2004 Volkswagen Phaeton V8 Introduction

Third Place
2004 Volkswagen Phaeton V8

Years ago, who would've guessed that one day a luxury-sedan ranking would rise from BMW and Jaguar to Mercedes-Benz and then, uh, Volkswagen? Yet here we are, with a long and sleek new VW shouldering its way into this ritzy price class--and not a bud vase or Grateful Dead paint job in sight.

The Phaeton is a big car, leading the group in width and stretching to within a tick of the elongated Audi from nose to tail (you could have a pajama party in the huge rear seat). Unlike the A8, though, the Phaeton utilizes aluminum only on the doors, hood, and trunklid--one of the reasons the VW is nearly 600 pounds heavier than its Audi sibling (in fact, it's the heaviest car in this group). Thus, despite the field's highest horsepower rating (at 335 horsepower, the 40-valve, 4.2-liter V-8 makes 5 horsepower more than it does in the Audi), the Phaeton is the slowest to 60 mph (7.0 seconds) and delivers the group's poorest EPA fuel-economy figures (15/22 mpg city/highway).

Our seat-of-the-pants impressions were more favorable, however. "Darned if this big VeeDub doesn't carry her weight awfully well," wrote one editor. "While others were complaining over the walkie-talkies about crosswinds, the Phaeton was tracking straight and true." A healthy dose of steering boost makes the Phaeton feel light to the touch on the highway (some editors thought too light). And once off the line, the engine feels plenty strong. "Purrs like a kitten, with almost unnoticeable upshifts," praised one editor. The Phaeton hammers down the road like an express train.