1992 VW Passat GLX | Retro Review

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So sleek, so Euro, The early 90's Passats may have had their fair share of issues, but certainly forgivable through the MotorWeek Retro looking glass.
Show 1246 | Original Airdate 8-4-1993
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[@Motorweek]

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[@xnopyt13]

Make a patreon and I will donate.

[@jmin8400]

This is definitely a 1993 Passat GLX, as the episode is from 1993 and they weren't available for MY 1992.

[@MWBenDavis]

@@jmin8400 93's had the refreshed front end. This is a 92

[@sun131089]

Who in d world designed that steering wheel!!

[@jmin8400]

@@MWBenDavis Nope, that's not accurate at all. GLX was new for 1993MY. I suggest you Google it, because I actually know what I'm talking about.

[@happy_camper]

These still look good to me. Love that front end!

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

I agree 👍

[@dantfc7681]

No grill

[@crashbandi53]

@@dantfc7681 OH

[@dougedoug2105]

Back in the day when automakers could trick you into believing that you needed the very same fog lamps many cars no longer come equipped with today! My current vehicle has a staggered set of 20 inch wheels and they sometimes seem small on my car, but I bet 29 years ago they would’ve been considered massive standing next to the “beefy” 15 inch rims this fugly a$$ VW left the factory with 😂🤣😅

[@steveespinola7652]

I TOTALLY agree 👍

[@Oemg35]

Crazy that the automatic took nearly 3 seconds longer to hit 60 mph making it slower than a base manual passat

[@ianclaudio777]

Old automatic transmissions kills the performance of a great engine.

[@jareknowak8712]

Old automatics were 4 speed, with longer gears. Its like starting on the 1,5 gear and later shifting to 2,5 gear. Todays AT have 7 or even 10 speeds, many of them are in fact automated manuals with fast, double clutches.

[@303nitzubishi4]

Auto transmissions were VERY inefficient until well after the turn of the century, in addition to having wide gear ratios. There were a couple exceptions but obviously not at Volkswagen

[@palebeachbum]

Back in the 90s, manuals were always faster than automatics in the same car. There wasn't usually a massive 3 second difference between the two though. That indicates it was a very inefficient operating transmission. Lousy torque converter perhaps.

[@ianclaudio777]

@@303nitzubishi4 DSG wet, PDK for me are the best "automatic" nowdays, ZF 8 speed from BMW's too, and others. CVT is very booring but it's confortable

[@8gti9]

Love this. I used to own the wagon and sedan at the same time and both 5 spd manual trans vr6's.

[@ryanm.3681]

my hero!

[@mattsfixall4552]

I had a 91 Passat wagon with a DE VR6 swap. What a fun car.

[@alexyoungberg5232]

*NOICE*

[@questioner1596]

I like your style, but why bother with the sedan at all? Were there any noticable differences in chassis stiffness?

[@8gti9]

@@questioner1596 can tell that the wagon was a bit heavier when carving the mountain. I just like that body style lol, so I thought best of both worlds.

[@bghoody5665]

The VR6 engine has helped a lot of VW cars go from good to great.

[@JDMHaze]

mechanics would agree lol

[@TheKiltedYaksman1]

My 1993 Corrado was (mostly) lovely to drive, when it was running. That car had an appetite for coolant hoses and plastic coolant fittings and sensor housings, and the 02A shifter is terrible.

[@djkenny1202]

I dig 2.0 16vs

[@fernandorocha901]

​@@TheKiltedYaksman1yes

[@fernandorocha8459]

VR6 is 172Hp and 177 LB-Ft torque, i love passat

[@coastaku1954]

Heh, I like that John, an American, says that it has "Typical European body roll" yet American cars have way more body roll than that car from the same time period

[@biggkoz]

Yeah ironic isnt it

[@xnopyt13]

I still love the early 90s no grill designs.

[@alexander1485]

Infiniti Q45 was king

[@Random-nf7qb]

It's a late 80s design

[@GeekTherapyRadio]

Had a 94 GLX VR6 Passat. 5-speed manual. It was as spectacular to drive as it was an electrical nightmare. Constantly in the shop for electric gremlins. Awesome when it worked though. 2.8 VR6 noise is all-time legendary.

[@marekw.9816]

A car with no grille, imagine that.

[@allmotorkp61]

Actually the grille is located in the lower bumper

[@logicn.reasoning9744]

1963 Studebaker Avanti.

[@Bartonovich52]

Copying Ford of Europe who pioneered it on the Sierra in 1982 and then Ford who popularized it on the Taurus in 1986. They didn’t realize that round was the style until 1996.. a mere 10 years after the Ford Taurus debuted.

[@sutherlandA1]

Now cars have too much grille

[@redneon06]

@@sutherlandA1 Toyota Avalon

[@stevee8318]

Back when VW actually competed with BMW/Merc in North America, instead of being the budget brand

[@Bartonovich52]

Lol... whut? The Passat was the top of the line VW... just barely edging up to a bottom rent 318 or C Class. That’s what Audi was for. The only real foray into luxury VW had was the Phaeton. Too much money for a “people’s car” and it looked like an overgrown City Jetta.

[@douglasb.1203]

Passat, CC, Arteon, Touareg, Atlas. So much budget...

[@rootsmanuva82]

It's Audi's job to compete with BMW/Mercedes and many VW's are 'budget Audi's'. VW tried to whole compete with BMW/Mercedes with the Phaeton and failed miserably.

[@djkenny1202]

Kinda the opposite. VW had more affordable cars in the earlier years. Base Golfs, Fox, many configurations of both. Loved the almost standard sunroof on even GL trims. Simpler Funner Times for VW. MK2 GTI is my all time favorite.

[@davidaubin3902]

3:42 John: BELOW THAT (Stereo) ARE THE ODDLY PLACED REAR WINDOW SWITCHES! LOL

[@Tombzy]

My father had a 92 passat. He had it until 2015, over one million kilometres on the original motor. We had to sit him down and have a talk to persuade him to finally put her down. He wanted to keep putting money into it but his family and mechanic was able to finally talk some sense into him.

[@paulmelnychuk5477]

I drove & owned a 1998 mk3 vw gti vr6 for 10 years. Had a couple of strokes gave up my license . Made 200 hp with a few add add ons. 5 Ltr mustang's were no problem.

[@cmair77]

I was such a huge fan of this car back in the day

[@user-tt2fh8nf1o]

I just love the boxy 90s design of these VWs. My father used to have a station wagon Passat with a Diesel engine. That thing was so loud you could hear it coming three blocks away.

[@nothing9271]

Have you ever heard about the Volkswagen Santana look it up

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

90s boxy cars??? These are semi boxy with rounded edges. If you want to see real boxy cars, see 80s cars.

[@user-tt2fh8nf1o]

@@kamrankhan-lj1ng Keep splitting hairs, bozo. Generally they do look boxy.

[@GrotrianSeiler]

I put over 100K miles on one of these. It was a really great car. Their cars were better back then. That engine was amazing.

[@crooney82]

I had exactly the same car in 1994 with the 5 speed and the VR6. These cars were way faster than a Taurus or an Accord or their time. I remember when I was 19 hitting 140 mph in mine on the way home from college when I was young and stupid. I miss that car. Sadly the maintenance bills got out of control. Wheel bearings, air conditioning, switches, power windows, head gasket….everything went all at once on it.

[@razvandobos9759]

These 90’s VW’s are so underrated

[@jareknowak8712]

The legend of 1.9TDI was born in this body.

[@one_flew_over_the_cuckoos_nest]

Nope.

[@AndrasMihalyi]

this is a B3 Passat. The 1.9 TDI was introduced in the B4

[@jareknowak8712]

@@AndrasMihalyi You are right! B3 had 1,9TD, the 1Y and AAZ engines.

[@bribri2694]

I had this GLX equipped exactly like this test car in 1993. I enjoyed its quick off the line acceleration and passing power. As for most of us novice drivers, it handled well, traveled nicely and I thought it was good looking car with the Classic Green paint, beige leather and BBS wheels. The 5spd was definitely the way to get this car.

[@Juanknes]

Very good car. Nice interior space, well built, comfortable ride.

[@andrewtringali]

I'm restoring one of these, a 92 GL wagon. Definitely not the easiest car to work on, but a total blast to drive. Love the thing.

[@Darylrb1983]

Had a 96 glass vr6 5 speed. Door handles didn't work, heatercore blew, chain started rattling at 156k miles. Rust under it everywhere, coolant leaks BUT I drove that shit everywhere. Heated seats, windows, radio, sunroof, inside door handles etc etc worked and NO CEL LIGHT. But had a brake wheel sensor issue lmao loved it

[@biggkoz]

Yeah all these cars had the same goofy issues but man it was still a fun car to fly around in.

[@haydenbush]

I’ve never seen one of these out in the wild. And I lived in the Northwest.

[@A-A-ron990]

My first car in 2008 when i was 18. I loved hated it. Still gave me the feel of what I want in a car. Safe, excellent handling. Solid body fully independent suspension. Smooth engine and, long ish wheelbase and dynamic engine. Dont need screaming power but a motor that isnt overworked.

[@mylexicon2]

This was my first car, and to say it was a flawed design would be an understatement. The GLX was loaded (mine had a CD changer in the trunk, but no cup holders) and the VR6 was great, but the car could not recover from the placement of the radiator. It was constantly collecting stones, filling with snow in winter, and taking damage every time you kissed a high curb which jammed the air scoop back into the cooling system. The heater core on mine failed. The AC failed. The auto stopped shifting into overdrive. This was in addition to the relatively frequent damage and wear to cooling components. The most distinctive thing about the car was the control weighting. It was heavy. Steering, brakes, throttle and probably the clutch on the manual version. It gave a really responsive and connected feeling to the road. When I replaced the Passat with a MkIV GTI, I was shocked by how light the controls had become. The connected feeling was gone. These old Passats were fantastic drivers cars, if you could keep them running.

[@andrewtringali]

I've been slowly restoring a 4 cyl manual B3 estate as a project. Lots and lots of work to get it running right, but well worth it. Total blast to drive.

[@starskyhutch6011]

I loved this car in high school! I remember trying to get my parents to buy this car over the Volvo 740 they ended up purchasing lol. But they did get me a new (then) 1996 Jetta GT for graduation, so that was cool.

[@neeko.b]

Crazy to think that the current Jetta is the same size (if not bigger), has similar power, and about double the fuel efficiency. Had to laugh a little at ABS and traction control being big-name features, but also miss that simplicity.

[@joskjj3625]

I miss this Passat, last time I saw this generation Passat was two years ago

[@nsxt290]

I liked how these looked.. clean & simple

[@leotide1990]

Gosh, I’ve never once seen one of this gen in all my 30+ years alive. Seems like it would be a well-built gen too

[@gxdjoeybaby07]

when i saw that shifter getting manhandled, i thought it was that other guy that was a regular during the 90s...surprise! LOL

[@RickJohnson]

2:26 - that right front tire looks pretty low! They were almost cornering on the rim compared to the left tire!

[@krane15]

Sadly, the VR6 was short lived in the Passat. In fact, it was so rare in the States nobody knew it existed.

[@Darylrb1983]

Had a 96 GLX. Vr6, 5 speed...very fun. The car as a whole wasn't very reliable but thats to be expected, previous owner neglected it

[@303nitzubishi4]

Yes I had a buddy that bought the next gen I believe it was an 00 or 01 and didn't find out until after the fact that it had been wrecked. Amazingly the 1.8t was actually the most reliable part of the car it ran great the 3 years he had it but without brakes, transmission, electrics, etc the car was almost useless

[@rudolfschenker]

VW built so many cars in the 80's-2000's that were great looking and great to drive but quickly turned to pieces of junk. They were always more expensive than comparative Japanese cars. These cars had a lot of character with the revolutionary VR6 engine and their funky handling and build quality, but the Honda Accord of the time was probably a better designed, engineered, and definitely constructed car. The Corrado VR6 cost a lot more than an Integra but most people's opinion was that the Integra was the better car, even without 6 cylinders.

[@bribri2694]

I loved the 93 Classic Green GLX I had wish I still owned it!

[@jonc5152]

WHY?? WHY do these videos make me so joyful?

[@rightlanehog3151]

A VW made in Germany? Now I have seen everything.

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

Volkswagens are mainly built in germany. What is the big deal about it?

[@msmith2654]

@@kamrankhan-lj1ng I think they’re being ironic since most volkswagens on us roads today are made in Mexico or Tennessee

[@rightlanehog3151]

@@msmith2654 ;-)

[@mtnx7]

@@msmith2654 I don't know if that's an insult to the Mexicans or the Americans 🤣

[@johna.4334]

Note: My '03 mk4 VW Golf GL was made in Brazil.

[@steveespinola7652]

My cousin had one of these, his was a red one and the car was good to him for many years.

[@oblivion_007]

Volkswagen cars are timeless cos of their simplistic Designs.

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

Well, at least since 1988 when this Passat came out. All the subsequent Passats are great lookers! Golfs too have been great shapes almost all through history till this day!

[@krane15]

That's one advantage to the simple styling. You can't tell when it was produced. Only the headlights give it away.

[@JKRoss-zm3zu]

Спасибо, что выкладываете такие видео. Смотрю на машины моего детства, когда они были новыми.

[@Gr8thxAlot]

We had a neighbor from Holland that had one of these exact cars. I thought how odd, but interesting this car looked at the time.

[@landyachtfan79]

Time to get your Fahrvergnugen on, baby!!!!! 0:17...........the Passat next to John in the intro is finished in the same Bordeaux Red as our 1991 Vanagon Carat!!!!

[@biggkoz]

They are really bothered by the rear window switches. I thought it was fun and "European" to have them on the dash. Also I did so many burnouts in this thing with the VR6 😄

[@josefgordon7712]

A nice mint wagon version would be a great daily. I like that odd grill-less style is kinda nice in today's over grilled world.

[@mfnd502]

I had a '92 16v, loved that thing.

[@djkenny1202]

Passat? I have the GTI

[@mfnd502]

@@djkenny1202 Passat. If it were a GTI I'd still have it.

[@djkenny1202]

@@mfnd502 oh, the 2.0 Passat. Had a friend with the wagon

[@saladfox]

I have one. Very fun car.

[@SpecialK3]

My first car was a 92 Passat GL.

[@PANTYEATR1]

man, i remember seeing these cars and wanting one so bad along with the Jetta of this era💪

[@TheCarCrazyGuy]

At $23,000 in 1992, it’s equivalent to $44,000 in 2021 dollars. Ouch!

[@mightyfraserriver977]

Every time I see when people compare money from this time to that time 1992 pack of smokes 2 dollars Canada now 15-17 same ones normal house was 80-100 k same house today 2.1-2.6 million my uncle bought 3.6 acres in 1993 for 120 k Canadian he sold it in 2020 for 10.7 million really matters how you invested it that would really make a difference. but only 100 percent inflation from 1992 to 2021 I don't think so

[@cbp1357]

It's crazy that the SAAB 9000 aero at the time had well more horsepower with only a turbo 4

[@justas525]

I still own one (not of course VR6) great car all around. Dead realiable, great on long distances, roomy, comfortable, spacious and easy to maintain. And of course those distinctive looks.

[@nlpnt]

German logic, the rear window switches are in an awkward spot on the dash because the driver's not supposed to futz with them while driving. This way the (front) passenger can reach them and the driver can still easily put them up when parking the car. The switches on the rear doors themselves are in the usual spot.

[@Hintonbro.]

This makes no sense.

[@timothyhh]

Dunno about all that. It's way more likely it's a result of the weird European thing of power front/manual rear windows with power rear being an option or up a trim level. Not so unusual to see window switches on the dash or near the shifter/hand brake on European cars. The only American car have power front/manual rear was the Neon, but you couldn't get power rear windows on any Neon so I'm pretty sure that was just Chrysler being cheap.

[@chuckycheese84]

Be nice oif Motorweek brought back the MW Hits & Misses to today's clips

[@tuowl0564]

I can already see the rust forming on the fenders! Quirky styling but probably a fun drive for 1992. Still, I much rather have a 3 series from that era....

[@SmangItDrums]

Love this one! If I may, can I request another one in the future? Can you guys upload your review of the 2003 Acura 3.2CL Type-S w/ the 6 speed manual? I feel this would be an excellent release to coincide with the new TLX Type-S that’s coming out soon. 👌

[@VDPEFi]

My favourite generation of Passat, very solid cars

[@shaneoex]

I used to drive the station wagon version very smooth it drives like it on clouds

[@MrHaun]

2:26 that front right might be a bit low on air.... LOL

[@atomsmash100]

I really loved VW's styling from this era. Unmistakeably German, teutonic and never would be mistaken for an Asian make.

[@jareknowak8712]

This was called "B3". In Europe base model with gas engine had 70hp, and base with diesel 68.

[@Cheezwizzz]

Love this channel!! ❤️

[@ryanm.3681]

I adore these!

[@paulvicks1336]

I heard the front-end was so heavy (due to the two extra cylinders) VW had to add additional weight in the rear to balance it out

[@M4ExKalashnikov]

Ironically, smaller engines had a additional weight at the front axle to balance it out

[@AndresSalazarAutos]

Possible my favorite style of Passat, elegant and handsome. Sad for the terrible automatic VW transmission at the time.

[@LearnAboutFlow]

The 1992 - 94 BMW 318i was one of the best cars ever made (in manual). Power was perfect for its mission, handling was amazing, and it even got great gas mileage. Regret never owning one.

[@303nitzubishi4]

I was thinking the same thing, 30 years later a Passat like this in decent shape with a couple hundred thousand miles may be worth a few bucks but a comparable 318 is probably worth damn near sticker price

[@RaymondHaley-bi8lx]

VW styling Audi engineering, practical luxury cars, VW was the first car company, to start making direct injection gas/diesel turbo charged engines.

[@nlpnt]

You could get one as a wagon with manual and velour upholstery, at that point the only choice is what color outside and do I want blue or beige inside?

[@compu85]

They had a lovely blue and gray fabric available.

[@RoadCone411]

I really liked the styling of these Passats, before they got an add-on front grille which definitely cheapened the look to me. VW took a risk with this styling and it worked. Great car, great engine - I almost bought one in the mid-90s but ended up with a manual transmission Volvo 850 instead. Even if it was slightly slower than the VR6 the Volvo was a solid choice, perhaps the best car I’ve ever owned.

[@ianclaudio777]

Automatic gearbox kills the engine, 0 to 60 mph in 10,2 seconds with automatic and only 7,7 seconds with the manual transmission. I prefer manual cars

[@bilalahmed2123]

These have pretty much disappeared now ! Such a beautiful car !

[@integraf40]

That front right tyre looked pretty flat in the slalom

[@kirksmith347]

Adjusted for inflation 23000 is 44000 in today's money. New Passats today start at 24000

[@jonathankleinow2073]

The side profile is very reminiscent of the Volvo 850, almost as if they caught a glimpse of it in the prototype stages and tried to copy it from memory.

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

If it is a copy, it is closer to Taurus in many ways.

[@Bartonovich52]

Not really. It’s an evolution of the Mk 2 Passat.

[@onesixr]

I had a Passat G60 Syncro

[@000TheZombie000]

I don’t think I’ve seen one of these in 15 years.

[@ianclaudio777]

I miss the VW Passat. A Great car.

[@johna.4334]

What do you mean? The VW Passat is still around today...no?

[@christopherwaits7852]

VW’s from this era are long gone here on the west coast. Haven’t seen one in years.

[@RetroToonsOfficial]

Thank You

[@musb3181]

good and strong

[@94tegLSatMSC]

Could you kind folks upload the MR2 Spyder retro review?

[@MandusahRamirez]

I wish VW put The VR6 in The 2020 Passat!! That 1.8T is not doing it any favors!!🥴

[@brynnleahnayvieghlaykynnn6175]

The 2020 Passat has a 2.0T

[@2steaksandwiches665]

Looks fantastic but there is probably literally none on the road anymore.

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

2:37 A kite or hawk keeps screaming all through the frame

[@Gerarghini]

I have never seen one of these in the wild 😐

[@mirisch64]

Привет из РФ и РБ! Сколько лет прошло, а мы до сих пор на них катаемся...

[@grunkohlaktionar7474]

93 Galant please!

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

Oh yeah. Me too

[@jmin8400]

??? 1993 Galant was nothing new, so they never reviewed it like earlier years.

[@grunkohlaktionar7474]

@@jmin8400??? The Galant E50 came in 93 and was completely new

[@jmin8400]

@@grunkohlaktionar7474 Not in USA. It was new for the 1994 model year in USA, but sold from July 1993. In JDM, it was already available in mid-1992. Mitsubishi designed a slightly different Galant E50 for USDM, with standard dual airbags (first Mitsubishi to have them), even before the Diamante and 3000GT added a passenger airbag that autumn. Asking MotorWeek such a request will puzzle them, because the 1993 model year Galant had no running changes.

[@drawesome821]

Nice Taurus.

[@kamrankhan-lj1ng]

A visual sibling of Taurus

[@ajc5869]

this vehicle is excellent.

[@CheekyCultured]

I always find the Passat bit of a boring car to look at, but this generation, the b3, is definitely an exception.

[@TM-fd4tm]

Solid german car...nice underdog

[@johnr4298]

Why didn't these Passats sell better here in the States?

[@compu85]

They were expensive, and the automatics had a lot of problems.

[@TelesPlayMetal]

In a day and age when an automatic transmission is faster than a manual, it always mind boggles me to remember when automatics were 30% slower than a manual and got worse fuel mileage.

[@patrickstonetree1]

They were terrible, earned the moniker 'slushboxes' for a reason.

[@wavelength1970]

They're only faster in a perfect condition drag race against someone who can't drive a stick.

[@moejr1974]

@@wavelength1970 don't kid yourself. You can't outshift a modern automatic

[@wavelength1970]

@@moejr1974 no but I can out think one, and out-anticipate one very easily. Especially the ones designed to generate EPA mileage numbers

[@moejr1974]

@@wavelength1970 still not going to beat it and that’s what counts

[@Daniel28021991]

I like this gen

[@IROCMAN666]

In Europe, it was a best seller.

[@palebeachbum]

I always thought these looked like they were styled by Hoover. They had all the style of an early 90s Volvo and none of the reliability. For the same money in '91, you could buy a Dodge Spirit R/T. Similar sized, reliable, well-built, and a lot more fun with 5spd manual and its 224hp turbo 4cyl. Also far more rare and worth more today.

[@JDMHaze]

dam a 2.5. 0-60 difference with manual lol

[@mr.grumpygrumpy2035]

Cool car for the day, but I would go for the Honda Accord.

[@timothyhh]

I always liked this generation Passat. I looked at a used one circa 2001 but apparently they are horribly unreliable.

[@anthonystagliano9795]

Back whem VW'S were interesting, enthusiast cars and I had purchased three in the ten years before this came out. Now a Golf R has four doors, way too many electronics, and an automatic. Damn shame.

[@Random-nf7qb]

*VWs *5 doors