I had a '97 Passat wagon, 5-speed, VR6 engine. Fast car, high quality leather, but had a few annoying problems over 130K miles. Tight, but eventually would lean in a manuever. My '95 850 T5 is probably even heavier, and it definitely leans in a turn. Overall quality and finishing is definitely better in the Volvo, and the seats are "Oh, my God" better than ANY car I have owned. My years are pretty close, and the most telling difference is the list price. I believe the 850's was around $34xxx and the Passat's was around $25xxx (2 years later), an effective difference of 40% give or take. So, my conclusion is you get what you pay for. But, I concur with you about VW ownership. My Passat was made in Germany, but my 2003 VW GTI was made in Brazil. Piece of garbage except for the engine and transmission. Guess where those were made? Congrats with getting out from under the VW cloud - hope I can follow you.