n54don't's discussions

All of the Panameras were ‘PDKs’ in America, except for the diesel and hybrid, which were VAG parts bin power-trains. We also never got the MT. Just look at build or price sheets if you really want, I don’t care. Read more

Even MSRP for these things is a dubious proposition. Read more

Only the diesel and the hybrid have the 8 speed. The V6, S, and Turbos have the PDK. Doesn’t make this any less CP though.

No, it doesn’t. The Aisin was only on the shared VAG powerplants (Diesel and Hybrid).

You mean a Toyota subsidiary made an un-reliable transmission? Say it ain’t so..... Seriously though, other than the valve bodies, what goes wrong with the longitudinal Aisin boxes? I haven’t really seen much.  Read more

I got extremely lucky with my one unseen purchase. Read more

Seriously, the S65 wasn’t even an engine released this decade. The B58 and N55 were at least released this decade, and happen to be amazing, attainable engines. The reliability isn’t top of the pack, but from a balance and design perspective they’re hard to beat. Plus, it’s not like this list has reliability as a… Read more

I mean, it depends on how you want to look at it. Really the markets are the same if you just want the “best Cayman available today”. Having driven an R, it’s more like a Cayman T(in Porsche’s current lineup terms) than a GT4. I get it, Porsche branding is stupid, but here’s why I say that: Read more

Meh, at least my 3.0L m44 is offensively average sounding. It’s no flat six, but it’s really not bad either.

I mean...... the reality is that 95% of the Cayman Rs I’ve seen have had all the “Lux” stuff added back in when the owner was speccing it. Most of them have sport seats vs the buckets. Almost all of them have AC and a stereo. Read more

Amazed how well this is doing, give this site’s hatred, eh that’s too strong.... Let’s just say extreme aversion to anything VAG. Read more

Wait..... the Q7 is rated to tow less than the Cayenne/Touareg? I suppose it weighs more, but I figured VAG wouldn’t allow the biggest SUV to have the lowest towing rating. Read more

Strangely enough, my grandmother bought a brand new 2015 Allroad about a year before she passed. I got to drive it a lot when I took her to appointments. Read more

The NMS was fine, nothing amazing, nothing terrible. Read more

I knew what you meant! Having had an NMS Passat, I still feel the need to remind people we didn’t get the good Passat here. I always grimace when I wander onto the VW subreddit and people call them B7s..... Again, I get that it was the 7th generation Passat here, but it’s really more a Jetta Max. Read more

To be fair, no one modded a US MQB Passat, because it doesn’t exist. All of the Passats since 2012 are on the NMS chassis. China got a NMS Mk. 2 based on MQB, but the one we have is still basically a stretched PQ35.

Yeah, the torque converter logic definitely took some getting used to. From what I gathered, it was pretty aggressive with the coasting function to save fuel. Was helpful on the highway as I could just coast up to traffic, or down hills, but could get annoying when coming up to a stop and needing to accelerate again.… Read more

Your NMS Passat ownership story sounds suspiciously close to mine. 2012, 2.5L, got hit three times and each person said, “I didn’t even see you!”. I only got one CEL though, and it was fixed under warranty(bad O2 sensor). Transmission was never that clunky for me, although like most FWD AT VWs the throttle tip was… Read more

It would definitely be cool to see the Lemons car! Given the cold, and sponsorship limitations I wouldn’t blame you for leaving it home though. I’m torn too, I want to bring the S2, but I’m not sure I’ll make it up to my parents house to plug in the battery charger. Even though it’s in the garage, I’m sure the cold… Read more

Interesting. Never had anything like that happen except with a bad PS/2 to USB adapter. Could also be some weird thing between the BIOS and the keyboard. Hopefully it works on the new system when you upgrade.