1982 Volkswagen Passat GL5 Estate review from UK and Ireland

CV joints, struts, thermostat, thermostatic carb air intake system, wheel bearings and clutch cable.

Great roomy transport, solid shell covered with great paint, and it was even nice to drive.

Small-bore carb 5cyl very smooth running and reliable except for its intake system. Such problems as I had were caused by underspecified CVs (compare CV diameter between '82 and '84 5-cyl Passats and you'll see what I mean), and the foolishly complex air intake system for the carb.

The auto choke didn't fail but didn't work as intended, and the thermostatic air intake system was useless. This resulted in carb icing - not serious, but very annoying in UK winters when you have to stop every 30 minutes and sit by the roadside for five mins to allow intake ice to melt. Then the car would start and run perfectly for another 30mins.

Brisk performance, but barge-like handling not helped by feather-light PAS. Brakes spongy. Economy reasonable when driven hard but not any better when driven gently, which was a good excuse to use the moderate power available.

Fuel injected model superseded the '82 GL5 later that year, and this eliminated half of the problems.