Spheric, how is the car - both good and bad? Are you missing the size, trunk, or 2.0T of the Passat? I rather like the I5 engine sound and characteristics, but haven't driven one long enough to determine if I'd be happy with the fuel economy.
For 2011MY VW Canada is offering a 5dr Sportline, but solely with the 2.5 I5.
PS, doing as you suggested a few posts ago. Something may come of it very soon...
It's been a pretty seamless (and enjoyable) process transitioning from the larger Passat to the Golf. Physics dictates that the handling will be better (almost go kart-ish relatively speaking) - and I say this with the car sitting on standard 16 inch OEM Hankook Optimo tires. Haven't missed the Passat's larger trunk one bit, and in fact I feel more confident lugging stuff home from Rona or Costco due to the hatchback configuration. Interior wise, it feels more snug but in a sporty sense - the seats hug you as you go around corners at speed.
On the downside, I'm still debating whether to get a short shifter installed. I'm finding the gear throws a bit on the long side, and moving from 1st to 2nd gear could have been made more buttery smooth in my opinion. But the plus side, is that the gear ratios are pretty wide and I could toddle around town in 3rd gear with no problem if I had to. There is sometimes an unexplained ticking noise coming from the driver's door column side (some of the VW forums attribute this to plastics expanding in the heat) - but I can live with it….but it's nothing on the scale of the creaks that would sometimes come from the Passat's dashboard in summer.
The car has a 55 litre tank and I done 630-650 km on a full tank on mostly highway driving. From all accounts the mileage isn't that great and you have to decide if you can live with economy that is worse than other vehicles in it's class - but on the flip side, the 170 hp 5 cylinder has enough power to meet most people's commuting needs. I checked the oil last weekend and I was surprised it was still a golden amber colour - the Passat oil would turn black within a week and I had to keep topping it up.
The 5 dr Sportline sounds like an interesting proposition. Just checked the VW.ca site and it wasn't on there yet. I test drove the 2 door version and the cloth seats were one of the best I've sat in.
