Passat feels solidly built
Hence, equipment levels in Passat are generous, with many items that were formerly only available in the upper trim levels working their way down the price scale.
So things like an eight-inch touch screen, LED headlamps and satellite radio are now standard on the base trim level.
Goodies like adaptive cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, the always pointless blind spot warning system and the always awful lane-keeping assist are available as you move up the ladder. Fortunately, that latter item is easier to turn off than the automatic door locks.
Two areas where Passat has the competition well and truly beaten are rear seat room (NBA stars would almost fit in there) and trunk space (which has to be best-in-class). No wagon? Wah. No Diesel? Double wah. On the track, the Passat drove smartly. Even if it is built in the US of A, Passat’s Teutonic roots still shine through. Steering is precise, the ride is firm but nicely composed, handling is everything you could expect from a mid-size sedan, and possibly more, braking is firm and strong.
It’s difficult to judge ride quality over the ultra-bad test roads because I had nothing to compare it with, but it felt solidly built.
Pricing won’t be announced until closer to launch date, but I expect it won’t be far off today’s car, which starts at $32,995.
You might well wonder why VW is putting so much effort into sedans when Ford is canning them almost entirely, and GM is also backing away.
These two seem to claim that everybody now wants an SUV. Which VW, with Tiguan and Atlas, will also be happy to sell you. When you look at the numbers, you realize those domestic companies’ sales are still somewhere around 20-25 per cent sedans.
The biggest import players such as Honda and Toyota are even higher than that. How can you walk away from that big a slice of the market?