VW Passat Estate
2.0 TDI (150) DSG SE Business
Years: 2015 to date Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl, 148bhp Insurance group: 19 Official economy/co2: 68.2mpg/119g/km Why? Passat offers wide range of ability, with top quality interior practicality mixed with a comfortable and composed drive.
Prices from: £11,995
THE Passat Estate is a great choice for those who are looking for something relatively upmarket, but the budget won’t stretch to a prestige brand. They won’t be disappointed with the VW. It’s smartly styled and beautifully built, with a comfortable interior that can easily rival more expensive cars.
The Passat has the biggest boot here, but the Mondeo offers the largest floor area, at 113 square centimetres. There’s less space under the Ford’s load cover, though.
As well as a big boot (with a maximum capacity of 1,780 litres) the Passat has plenty of rear-seat space. The wide doors make access easy and there’s plenty of legroom for the outer occupants, but the middle seat is positioned high and the transmission tunnel gets in the way a bit. Deep door bins, a big glovebox and decent centre console storage ensure the Estate is a hugely versatile family car.
VW has a reputation for building reliable cars, and the Mqb-based Passat should be relatively problem-free, but there have been a few reported cases of problems with the DSG twin-clutch automatic gearbox.