Just look at the size of them cupholders! Volkswagen clearly knew what wealthy Americans wanted 11 years ago. Now, at last, the Regular Car Reviews take on the Volkswagen Phaeton.
A car that couldn’t be serviced at any VW dealership. A car that started at $80,000 in 2004, more than anything with a VW badge before. A car that clearly wasn’t a Bentley, nor an Audi A8. A car with a wonderfully refined W12 engine.
The Phaeton failed in America, but Volkswagen is giving you another chance of buying one for $70,000 (or more) soon enough despite losing something like an estimated $32,000 per car for the first 10 years of production. It’s their other Veyron, and that makes perfect sense. But let’s have a look at that old version.
Built where VW cooks up the Bentley Continental and the Flying Spur, the Phaeton was only available in North America with Audi’s brilliant 4.2 V8 and Ferdinand Piëch’s lovechild, the 6.0 W12. No matter which one you choose, Volkswagen’s luxury car is as nice in 2015 as it was in 2005. They engineered it to be that way.
Your 2004 Audi A8 looks old. Your 2006 Bentley Continental Flying Spur feels dated. The Phaeton is the one to have.
Photo credit: RCR
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