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Sedans Volkswagen Passat Hyundai Azera vs. Volkswagen Passat vs. Buick LaCrosse
93 messages, Last post on Apr 03, 2008 at 9:09 AM
You are in the Volkswagen Passat Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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I like my Azera, but I am very disappointed in the crash test numbers. In fact, I looked up 25 different sedans including the Passat and LaCrosse and the Hyundai is worse than all 25. Here are some numbers regarding head injury for the driver (higher is worse) 2006 Volkswagen Passat - 502 (4 star) 2006 Buick LaCrosse - 374 (5 star) 2006 Hyundai Azera - 698 (4 star) Here's a link to the Azera testing: Azera Crash Test Data |
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Hi rich234, welcome! Your post is better placed in our ongoing general Azera discussion rather than here in a comparo, so I moved it there. Just click on that link to continue. |
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I owned a 2001 Hyundai Elantra GT for 5 years. I put 53,000 problem free miles on it with only regularly scheduled maintenance. No complaints. I have seen the discussion on the price differences between Azera and LaCrosse CXS. After getting through my second Iraq tour in one piece, I decided to get a new vehicle. I am a 35 year old male. I test drove the Buick LaCrosse and loved it. I originally considered the Impala LTZ, but missed out on the 0% APR due to deployment. Buick offered it at the time I purchased my vehicle. I got a 2006 Black LaCrosse CXS from Wilson County Motors in Lebanon, TN. MSRP was $32,490.00. I negotiated to $30,878 (thank you, Edmunds and Consumer Reports). This vehicle had every option except Stabilitrak and the spoiler. It is Black with Grey Interior. 1500 miles on it so far. 20.0 MPG real world and I love driving it. Here is the issue with cost difference between GM and Hyundai. Hyundai will get you with the scheduled maintenance. With my Hyundai an oil change was recommend every 3750 miles for city driving. 30000 miles tranny fluid change. Coolant system flush etc. With the LaCrosse you have an Oil Life system that monitors oil life based on engine RPM and temperature. With current driving conditions my first oil change may happen between 7500 and 8000 miles. Less money there. Dexcool coolant with an inspection at 50000 miles. GMs maintenance intervals are less frequent than Hyundai. Something you should consider in cost when comparing vehicles. As for a VW. My wife owned a 2000 Jetta for five years. Will not buy a VW again. Cheap interior that fell apart within two years was a big turn off for me. Thank God for warranties because it was in the shop often. CV joint noise, power windows, etc. Expensive once warranty runs out. When our family grew we went with a 2005 Ford Freestyle. Has been a great vehicle so far (12000 miles and no issues.)
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Replying to: hitman1970 (Oct 25, 2006 4:36 pm) |
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Replying to: robchemist (Nov 28, 2005 9:21 am) |
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Db  Idle: 38.9 Db Full Throttle: 75.1 Db 70 mph Cruise: 67.1 Excellent numbers, especially in the areas of idle and cruise, where we spend the most time on. Edmunds also voted the Azera as Editors' Most Wanted Vehicles for 2007 - Sedan Under $30,000 http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/mostwanted/2007/117174/article.html |
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I realize this thread compares Azera vs. Passat vs. LaCrosse but if you are going to throw a Buick in the race, throw in a good one. If you have just $30,000 to spend, buy a 2008 Buick Lucerne CXL with optional Northstar V8. It comes to under $30K (don't believe me? Check.) The Lucerne is basically a reskinned Cadillac DeVille/DTS which even by today's standards is still a good car. And let us not forget that the Northstar V8, though a bit long in the tooth, is still a world class engine. The Lucerne also has a top-notch interior considering the price point. You would have the only full size sedan with a V8 that pulls 25+ MPG on the highway that is whisper quiet for under $30K. That is a lot of value no matter how you look at it. The Passat certainly has a nice interior, but it is no surprise that the VW/Audi reliability is spotty at best. My best friend had a Passat and visited me at my house and when he went to leave the car was dead....no clicking, no nothing----NO THANKS! The Azera? Look, I respect the huge leaps in quality and refinement Hyundai has made during the past several years, but they have a long way to go. Their cars generally sport sloppy handling, less powerful/efficient powertrains, and poor resale value. I rented a Sonata and at highway speeds I was white-knuckling it to keep it between the lines. I can't imagine the Azera being so much better. It may be better than the rest of the Hyundai cars, but certainly lags behind class competitors/leaders.
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Replying to: g_allen (Mar 25, 2008 8:49 am) After a current comparison, and including the current $2500 rebate and GM employee pricing on the CXL Special Edition V8, the Lucerne is right on $30000 ( with sunroof, stability control, heated seats, uplevel stereo ). According to the Edmunds " prices paid for 2008 Azera " a Limited Ultimate can be had for around $25000 - so the Lucerne is still $5000 more. For that extra $5000 you get a car that's slower and gets considerably less fuel economy. The Lucerne is very nice IMO, and I could have lived with the additional $5000 in order to buy GM, but the deal breaker for me was the lack of a folding rear seat on the Lucerne. As far as the Passat, I wouldn't totally dismiss the car because of an isolated instance at your house. Compared to Azera and Lucerne V8, the Passat is not as luxurious, is more sporty, has much less interior space, and gets way better mileage if you choose the 2.0 Turbo. You would probably pay somewhere between the Azera and the Buick. If you never put adults in the rear seat, I would consider the Passat as a distant competitor to the others. Just my two cents.
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Replying to: cobrazera (Mar 27, 2008 2:11 pm) That is just a real life example that I was able to witness which only confirms the reports on VW's poor reliability that are widely available on the Web among other places. Before anyone puts any VW on their shopping list they need to examine reliability reports. VW (and Audi for that matter) have had A LOT of problems and that has been no secret among savvy car buyers. My .02
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