2001 Volkswagen Passat GLS review from North America

I had the vacuum hoses replaced around 75,000 miles. I was in an accident, and the car was towed to a repair shop, they claimed the check engine light was on and that the vacuum hoses needed replaced along with accident repairs.

Electronics in the car are spotty like I have heard about all VWs. The gas cap sometimes will take several tries to open, I've spent up to 10 minutes trying to open it but it always opens eventually.

The rear driver's side door randomly loses power, so the locks and windows won't work until the power comes back on.

Great engine and you got to love that turbocharger sound.

Tiptronic automatic transmission is fun to play with on mountain roads.

Car recommends 91 Octane fuel, 87 Octane Minimum. I use 85 Octane (I'm cheap :) and the engine does not knock or ping, but I live over 5,300 feet above sea level and I think the thinner air might have a part in preventing the pinging and knocking.

Seat warmers are amazing and get incredibly hot when they're turned up, works great if you are still waiting for the engine to warm up to turn on the heat.

Handles very well and does OK in the snow.

Have taken the car for four 1/4 mile runs at the race track, and taken it up to top speed several times on a closed track (135mph on the speedometer) and it still runs. It has a durable little engine that keeps on ticking. Maybe I've just gotten lucky though.