2006 Volkswagen Passat Luxury review from North America

Valve body in the transmission - did not go bad, but had to be "updated" by the dealer, due to rough shifting from 1st to 2nd gear when the car is cold. Dealer said it will never do that again with the updated valve body. Fixed under warranty, but the dealer claimed $3800 price tag made me very nervous, I just hope it doesn't need to be "updated" after the warranty expires.

Door lock/parking brake buttons mysteriously peel and fade, even on a car this young. All replaced under warranty.

Very good looking car, black paint with dark tinted windows makes it look very sharp.

Performance is excellent with the turbo charger. Will leave many V6's behind, and just laugh and continue on if one of those rice burners with the annoying little winey exhausts pulls up next to you and wants to race. You will embarrass him.

Inside and out, the car reflects luxury level. Definitely the bridge between non-luxury and luxury. The quality is very good, and at night, the inside lights up with so many lights, you feel like you're in the cockpit of an airplane.

A ton of options, almost too much (dual heated seats, MP3 player, telescoping steering, electronic parking brake, and some other kind of holding device for when you're stopped at a light).

My concerns: For the price tag (brand new, the car cost the original owner $28,000), I would have expected the seats to be leather, and not leatherette, although they are still nice and better than cloth.

The reliability factor is somewhat concerning me. From what I've been reading, VW doesn't have the best reliability record. I just hope nothing major happens after the warranty expires, which is why I am strongly considering selling it as soon as I pay it off, although I love the car.