We get 26-27 mpg in town with our 2012 SEL. On our trip from Indiana to Niagara Falls and Maine (2200 miles) we averaged 35 mpg for the entire trip.

 

new accord gonna be more economical than passat, period. comfort wise accord sure looses to passat.
no matter if passat or accord tranies are sealed or not, around 80-90K you need to replace fluid and filter first time if you planning to keep car any longer.
there is no life time fluids. they all getting old and loosing their properties.
example: camry tranies are sealed since 2010, but around 90K "life time fluid" looks exactly like conventional transmission fluid around 70K.
WS fluid last longer than conventional, but it still need to be replaced sooner or later.

 

So, it looks like engine is stable and MPG is good. Honda is rated at 27-36 w/new CVT so no too much better mpg etc.
We may pull trigger. Understand on tranny fluid as well, nothing lasts forever. What does 'WS' fluid stand for -- synthetic?

 

2.5 passat rated at 22/32MPG, accord -27/36MPG, to me it very significant difference, almost 20 or so %, right?
to average driver it gonna be $400 difference per year.
especially considering that passats power train should work harder to propel heavier car under same conditions and accords CVT will lower RPM and save you gas especially in the city.
WS is the World Standard full synthetic fluid toyota using since 2006. so far it been called one of the most advanced "life time" fluids.

 

1) The 2.5L engine has a timing chain driven system. It is not a performance oriented engine, but it sounds great with an exhaust, and it is reliable as the sun.

2) When you say "sealed" I am assuming you are referring to "lifetime" trans fluids. As mentioned above, there is no such thing as a "lifetime" trans, unless you want a car that has a very short "lifetime" I recommend any car owner changes their auto fluid every 40k or 5 years, but that's just my opinion. (I would much rather spend a few extra bills for a fluid flush, than have to deal with a trans taking a dump)

3) With the 2.5 being used in so many applications, there are a lot of performance mods in development. I know several companies are working on turbo kits, etc. So if you ever want to go that route in the future, know that the aftermarket support for this engine is going to be big.

 

Wonder if tranny is a sealed unit? Hopefully not as you can drain at bottom and fill via dipstick tube.

Lots of great feedback which is giving me confidence in this engine and car. Dlr offered to let us take home for one night as well.

 

Speaking on the power of a 2.5 I recall test driving a Jetta 2.5 about a year ago and found it lacked power for its size. Last week I test drove a 2013 2.5 Passat SEL and it seemed more responsive and powerful than the Jetta. I'm guessing it's the tranny and gearing in the Passat vs. the Jetta. Whatever they've done, it serves the Passat well.
We'll be pulling the trigger in about two weeks. One of the things that sold me was the 2.5 uses a timing chain vs. belt.

 

Make sure to take a good test drive before buying a CVT. Owned one once did not like it at all.

 

A little off thread, but the other day I had a '13 Altima rental with the CVT. All I can say is give me a conventional automatic any day. And the 5 cylinder VW is much smoother than the 4 cylinder Nissan. Having the Nissan for a week and 500 miles, it did return impressive mileage, though. ,BK