Steve Grauman

>BTW, the 2.6L in the Passat is quite
>adequate for most drivers

Well it's a 2.8, not a 2.6. And I guess "adequate" is subjective. That same
motor did a damn fine job moving my father's 98.5 A4 Quattro. But it was a
5-speed, not a tip, and lighter weight than the B5.5 Passat. I've driven the
Passat as a 1.8T FWD, V6 FWD w/ 5-speed and V6 4Motion with Tip. With the
clumsy tip and the added weight it was underwelming to say the least. And
before anyone goes on ranting about how I must be a Honda-lover, I drive a
Volkswagen, a 2002 GTi.

>and it definitely outperforms the 2.2L 5cyl

Undoubtedly. But to go from a *very* underpowered car to a car that's
"adequately" powered at best isn't a big step up IMHO. I would've taken a 1.8T
5-speed FWD or at least not have saddled the V6/Tip combo with 4Motion. But
that's just me. The Jetta with the 24 valve 2.8 was a blast, even with the Tip
it felt fine, but it had 10 more Hp than the Passat V6 does and weighs less.

Steve Grauman

>The '88 90Q was powered
>by the venerable inline 10-valve 5 cylinder - unless it was a 20V
>version that put out about as much power as the contemporary turbo.
>Neither one likely had any 'authority' as you, no doubt, define it,

I'm aware of the shortcomings of the 90's power output. But with great used
buys like the (previous Gen.) 260Hp TL Type S sedan, I can't see paying out for
a V6, 4Motion Passat which is anything but exciting. Of course, the Acura is
little more than a glorified Honda, but there are other buys out there, I'm
only making a basic point.

Mike Smith

Jonesy wrote:
>
> The W8 in the Passat really makes it move out. I'd love to see the
> Audi 4.2 V8 in the Passat (As a 4Motion, 6sp, Avant) and call it the
> R42 Avant. Aww, crap, there's already an S6 Avant.
>
> Anyway, the 2.8L is a decent enough motor. I wonder what the car
> would be like if it had 270HP like the TL-S?

Well, that's exactly as much power as the W8 makes...

--
Mike Smith

Pete

"Jonesy" <beelzebubba@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> Anyway, the 2.8L is a decent enough motor. I wonder what the car
> would be like if it had 270HP like the TL-S?

Slap a PES supercharger on that 2.8 and you'll get about 300hp right
there. Haven't driven one personally, but those who have say it's a
blast.

Cheers,

Pete

Steve Grauman

>Slap a PES supercharger on that 2.8 and you'll get about 300hp right
>there. Haven't driven one personally, but those who have say it's a
>blast.

Should be. It's got more torque and Hp than a W8 with a similar curb weight and
probably peaks at lower RPM. However, it'd be nice to see a factory-built 260+
Hp Passat that doesn't cost $40k.