The Volkswagen Phaeton W12 Was a $120,000 VW Ultra-Luxury Sedan 

Yes, I am saying "Phaeton" correctly. No, it is not "fay-tin." Yes, it has three syllables. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phaeton Click that link and there's a little voice that will even sound it out for you. You're welcome ;)

“You don’t find these things in any other car!” Features: 6/10

HI, I'm Doug DeMuro and I'm 6'2, 6'3, and 6'4. Depends how I'm feeling

As a Phaeton owner 10 years ago, I must point out you missed a few luxuries . Adjustable ride suspension, heated steering wheel, adjustable ride height, etc. I say one hell of a car, to bad it ended

Phaeton is one of the most underestimated luxury sedans on 2000's

This car has a certain Eastern European crime boss feel to it.

I’m surprised you’ve gone over this car without telling the story behind it. Namely that Ferdinand Piëch was getting ready to retire, and he wanted to create his idea of a perfect Car. It had to be able to 186 mph for 2 hours in 110 degree weather while the interior never got above 76 degrees. The head room you were impressed with is because Herr Piëch is also really tall and he did not want to bump his head. Lastly those trick vents were because he hates drafts.

My uncle had a Phaeton and I was amazed on how good it was. I thought it was some special VW only offered in China, but the experience inside the car is nothing like an typical VW I find in the states. I really think it's for rich folks that does not want to show off their wealth, yet they want a car that's on par with the Bentley Flying Spur. I don't think any other car can present itself as understated wealth than a Phaeton. But most people in the states don't have that desire to do so. My friend thought I was crazy when I random found one on the and street and yelled, "dude look at that VW phaeton"

Doug the type of guy to buy a car just to get back massages

Only seen a Phaeton ONCE over the years but I immediately knew it wasn't just a Passat because it was THE biggest Volkswagen I'd ever seen and could immediately tell it was a luxury car.

This car was meant to be hotboxed if it has 4 separate ash trays

Doug= but back to the glove box, you’ll find something interesting in there.. Me= THE BOOK OF MORMON Doug= pulls out navigation cds Me= :(

Actually I rode in one when it was new. It was delivered as a wedding limo by a local Volkswagen dealership to a colleague who got married. I was invited and they picked me up in it on the way to the ceremony. It was like an airplane on wheels. :) Loved it! :)

I bet Doug wore shorts at his wedding.

7:02 Ah yes, the most important feature, the glovebox to store my copies of the Book of Mormon.

I owned one these. I purchased it with about 28k showing. One the nicest most reliable vehicles I ever owned. Much better than the 7 Series BMW I had. Beautiful car and a pleasure to drive. Can you imagine what type person wouldn’t buy one because of the VW badge…”oh, nobody will be impressed with VW” what a world we live in… “please, please look at me”

hands down THE BEST vehicle I've ever owned for highway travel in the best or worst conditions the upper Midwest can produce. Quiet, heavy, SO comfortable, dependable (mine was bulletproof), and the premium sound with DSP was amazing. 260k and I reluctantly sold it. Moved to a fully loaded Audi A8 D4. It was a little more nimble and the new cabin tech was fun, but it was no Phaeton. I've been in the S Class and for whatever reason, I don't care for them. Never drove Series 7. Either way, I get the horrible feeling that the value and quality of the Phaeton will never come around again.

Honestly I've always wanted to scoop one of these up, but if it breaks I'd have to triple mortgage the house.

Ahh, the engine makes 420 HP, now all the ashtrays make sense

I owned an 05 V8 from 2007-2012. What an amazing car. So incredibly over engineered. An absolutely wonderful car. It got very expensive to run and maintain. The finest car I’ve ever owned and I still miss it.

If I found one with low miles going for dirt cheap because of a few minor repairs that I could handle, I'd go for it. If you have a car that most people have never even seen, with features that rival ultra-luxury brands, I can see the Phaeton becoming a collector's car if it isn't already. It's aged very gracefully.

Doug is the type of guy to make a 30min review of a volkswagen that is better equipped than an s-class and then give it 6/10 on features

The Book of Mormon in the glove box. Does that come standard?

I love how he gets really excited over a mirror. Imo, the coolest thing is either the power-adjustable seat belt heigh or oviously, the fact that it's got masaging rear seats.

I miss your DougScore debrief at the end (2023 comment), I get you might feel it doesn’t seem important but it rounds off your videos so well and your summary thoughts are always great!

If that car is 8/10 in comfort, my pickup truck must be about -57...

Doug the type of guy to call the tripod his cameraman

My das is on his fourth Phaeton right now. He got one of the last ones build in 2015/2016. He wanted to replace it before but he just can't find a car that makes the switch worth it. The Phaeton is one of the most underrated cars ever and the quality is just amazing.

Nobody - Doug- “I should record myself moaning in the back seat of someone else’s car”

Lmao the Book of Mormon in the glove box.

The w12 phaeton may not have been succesful, but vw made their money back when they turned it into the bentley continental gt

Everytime I see this car in my country (the Netherlands) I feel obliged to take a photo. Seeing a VW with such a size and exhaust pipes is always mindblowing.

16:07 whats more crazy about this IMO is that theres one on EACH SIDE OF THE CAR so you can tell if you're backing in straight.

Doug the type of guy who can’t determine if he’s 6’3” or 6’4”

I’ve owned a silver 2005 V8 Phaeton since 2008. Stickered at $80k, and I bought it fresh off a lease for $17k from a dealer who just wanted to get rid of it. It’s been the most reliable piece of technology I’ve ever owned, and the most affordable. Only $$ is brakes/rotors every 20k miles, one timing belt, and usual service. Granted, those and tires are pricey but I don’t put that many miles on it. Stereo (w/ aftermarket iPhone adapter) is sublime, Italian leather still smells awesome, and the AWD with Blizzaks and adjustable ride height kills it in the snow. Rear leg room is off the charts. My wife drives a Merc R350-I call it my Island of Misfit Toys-and that’s been a far worse money pit. I don’t know how long this party will last but I’m in it until the bitter end. ✌🏼

Never bored with your stories, really good 👍

THIS is my ideal car. Something that looks like an unsuspecting normal car on the outside but is one of the most luxurious cars on the inside with a good amount of power.

I absolutely love the styling of this car! It's like an undercover Rolls...

I had a phaeton w12. Easily one of the finest cars i ever owned, biggest drawback was people mistook it for the passat. You forgot he sunroof solar panels, that would keep the battery charged so you could keep the airconditioning on while the car was parked, it would never get hotter than what you wanted, not even after a full summer day in the sun. Also people wanting to race a “passat” (mine didnt have any of the w12 labels) and completely smoking their asses on a 1/4 mile.

4:17 Did you noticed the headrest moving?

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This car is a perfect example that badge does matter

No one ever expects the Book of Mormon

My dad had one of those, it was his favorite car for years!

Doug you forgot the heated steering wheel. That always blew my mind when I figured out it did that 🤯

doug the type of guy to call an owners manual "literature"

I think the intention of the phaeton was to look like a normal car with incredible luxury inside

First of all: Thank you for this great video, loved it! I live and work in central Berlin and can still remember a time when many politicians had Phaetons (among A8 and 7 Series) and I also saw W12's! I remember thinking "Isnt that a bit too much?" NOW I absolutely know it was too much

*Pulls up in Ferrari* So what kind of car do you drive? A Phaeton Oh a Rolls Royce Phantom? No...A Phaeton... Huh?

The air vents look like they are more expensive than my entire car.

The only thing with more wood than the Phaeton is Doug when he’s talking about it

I love this car, and love how understated it is. It’s also crazy how many of these little features are still used on modern VWs

My grandpa, current owner of a V10 models,there are some things u missed: Adjustable ride height ,heated steering wheel there also was an executive package,with a rear infotainment screen

I love how everything looks so expensive, but then you see the steering wheel

I want to see Doug review a really basic car like a Toyota corolla or a Ford focus and just see what crap he can come up with

Dang, all of these features are actually well thought out and useful things, none of them seem gimmicky or just a talking point. Honestly all things I could see myself actually using

Was an Audi fan when this car was around and loved it. I mean TWELVE CYLINDER! Funny the only person i know who owns one is a certified VW mechanic who's family owns a VW based used car place. Beautiful car, always told him how jealous i was. Really wanted a standard S4 back then though. Sweet drive

Can we crowd fund and buy Doug some pants, he only appears to have one pair of shorts.

Wtf I always thought the phaeton was like a 5 series/E Class. You actually see them somewhat regularly in germany, a rare sight, but they're there. It's actually a great car and you can get them used for ridiculously little money.

Thanks for another great video, Doug.

5:07 the day doug lost his virginity

Doug I'm disappointed you didn't mention it's limiter removed top speed of 201mph, or the fact half the engineering team responsible for this car walked out because the requirements set by the leader were near impossible; a vehicle that can travel 186mph in 50C heat while maintaining a cabin temperature of 22C. The person overseeing this car's development wanted to make a zero compromise car, which was this (same crazy dude responsible for the V10 tdi taureg), and this was the result. Look at the trunk hinges for god sakes they belong on a space shuttle

Doug is type of guy to order through the drive thru then park his car and eat inside the restaurant

My dad bought a 2015 full option phaeton today and its pure luxury. I love it!!

Book of Mormon, NRA license plate, Phaeton. Who the hell owns this thing?

Nobody: Not a single soul: Doug: hmm, *_m a s s a g e_*

Excellent presentation.You have brought out all the unusual features.

This might still be my favorite Doug video. Such an Everything but the Kitchen Sink vehicle and Doug covered it all.

Styling 5?!?!? Wayyyyyy too generous there, Dougster!!!! You gave the 348 a measly 6! I'm never going to let you forget that.

The quirkiest thing about this Phaeton is the Book of Mormon in the glove box.

I never even heard of this car, it looks so comfy and from your impressions, surprisingly quick!

one feature i didn't see you mention; if the starter fails due to battery, turn the key the other direction and it switches batteries. Built in jump starting feature. It works in the event either battery dies.

The way Doug's face goes from delighted to serious at 22:22 in quite incredible.

Doug was the type of kid to have a Phaeton poster in his room

2:20 the Touareg was already on sale at the time, so they did. Unfortunately it suffered the same problem as the Phaeton, it was too expensive for most people, and people who could afford it were looking at luxury brands like Lexus, Range Rover, Mercedes Benz and BMW.

It is a gorgeous machine! I drove one and I loved it.

Doug DeMuro I had one of these but with the V10 TDI (insane engine btw). The one you drove was missing some features: 1. Adaptive Cruise Control (yes, they did have this already in 2003!!) - you mention it's missing on this model, but they had it. Controlled by radar in the front grille. Very nice feature on the auto bahn. It even did auto-braking, although the system warned you to take over very swiftly due to it not functioning under 30 KMh (about 20 MPH). 2. Solar sunroof - this keeps the air circulating through the cabin even when the car is off to keep the interior from getting insanely hot in the sun. Comfortable if you get in it on a hot day 3. Auto adjustable rearview and side mirrors. Maybe the one you drove had this and you did not go over it, but the mirrors adjust seperately when in the R gear versus the D gear - it even stores it with the memory seats. This allows you to point the mirros down or up or more to the side etc depending on with gear you are in. 4. Not sure if the model you drove had it, but mine had Snow Mode. This allowed you to raise the vehicle a good few inches and redistribute the power more evenly across the wheels to allow better driveability in the snow. 5. Stand Heating - this allows to set the a time on the infotainment display. The car will then ensure to be nicely warmed up for you, seats and engine included, by that time. Very nice feautre! You did not mention in the video how the seats are 18 way adjustable - you can adjust A HELL OF A LOT on the seats! Perhaps worth a mention. The only feature mine was missing was the heated steering wheel, since mine had the wooden wheel. The wood on steering wheel looked wonderful BUT IT ALWAYS STAYED SO DARN COLD. I would have gladly traded the wooden wheel for a heated leather wheel. Anyway.. nice car, just very expensive to maintain. Mine developed gearbox issue over time and that got very very costly. It was wonderful being able to do an easy 275 KMH on the auto bahn while being in an ultra quiet and comfortable cabin.

The "blandness" of the Phaeton's styling was a valuable unique asset. In case you're not a person who want's to broadcast to the world that you spent 6 figures on a full size luxury sedan, this VW let you fool most people into thinking it was just a very nice Passat. IIRC, this car not only shared the same W12 engine block as the Bentley, but it also shared the Bentley's steel chassis as well. This made it heavier than the A8 (aluminum), but meant you were getting a "bargain" Bentley, that you could park at work or anywhere else in public, and not worry about being perceived as some rich a-hole. I don't think there has ever before been such a unique stealth luxo barge on the market. I'm sure all those interior electronics will be fun to replace when they break though.

If I remember correctly Phaeton had an option of solar roof which used to make car inside cooler during summer, and heating during winter time.

I can't find it anywhere, but I worked for a VW importer in Europe and I remember a guy from VW showed all the quirks and features, like for example how you open the trunk with the logo, but also that the wipers shouldn't make any noise at a certain speed etc.. But I also remember that this car, or at least the version that I saw, which was I think one of the very first cars, it also had an umbrella in the door.

Next Hoovies Garage video: "I Bought the Cheapest Phaeton in the USA"

The fact that this car is 13 years old and has all this luxury stuff is insane

I actually love this car, not flashy at all but still has ALL the features, they should definitely bring this back as a hybrid, has a nice name for an electric/hybrid car

I had v10 diesel 15 yrs ago...monster car

Remember when this was featured on top gear, that was one of my favourite episode. What an amazing car

05:57 Can't even tell how many times I've been forced to stare at an empty cup holder and how much trouble that has given me throughout the years...

Hey Doug, you forgot one thing. The grab handles above you and passengers inside the car are also wooden covered

Doug mentioned that the glass is so thick that a toll tag would not work. That may be a contributing factor but the main reason is that some Phaetons had an electrically heated windshield. This is done by depositing an extremely thin metal film between the layers of the windshield's glass, connected electrically to provide instant heat (rather than waiting for the engine to warm for the defroster). It's this metal film that acts like a shield to the toll tag, inhibiting the toll road authority from reading the tag. A few other manufactures had this as well. Ford called their version "Instaclear" in the US and "Quickclear" in Europe. They were known to cause issues not only with toll tags but would also reduce the detection range of radar detectors.

Probably the next car Hoovies Garage will buy

I owned a 2004 W-12 for 10 years. I sold it when I moved to the countryside. The car really needs to be driven regularly, or it will deteriorate, and I knew that my pickup truck would be the daily driver, so I got rid of it to someone who was thrilled to get it. I am surprised that Doug never mentioned the adjustable suspension when he talked about handling. When in Sport mode, the car's handling was very precise. I used to love whipping around the curves on California's Hwy. 1. It also has an adjustable suspension height, just like the Rolls Phantom. So I really have to disagree with his negative comment about handling. I've driven a fair amount of large cars including luxury ones, and I think the Phaeton in Sport mode was at the top of the list. Same for acceleration when in Sport-Drive mode, although I can believe that the Flying Spur would be faster because of the turbo. I also depart from him on styling. True, it's an exercise in stealth wealth, but it has classic lines that were "borrowed" by many other auto companies. The one that comes to mind immediate is the Toyota Avalon, which is a slightly smaller knockoff. There is a Phaeton cult out there, and it was big enough that my car got more comments from strangers than any other car I've owned. I agree with him about the electronics world now having passed this car by. The Nav system was a pain, and worse than that when its dedicated CD player broke. The stereo was AWESOME, so much in fact that I broke a speaker or two blasting it. The seat massagers were too weak to be useful, and the seats themselves didn't hold up very well. All in all, it was a great car to own, and even with the dated electronics I think the Phaeton is a screaming bargain. I had a tear in my eye when I let mine go. I would enthusiastically recommend a used one.

⁠ My grandpa had one since 2006 he recently sold it but it was a very cool car and you really don’t see any of them here in Canada he was the only one I ever saw, but he only had the V6 at the same time. Also had a Bentley flying spur which is funny because they’re basically the same car built in the same factory on the same chassis. I remember they had the exact same infotainment system and all but also sold the Bentley too he got a Lincoln Corsair once he retired and moved into a smaller house.

My Mk6 GTI trunk badge is sort of similar. If the car is unlocked it'll swivel upward, and becomes a handle that unlatches the trunk. Pretty sweet touch.

At the beginning of the video, I said it's blaspheming to compare a VW to the all-mighty S-class, but man, this car displays an incredible attention to detail. It truly compares to the S-class.

who else at the end of the video looks at that list of cars and goes, "holy shit, I've seen every single one of those reviews. What am I doing with my life?" LOL

VW's approach was at least more honest than that of Toyota, Nissan, Honda who each had to develop a smoke & mirror luxury brand to hide the pedestrian roots.

I saw one once in Menlo Park, CA in 2009. It was a W12 in a very pleasant brown type of color. Just a beautiful car and the customer I was delivering to actually let me sit in it and then pop the hood. Really a magnificent car with huge amounts of headroom and a beautiful interior worthy of Bentley Flying Spur or Rolls at that time. She said her and her husband drove it from El Paso, TX back to Menlo Park and this car is just meant to consume these miles hour after hour, similar to the Autobahn in Europe. Superb German engineering.

BMW and Daimler: I can make the most luxurious sedan ever. Volkswagen: Hold my beer...

Practicality 5/10. Are you kidding me? A completely unusable Lamborghini Countach gets a 2/10, A 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso gets a 3/10 and you said this car should get a 4/10 but was only saved by the back seats. Really now.

The headrest slowly goes down on it's own while doug says "it's only getting started back here"

I always considered the Phaetons subtle design to be a benefit. Most of VW group cars are pretty inconspicuous to begin with. But the Phaeton was unique it that it provided all the luxury BMW or Mercedes buyers were used to, but without the showiness the would draw attention to itself. It was the car for successful people that preferred to blend in rather than show off. You could drive it to a homeless fund raiser without the appearance of conspicuous consumption hanging over your head. That was the point of the sedate badging. All most people would see was the VW emblem and not give it a second thought. Anyway, one thing we learned from the introduction of this car is that North Americans are a pompous lot and like to show off their wealthy. Even though this car came with every luxury appointment as it rivals (and then some) people didn't buy it because the badge came from an ordinary car builder, and didn't scream I'm better than you. Fortunately, for VW, the Chinese didn't have that limitation. Where the car continued to sell for many years.