Adieu Passat, hello Sigbum

[hsmeets]

Got my Signum today! Sorry, no pics yet (will see to that asap).

Were do I start? well here a few random thoughts and impressions:

Metro color: Very nice, in bright sunlight: blue-ish, in the evening: grey-ish and during dusk a hint of purple. It gives the car a distinquished look&feel.

Automatic gearbox: very smooth gear changes! Very relaxed driving yet not slow driving. Better then the Tiptronic I experienced in a Audi A6 courtesy car I drove several days, some time ago.

Anti Dazzle mirror: these one respond much faster and color darker than the one's I had on the Passat, an improvement!

Drivetrain: the sport suspension is less harsh then expected, still a good amount of comfort, much more fun to corner than with the passat. More tire noise, but that was expected coming from 15" 195/65 and now 17" 215/50 (and reading about the reputation of the factory fitted Goofyears Pilot's)

Motor: feels very potent, the sound is completely different to the TDI, sounds a bit more raw while under load but quiet when cruising, the TDI was always omni present with a deep sounding hum (masking a lot of tire and wind noise).

Seats: I like the leather used, I hope it stays in this shape in the long run. I like the comfort of these sports seats, found a good driving position within 5 minutes, haven't changed it since leaving the dealer.

Easter egg: the car is fitted with indirect console lighting (spot in mirror). It was not mentioned as a feature nor as an option (and is not mentioned in the brochure either)

Dashboard/Infotainment: Like the amber color much more than the blue/red of the passat. The dash/button illuminations looks impressive at first sight but is a tad too much IMHO (christmas tree). The GID is a real eye-catcher at night, right up to the point of beeing distracting. Can the milage and fuel consumption be hidding in favor of a fullscreen Radio/CD info? The CD30 radio/cd and speakers are oke, glad I did not opt for the CDC40 for better sound quaulity. Operating/navigation of the menu's is....well, it could be better designed.

ECC: seems to be able to cool down the car much quicker than the Passat, but it also sounds a bit noisier when the blowers rev up.

Quircks: the vents cannot be pointed upwards.......huh ? excuse me?

Defects:The ashtray in the back doesn't stay closed (first repair under warrenty?) Or do you know the fix?

Detailing: the dealer could have done a better job, some wax traces and drying marks, will have to give the car a good scrub myself comming weekend.

Build quality: bodypanel fit is good, interior/dashboard: nothing to complain about, but you see/notice that it is not as nice as VW/AUDI.

Bottom line: Happy that I opted for the Signum instead of a third Passat in row, much more bang for the same buck, and I like the design of the Facelifted Sigbum much more than the new Passat: Sporty but elegant.

Showed the car to some friends&family and all were in 'shock&awe' about the car in a positive way of speaking. And they do not have a habit to lie to me about my choice of things.

Huib

[Duncan]

Got my Signum today! Sorry, no pics yet (will see to that asap).

What?! No pics!! Tsk tsk!

Easter egg: the car is fitted with indirect console lighting (spot in mirror). It was not mentioned as a feature nor as an option (and is not mentioned in the brochure either)

Excellent - we spoke about that before!

The GID is a real eye-catcher at night, right up to the point of beeing distracting.

Don't forget it has day and night modes (different types of brightness) which can be changed. Day is the brighest, night is dimmer and there is an auto setting to switch as it detects the ambient brightness. I always have mine on the night setting, even during the day. It's plenty bright enough for me.

Quircks: the vents cannot be pointed upwards.......huh ? excuse me?

You sure!?

Bottom line: Happy that I opted for the Signum instead of a third Passat in row, much more bang for the same buck, and I like the design of the Facelifted Sigbum much more than the new Passat: Sporty but elegant.

Good man! Look forward to seeing the pics!

D

[TechWolf]

Got my Signum today! Sorry, no pics yet (will see to that asap).

Drivetrain: the sport suspension is less harsh then expected, still a good amount of comfort, much more fun to corner than with the passat. More tire noise, but that was expected coming from 15" 195/65 and now 17" 215/50 (and reading about the reputation of the factory fitted Goofyears Pilot's)

Well ... VAG cars have never been known to be fun to drive ....
They tend to be very front heavy .... and understear.
Good on the autobahn, but not on a twisting road.

Seats: I like the leather used, I hope it stays in this shape in the long run. I like the comfort of these sports seats, found a good driving position within 5 minutes, haven't changed it since leaving the dealer.

Yeah ... The sport seats are very comfy ... also very good at longer trips.

Dashboard/Infotainment: Can the milage and fuel consumption be hidding in favor of a fullscreen Radio/CD info?

Nope ... Not on the CD30 ... not that I know of ...

[Spikey©]

Looks like you made the right choice

[VauxVeteran]

I'll give ya tip, the more money a car costs or the more the media raises the expectation of it the more you will feel you you have to be pleased with it, VW Passat is a really nice car, but no more reliable than say a Hyundai despite what you read, if Vx was to make a car and have VW market it as their own ppl would say.....ohhh what a wonderfull car etc, even Clarkson would be saying what a wonderfull piece of engeneering, what you have bought will lose its value quicker than a VW car, but the upside is it will cost less to repair and will go on long after the VW calls time, no one tells ppl a VW with a bush gone will take out all the other bushes before you know ones gone do they?


As for your other Q's

The display can be dimmed

The mirror is superb

And above all you made a good choice, plus you can also be an authentic member of this absolutely 100% site.

Sall good innit?

[Gsi3.2]

plus you can also be an authentic member of this absolutely 100% site.

Everyone's welcome mate.. just because people have yet to get, or have sold their vectra/signum doesn't de-value their worth as members.




Really glad you like the car Huib, just need a picture now.. someones law round here

[Brocks]

What's indirect console lighting then?

[hsmeets]

<snip>Don't forget it has day and night modes (different types of brightness) which can be changed. Day is the brighest, night is dimmer and there is an auto setting to switch as it detects the ambient brightness. I always have mine on the night setting, even during the day.<snip>

D

Mine is on 'night always' too, have turned down the dash illum level, it was full on, dimmed now and that's better

Huib

[hsmeets]

<snip>They tend to be very front heavy .... and understear.<snip>

Yes, the Passat was front heavy, the Sigbum feels much better when diving into a corner. But here also the difference between the suspension setup is noticable. Never drove a signum with the normal suspension, but I'm tempted to advice opel/vx to make this the 'normal' suspension setup and even make a firmer one as a real sports suspension....

Huib

[hsmeets]

<snip>VW Passat is a really nice car, but no more reliable than say a Hyundai despite what you read<snip>

The first one never let me down, 4 years, +180000KM, not a single hickup. The second one 4,5 years, 186000KM, only one failure: power steering died. I've come to known the passat as a realible no-frills car, trustworthy.

In the firm I worked 2 years ago, several co-workers leased Passat's, all were reliable, except one......but the driver had always non-reliable cars....my humble opinion was that he abused the car (flooring it when cold, unneccesary high revs for prolonged time, etc). I said it many time to him: it's not the car, it's you!

I must say, I drove several month a first generation Astra (1993) (when Kadett was replaced with Astra on the continent), that car was a nightmare! In the morning the motor always died after pressing the clutch, and while to gearbox was in neutral/clutch pressed it could spontanouisly rev up the motor........this was car was built on a mondaymorning-after-a-heavy-weekend

Huib