Volkswagen Passat CC

11:02am Friday 21st November 2008

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The Volkswagen Passat is a car of considerable ability – a workhorse that has won the hearts of many drivers looking for a reliable, economical and sober-looking saloon with top-notch build quality.

There’s nothing flashy, no glamour, but bucket-loads of virtue.

Until this year, if you wanted a Passat you would accept that it might be overshadowed by other German offerings in the looks department at least, but you got a helluva good car.

Enter the Passat CC, an eye-catching, svelte beauty that takes the car to another level.

It’s a graceful coupé that follows the practicality lead of the fab Mercedes CLS in keeping four doors. The big difference is that the Passat CC costs about half the price of the Mercedes.

If those exterior looks catch your eye – and they will – then take a peek inside at the leather interior on offer and you will see that this is by no means a half-hearted attempt to win over a few of those Merc drivers.

Your granny, your children, your partner and your boss will like this car. It has universal appeal through that combination of elegance, refinement, performance and practicality.

I tested the 1.8-litre petrol-engined version and was pleasantly surprised by just how well suited the engine was to this model. There’s not a hint of a lack of power right up to the legal speed limit, and it reaches that speed in a very respectable time.

The conviction to produce the Passat CC was no doubt buoyed by the success of the Mercedes CLS, and the principle traits of the two models are comparable, even if the prices are not.

The existing Passat platform is a very good place to start when building a car engineered for comfort. The current generation Passat is itself an accomplished tourer with a smooth ride and pleasantly responsive handling. The CC uses that same base, but with a body that’s longer and wider by roughly three centimetres in both directions and that sits a full five centimetres lower. Further underpinning developments include the widening of both the front and rear track.

As well as giving the Passat a noticeably sleeker profile, the redeveloped chassis also allows the Passat CC to hunker. Combined with the Adaptive Chassis Control available across the range and that comes as standard on the range-topping V6 4Motion, the Passat CC offers an excellent, sportier ride.

The driver has the option of choosing either normal, comfort or sport settings, but the system continuously adapts itself to the road surface and driving style anyway.

Of course, packaging is key to defining the Passat CC as a niche product, different to the standard Passat.

The low-slung body is obvious from the outset, but the frameless doors are a pleasant surprise. The bulging shoulder line becomes more prominent towards the rear before blending into a subtle lip spoiler. Flared wheel arches accommodate a minimum of 17-inch alloys, furthering the sports premium feel.

Inside there’s a similar feel. It’s definitely a Passat, but with a mild makeover. From the passenger seat, the only real differences are the lower driving position, a change to the dials and backlighting, which is now in white rather than the ubiquitous VW blue, and a redesigned climate control set-up. The CC loses nothing in terms of quality, with choice materials and sturdy build.

It’s in the rear that the major changes have taken place. A specific four-seater, the back of the cabin now features an integrated cup holder assembly where the centre seat would otherwise be and two sculpted rear seats in place of the usual bench.

Clearly, this is the big gamble on Volkswagen’s part, but the German manufacturer feels that customers will happily forego the additional practicality of the extra seat for the GT feel of the four-seat design. It’s a little more cramped than the rear of the Passat saloon, but legroom is still impressive, with headroom being scraped by the contoured roof to an acceptable minimum.

There are five engines on offer – three petrol and two diesel. The 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre petrol offerings are joined by a 3.6-litre V6 that is the most powerful engine ever fitted to a Passat derivative. The diesel engines are both two-litre offerings, with one offering 140 bhp and the other providing 170 bhp performance.

With a generally more upmarket feel, the Passat CC offers an impressively stylish alternative not only to the Passat saloon, but also to the saloon models of more premium manufacturers. The price tag could be the clincher.

AT A GLANCE

Model: Volkswagen Passat CC

Price: £21,065

Transmission: Six-speed manual driving front wheels

Engine: Four-cylinder 1.8-litre petrol delivering 160 bhp

Power: 160 bhp

Performance: 0-62 mph in 8.6 seconds; top speed 138 mph

Fuel economy: 37.2 mpg (combined)

CO2 emissions: 180 g/km