Look the business...

which would automatically activate a full emergency stop if someone walked off a pavement in front of the car.

Or what about trailer assist, which would steer a caravan or trailer into a given space without any input from the driver. Then there’s traffic jam assist, which would take over control of the car in stop-start traffic at speeds up to around 40mph, slowing the vehicle down to a complete stop when necessary, while also preventing the car from “wandering” out of its lane.

Another first for the Passat was the emergency assist, which would activate should a driver become ill. If repeated requests from the lane assist system for the driver to resume control failed to have any effect, the system would take over and ensure a controlled stop inside the lane in which the car was travelling.

Highly-technical stuff indeed, and all available in a mass-produced, affordable family vehicle, not in a hand-built luxury machine that comes with something nearing a six-figure price tag.

Out on the road, both the saloon and estate handle beautifully. Sophisticated, innovative, cultured and refined, the Passat screams class from every pore and has quickly become the vehicle to which every competitor aspires to match.

A 10-plate 1.6-litre TDI in entry-level S trim with around 40,000 miles on the clock will set you back anything from £10,425 to £12,445, while a similar-plated higher spec two-litre SE model rises to between £11,850 and £14,155.

For used car buyers who really want to spoil themselves, then the all-singing, all-dancing two-litre BiTDI SCR R Line 4Motion DSG is the ideal choice.

Coming in at anything from £15,975 to £19,085 it offers a great all-round package at something of a bargain price.