Long-term introduction: VW Passat 2.0 TDI
In this line of work, cars come and go. We get all sorts. Big and small, expensive and cheap, fast and slow.
Each one’s like an automotive lucky packet, and there’s always another one around the corner. So when the boss announces a new long-term test is imminent you can understand why my eyes get all starry and I rub my hands together like a little girl at a kitten show.
“We’re getting a Passat for a few months,” he said. “It’s a diesel.”
Now I’m a little deflated. Not that a Passat’s a bad car or anything. Quite the contrary, in fact. This is a fine piece of German engineering. It’s comfortable, economical and reasonably attractive, so long as it’s not parked next to a Lamborghini. It’s just a little, well... not like a Lamborghini.
“It’s got a tow bar,” he adds.
My ears perk. Hmm, I can work with this. In my free time I dabble in a bit of classic-car racing, and in this game a tow bar can be a hot commodity. But can this 2-litre TDI with only 103kW safely pull around a double-axle trailer with 1.2-tons of hulking historic Mercedes race car on board?
IT’LL SHIFT 2000KG
The Passat owner’s manual says this particular model’s good for a braked trailer up to 2000kg, which my rig is under (barely), so I put it down to the healthy 320Nm of torque Volkswagen’s managed to extract from this relatively small 1968cc engine.
Now, just because the owner’s manual says your car is rated to tow something, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s always entirely safe.
There are variables here. And if your lazy mechanic loads the heaviest racing gear (rims, tyres, tools) at the furthest possible point at the rear end of the trailer, it can be a recipe for disaster.
Our Passat is fitted with a sweet six-speed dual clutch DSG ‘box as a R15 000 option, which works well when towing something heavy because there’s virtually no time between gears for the whole outfit to lose momentum. I managed to get out of town and onto the highway without much problem, but about an hour outside Kroonstad, just as I was getting comfortable with the setup and pushing the 120km/h boundary, my mechanic’s error made itself evident.
ELECTRONICS SAVED THE DAY
The trailer started to sway, like a dog being ruthlessly wagged by its tail, and in a split second I envisaged my tombstone with the words: “J Adams – racing driver extraordinaire – towing buffoon – RIP”.
And then, moments before racing Merc and towing VW swopped ends, a magical hand of stability righted the situation with just a few squirts from the Passat’s ABS brake pump.
It’s called trailer stability control, and it saved my kiester. It’s fitted to the Passat as standard equipment and it works in tandem with the car’s ESP stability control system. When the car’s computerised brain senses the swaying via all the very sensitive wheel speed and yaw sensors, it at first lets the driver try to regain control (normally by accelerating) before interfering.
But if the wag gets more severe than the car is happy with, it will send brake pressure to each of the four wheels individually so that the car can reciprocate forces and bring everything back into line.
As it all happens, the hazard lights flash a few times to let other road users in the vicinity know there’s trouble brewing, and you as the driver can completely relinquish throttle and brake controls and let the car do its work.
Because the brakes are involved, there is a drastic loss of speed so as soon as the trailer’s in check you need to accelerate to get back up to the highway pace, but from start to finish the procedure is reasonably unobtrusive. In fact, I was so confident in it, that I carried on with my journey and tried it out a few more times before rearranging my payload. Buffoon.
IT’S A SIPPER TOO
Turns out the Passat’s a long-term test I’m looking forward to spending more time with, and not only as a racing rig. With trailer detached it’s returning a respectable average consumption of just over 7l/100km. With a 2-ton load at the back it was up to only 12.5, meaning all my racing mates who normally tow with old Range Rovers and Mercedes Sprinters will soon be enquiring about the Motoring lift club.
Our 2-litre TDI Passat with a DSG transmission is priced at R337 000 before options. Included in its price is a 5-year/100 000km maintenance plan. All Volkswagens sold in South Africa come with a 3-year/120 000km warranty.