Possible New R36 Wagon Owner - Pros - Cons

[reverseworm]

Sunroof - 7 clicks to the left (or hold full for full open). 5 clicks to the right for tilt. Simple to use without even looking at it. Just count the clicks. Or when leaving the car it closes with the remote.

Paddles - BRILLIANT!!! Of course they should move with the wheel. You shouldn't be shifting at the apex of a corner. At worst you'll be down shifting just as you turn int and then up shifting as you power out. Both times, the wheel won't be turned very much at all. When driving hard, you shouldn't be lifting your hands off the wheel at all inf you can avoid it. Unless of course it's a really tight corner, but then it would also be relatively slow and the correct gear should be selected before hand anyway. Maybe that's just my track experience talking.

My only two cons with the car are:
Stereo controls - you shouldn't have to change the MFD to the stereo details before you can skip forward and back. When you un-mute it should un-mute back to the volume it was at when you muted.
Factory Bluetooth - Should be standard in a $70k car for basic phone call / stereo mute functionality. $700 extra for that is just stupid! As for the premium bluetooth, at $2000 it's laughable that anyone would buy it.

hmmm how about one push for open, one push for close? 5 clicks to the left, 7 to the right sounds like the combination to a safe.

with regards to the paddles, I understand the dynamics of cornering yet I have been in plenty of situations where I want to grab another gear and the steering wheel is not perfectly straight. And yes I do change gears mid corner all the time actually - in fact if you leave it in auto mode the car will do it for you

[passatpout]

Sunroof - the dial for operating the sunroof is difficult to use. Rather than an on-off switch, there is a dial that allows you to determine how far you want to open the roof. It is hard to see fromt he driver's position and it is not illuminated, so you can't really use it at night. I know I know - thats why it is a sunroof and not a moonroof.

Does the R36 have a different sunroof dial to a standard Passat? Mine's pretty easy to use, never had to go fumbling for it, and I'm sure it's illuminated....

[Rocket36]

It's the same - definitely not illuminated but it is very simple to use...

[reverseworm]

yeah simple to use for sure after you take the time to work it out - turn it to the left, the roof opens. turn it to the right and it closes. in terms of pros and cons, in my view, this is one of the few cons. good controls should be completely intuitive - unless you are inspector gadget you simply cannot see exactly the point you need to turn it to to close the roof. and i dont want to be counting clicks either. no biggie but a con for me nonetheless.

Blacky will need to make the decision for himself, but every other sunroof I have had is far simpler and it aint a deal breaker anyway.

and right next to the sunroof control is the worlds smallest sunglass holder. so that is another con, but the flip side pro is that it is great for pens

[Rocket36]

Both pairs of my Ray-Bans and both pairs of my Oakleys fit in the sunglasses holder. Only one pair at a time, but they all fit.

[reverseworm]

try getting a pair of circa 1978 le specs in there though, much less my amber visions.

[Jayse]

Hey Blacky,

After reading all these comments and the numerous others on the .:R36 in other threads, i think you know what you have to do!!!

If the money is right...go for it...you won't be dissapointed and thinking...crap, i shoulda waited for this car or that car to come out!

Ha, i've got a mate who bought a sti tuned liberty with a fair bit of extra work done on it from a mate of his who just got an R36 wagon....he's now going to sell his liberty he just got in order to buy an R36 wagon for himself. I think he's had the liberty for 2 months..if that!

As for pros and cons:
Pros: It's a bloody good car, packed full of goodies..i reckon it's the best bang for your buck car out there! The seats are great and so is the RNS510. I've taken it up and down the Black Spur and it held its own on the twisty bits.
Cons: I don't like that the DSG shifts up too quickly in "S" mode..it holds fine when you flick it over to manual mode though.

Goodluck with our choice mate.
Cheers,
Jayse.

[passatpout]

yeah simple to use for sure after you take the time to work it out - turn it to the left, the roof opens. turn it to the right and it closes. in terms of pros and cons, in my view, this is one of the few cons. good controls should be completely intuitive - unless you are inspector gadget you simply cannot see exactly the point you need to turn it to to close the roof. and i dont want to be counting clicks either. no biggie but a con for me nonetheless.

Blacky will need to make the decision for himself, but every other sunroof I have had is far simpler and it aint a deal breaker anyway.

and right next to the sunroof control is the worlds smallest sunglass holder. so that is another con, but the flip side pro is that it is great for pens

So I checked mine out last night.. half right, half wrong.. the sunroof indicator mark on dial is illuminated, but the surround isn't..

It's pretty easy, if pointed straight ahead, then the roof's closed, if turned to the left then slides open proportionally to how far it's turned, if turned to the right then tilts proportionally. I've never had a problem with it, and no complaints from anyone else who's used the car, once they've worked out or been told how to use it.