be an estate with a manual.

I nearly bought an estate version of this It is a 4 liter version of the Bentley 6.7 Its not a one off as you state, there were a small number produced for the euro market

brilliant german engineering used to find an solution for less oversteer at torsen awd platform which have by construction understeer character because of engine entirely in the front of the steering axle. That w8 is the SHORTER 4.0 engine ever build.

VW's/Audi's dilemma back in the days always was not being able to fit Inline-6 or regular V-8 engines in. Their general design never allowed a big engine and rear wheel drive as their competition BMW and Mercedes. This is also why they came up with Quattro. Or Procon-ten when Mercedes already offered Airbags. BTW, the first Airbag was available in a Oldsmobile Toronado in 1977. It's sad that we won't see oddballs like this anymore. Manufacturers "play safe" and profit is more important than ever before.

I had an auto, never got a manual in Australia, thirsty one, 16l/100, took 9.5l of oil in the sump, was slow made a nice noise though and was smooth as silk.

Can’t unsee how low the headrest is

Those concluding photos look like Ara Weiti road right? At the end? Haha I love hooning down there too 😂😂😂

0:57 and the longer fenders than all other Passat 😉

I love the W8

My friend has one of these but wagon version. I have driven it a couple of times it drives amazing. I mean we live in Germany so I could test the speed of the W8 on the autobahn 😅

These would be wild with a super charger 😊

I would like a AWD W8 wagon... I have a B5.5 Passat 5 speed wagon with a 1.8T currently

I own one but it's automatic 03 124k miles I'm gonna save it this will be worth 1M one day engine just needs spark plugs car held up extremely excellent gonna do videos on it soon

Does it rev up quickly because the engine is 2 small halves instead of 1 big block engine ? That's a surprise to me, never thought of W engines this way

great cars these passats, my gf drives a 1.8t. :-)

Dunnow what I love more - tha car or the accent lol

The all wheel drive is basically quattro, wich is basically Subaru symetrical on steroids! I mean instead of viscosity clutches in center differential it uses Torsen mechanical differential. And of course it has symetrical driveshafts like Bubaru. So it's the best AWD ever. (Not 4x4 but AWD! Remember!

That is certainly an interesting car and rare as rocking horse poop!

I got my USA spec W8 sedan with the coveted 6-speed manual from the kid next door. I paid $1,000 cash with 98,000 miles! Oh and he bought it from an Audi dealer! 😂😂😂

This car is a 2nd cousin of either a Audi B6 or B7 S4/RS4 (B7) only. Since the B6 didn’t have a RS4.

the proper manual, pre-DCT, era was the best era

Here in Europe most cars have manual gears. VW Passat as well.

For me they gotta be manual couldn’t imagine not having one

I’ve seen a few of these here in New Mexico. We have a ton of Germans here.

Can you review an accord euro r compared to a ford focus xr5 turbo please

Hi bro,you are from NZ,right?I really want visit NZ and see local car meets and motosport events.Now idk if you are into these meets and events,but if you are,can you please reply with few names of good events(North and south island,doesn`t matter,i`l probably visit both)?🙂

#perfection

Would have been a pleasure to watch the gauges while you were driving..if you only had turned the lights on^^

So first the Accord DIESEL, now this? I’m learning all sorts of new engines hidden by manufactures. Whats next a V4? Haha

So the W12 Phaeton is even freakier I guess.. :D

imagine steeringwheel on the wrong side.

Mate, short sweet and the the point.

I'm from Germany and never heard anyone pronounce Passat like this! Even though I got used to howw its pronounced in the US! Great review!

VAG for the last 30 years: Function follows form. The quality of used cars of this era is shit. But respect to the few engineers who managed to came up with these solutions like the W-engines.

I really wish they had put this motor in the Touareg

This is wonderful. Is this engine diesel powered or petrol?

Nice sleeper to punish fancy drivers

cool

My cousin owns one of the three in NZ

would shortshifter make it more engaging?

I live inAustria and could get one of theese for 5k with 220k km, but i cant get one of those for my first car, the insurance would be 3000/year or more i think