Pleasing Passat
Family sedan gets mid-cycle refresh
The Diesel-gate scandal is costing Volkswagen dearly, as indignant consumers are sidestepping the now-tainted automaker and going elsewhere for their transportation needs.
Beyond the decreased sales and the blow to its reputation, the biggest hit to beleaguered VW is the removal of a key engine throughout most of its product lineup, the very fuel-efficient if not-so-clean 2.0-litre TDI Clean Diesel four-cylinder. Not having this former ace in the hole casts a whole different light on the company’s entire car range, especially when compared with the breadth and depth of the competition.
Within this ongoing industry soap opera, Volkswagen has refreshed its mid-size, U.S.-built Passat sedan for the 2016 model year, with updated interior and exterior design elements, plus more driver assistance, connectivity and convenience features.
For those needing a refresher on the Passat, a brief history: Now in its eighth generation, the four-door Passat — in sedan and wagon forms — was formerly an upscale model VW used to compete with the German luxury brands. More than a dozen years ago, I was testing 4.0-L W-8-powered versions (essentially a combination of two narrow-angle VR4 engine blocks), complete with 4Motion all-wheel drive and price tags well over $50,000. For the 2012 model year, though, VW abandoned the Passat’s upscale pretensions in North America, developing a more mainstream, lower-priced, higher-volume family sedan, one that would go up against the Asian powerhouses — Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima, et al., and the Ford Fusion, Chevy Malibu and Chrysler 200.
It’s not easy to discern the differences between the 2016 and 2015 models unless you happen to be a particular fan of the brand. For the record, there’s a new hood, front fenders, grille, front and rear bumpers, trunk lid and available LED headlights and tail lights. In other words, the only sheet metal remaining unchanged is in the roof, doors, and body-side stamping. The overall changes imbue the car with a more sophisticated — if rather formal — look.
Aside from the deletion of the TDI diesel, the choice of engines remains unchanged for 2016. Powering most of the Passat lineup is a turbocharged, gasoline 1.8-L TSI four-cylinder (the top-level Execline trim gets a significantly more robust 3.6-L V-6).
This yeoman power plant pumps out an acceptable though less-than-scintillating 170 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque. With the VW being a lightweight 1,480 kilograms with the TSI engine (the Accord Sport tips the scale at 1,538 kg), it’s quick enough for a family sedan, going from zero to 100 km/h in about eight seconds. However, the fourcylinder engine is a growly little unit under acceleration, always making its presence known, though it does smooth out at cruising speeds.
You can get a five-speed manual transmission in the entry-level Trendline model ($23,295), but the six-speed Tiptronic automatic is the go-to transmission for the rest of the lineup.
The Tiptronic comes with a Sport mode, which does little to change the car’s mild nature other than delay otherwise early upshifts, but at least VW doesn’t compound any farcical notion of the Passat as a sporty sedan by adding paddle shifters.
Still, for the budding boy-racers out there, there is a manumatic mode offered through the console-mounted gear selector; pushing forward to upshift or pulling back to downshift elicits a satisfyingly crisp response.
There’s nothing particularly special about the sedan’s suspension or steering (struts up front, a multilink rear and electric power-assist), but kudos anyway for its ride and handling.
This is a car for long highway trips, with the promise you will not feel as if you’ve been run over by a dump truck after a half-dozen hours behind the wheel. Conversely, it lacks the sportier precision of its European predecessors.
Inside, the Passat’s upgraded interior includes a new instrument panel and a centre stack incorporating VW’s latest MIB II infotainment system, which features a touch screen that enables gesture control, such as swiping and pinch-zooming. All 2016 models also have a rear-view camera as standard equipment.
The expansive cabin — front- and rear-seat legroom is generous — features upgraded materials as well as a new flat-bottom steering wheel and column stalk design. Leather seats and heated rear seats are standard on the $33,795 Highline tester, along with a navigation system, 400watt Fender premium audio system, 18-inch alloy wheels and blind-spot detection with rear-traffic alert. The dash area, in particular, is one of the cleanest and most uncomplicated layouts I’ve encountered in a family sedan, with simple wood-like trim adding a classy element to the whole affair.
In a good year, the Passat significantly trailed its Asian and Detroit rivals, managing to pull ahead of only the Subaru Legacy and Mazda6.
Despite the improvements to the Passat for 2016, the loss of the TDI engine and the stigma of the Diesel-gate scandal are not going to do its sales figures any favours. Plus there’s the fact that many of its rivals are undergoing mid-cycle refreshes or new-model introductions of their own.
An enjoyable, if rather conventional, car to drive, the Passat’s biggest problem — beyond the corporate drama — is that it’s merely good; to get the sales attention it needs, it has to be exceptional.