Volkswagen Passat

Volkswagen's warm family hauler is heralding the 'return of the sport wagon'.

Volkswagen's warm family hauler is heralding the 'return of the sport wagon'

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Destination Drive: Put simply, this is something you can do in any car. Whether you're excited about your new car and are looking for inspiration, or whether you regularly hit the road and cruise around, this series is for the love of driving and to provide ideas for those times you want to enjoy your car. Let us know your favourite drive loops in the comments section below. 

I bought my car new and have now travelled over 215,000km and I'm still in love with it.Owner: John Andersen

When I bought the Passat CC in 2013, it was the first European brand car I had purchased after a history of Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Mazda but mostly Ford. I traded an FPV F6 that I had owned for just 12 months. I wasn’t that I was unhappy with the F6 but I was looking for a change and just felt too constrained in daily driving to fully utilise the ample performance. The CC was just over three years old (out of warranty) and had about 40000km on the clock. I was initially drawn by the styling of the CC. The four-door coupe profile really appealed to me. Some were critical of the tail light design but I liked it. Some features of the car were unlike anything I had in my previous cars. DSG transmission, adaptive bi-xenon headlights, three-mode adaptive chassis control, heated seats (front and rear), memory seats, ventilated seats (optional), parking assistance (optional) and touchscreen infotainment – all new to me at the time. As an added bonus, the quality of materials used in the cabin were markedly better. Supple leather, plusher carpets, real metal trim pieces instead of plasti-chrome and higher quality plastics to name a few. The 3.6 litre V6 produced 220kW and 350Nm. It was beautifully sonorous, smooth and strong with the whole 350Nm available between 2400-5300rpm. With AWD (4Motion) and the quick shifting DSG, it accelerated to 100km/h in around 5.6 seconds. I know there are many horror stories out there about VW’s DSG transmissions but mine was a peach. Once you learn to give it that microsecond of time between lifting off the brake and applying the accelerator, abrupt engagements from a standing start are not an issue. It never let me down and I would often revel in the swift gear changes afforded by the steering wheel shift paddles. My only criticism is that when the transmission is shifted to Sport mode it holds gears too long to be used in daily driving and won’t shift beyond 4th gear. Engaging Sport mode for the adaptive chassis control firmed up the dampers reducing body roll and pitch and unlike some adaptive suspension systems, it wasn’t too harsh to use in daily driving. The steering weight was also increased but without any commensurate benefit to feel. The brakes (ventilated 345mm front and 312mm rear) pulled the car up strongly and consistently even during track days. The parking assistance was a great novelty to park the car hands-free. I never really used it much but I remember once when I tried it getting into a seemingly impossible inner Sydney street spot. Once parked, there was literally mere centimetres clearance front and back. Amazing. Unfortunately, it only parks the car so you are on your own getting it out. That took a while. The standard audio was an eight-speaker system although an up-spec 10 speaker Dynaudio system was an optional extra. The standard sound output was decent enough and in addition to the regular AM/FM radio and CD, it accepted inputs from USB, SD card and Bluetooth streaming. Curiously though, satellite navigation was optional. Cabin space was ample and the beautifully shaped seats were comfortable and supportive. The heated seats worked brilliantly for cold Canberra winters and the ventilated fronts were better than expected during summer. Boot capacity was a massive 530 litres and it still carried a full size 18” spare. I owned the CC for three and a half years and racked up close to 50000kms. Maintenance over that period was about $3500 and that included three scheduled services, new tyres, brake rotors, brake pads and wheel alignments. Fuel consumption averaged 10.8 l/100km, which for the size of the car and the performance on offer was pretty good. A tail light globe that blew costing $3 to replace and the windscreen washer reservoir developing a slow leak were the only problems I had with the car. There are many VW critics, some based on direct experience and others based on rumour or internet forums. Maybe I got lucky, but I can only say that from my experience with the CC and with my wife’s Mk6 Golf GTI, VW produce some brilliantly capable and refined cars.

Dear wife, I have bought a family car as we discussed a sensible mature car, VW Passat luxury wagon has a auto box easy to drive, has a memory seat ,heated seats etc and has active lamps and I got it for the budget of 25k as requested,... thats how the convo goes people, wife says O.K! good job :) Little dose she know this is VW's most powerful NA engine to date The journey of taking the kids to school or dash to the post office is simple as pie put it in drive and your good to go duties are done.... The R36.... it's a funny thing... you start finding reasons to go the long way to your destination even if the Sat nav nags at you alternate route confirmed and if the occasion arises (and it dose ) you feel a worthy opponent needs to be told, a quick flick of the paddles drops a gear into sport mode & its on like donkey kong the bellow of a half cut banshee comes to life from the tightly wound 6 the dual clutch changes faster than middle eastern pot snake and its over... total and utter anihliation. Back to miss daisy But lets live in the moment this car can do everything you need and do it well -not brilliant- but well, 10 years on and alot has progressed since then, sharing quite similar traits from its big cousin ...the RS4 , fuel yes she gets thirsty but if you decide poaching small salons is your thing with a SS stamped on the back well you brought on the fuel consumption yourself, but running up and down the freeway it does it with ease the seats are comfy the suspenion is stiff but firm, Maintaining the beast.. look pay the pide piper simple you want results from this girl you want her to deliver take care of her and if you skimp on fuel well you will be chasing your btut from filters to injectors. The beauty of this car more so the wagon is it hides in plain sight no massive wings no massive bright fluro calipers, it sits observes and just does it with ease no complaints and does it's chores as asked, The R36 is armed with big brakes, deep bucket seats, firm suspension wide rubber climate control usual high end VW standard and lastly sounds cranky A.F if disturbed- it truly delivers being a 40 - 60 split ensures the traction is on your side be smart don't switch traction off and feel you have skills it will quite happily let you know the playstation is where you belong for some unknown reason VW boffins got excited and said lets put launch control in now as good as this sounds i like transmission in one piece not like a 80's pick a puzzle Vw really did a fine job in building this tough, I personally lugg 3 kids around plus a fur baby sure it is a workhorse but let her out of the paddock she always brings home the bacon if your chasing something comfortable fast and does the Sunday bunnings run this is something to consider Overall only wish VW brought back something similar with the wolf in sheeps clothing in mind. PS Car advice I have more reviews if you like. Regards Ryan

I am writing a review on my most recent purchase a 2018 VW Passat 132TSI Wagon in Grey. As I drive over 60000kms a year I needed to purchase a car that was efficient to drive, safe and affordable while still being practical for a young family carrying prams and all the associated jazz you get with kids. Coming from a Toyota Prado I didn't want to downsize to a small car. I had always liked the look of the Passat Wagons, they're very elegant looking. When I started doing my research into the more efficient medium to large cars I found the Passat to be one of the best on fuel in the ratings. I also looked at SUV’s but the wagons seemed to have a better efficiency and more boot space. I looked at other cars such as the Ford Mondeo Diesel and the new Holden ZB Commodore in the 4cyl turbo petrol version along with some of the German rivals being BMW and Mercedes. I instantly wiped out the BMW and Mercedes due to cost. I then drove the VW, Commodore and Mondeo. The VW was the most comfortable and roomier to sit in for longer distances and felt much better ergonomically and the infotainment was very user friendly. The vehicle was a demo and really well priced. It was fitted with the driver assistance package which has radar cruise, lane keep assist, high speed forward collision etc. The tech works really well, it’s not far off a self-drive car. It also comes standard with Apple Car-Play with I've never had and now I don't think I could go without. As for performance and drive it is extremely comfortable to ride in and is well behaved on the road. It handles as good if not better than any car I’ve driven and I've driven many cars overtime including my work SS Commodores and XR6 Turbo’s and this is also a much more comfortable drive. The transmission being a DSG can be a little clunky around town but not enough to make me hate it and mated with the little 132 turbo motor it definitely feels a lot more powerful than the figures suggest. It doesn’t match the SS and XR6 Turbo but does feel more responsive and punchy than the VF 3L V6 I have at work currently. The interior space in the Passat is really good for a medium car with my 2.5 year old unable to kick the back of the front seats which he even managed to do in the big Prado and this doesn't come at a cost for front seat leg room either. I am tall and have long legs with the seat right back and still there is plenty of rear seat room. The boot of the wagon is very clever. It has a cargo blind as standard and the bit I really like it a pull up cargo barrier to not only stop luggage hitting my kids in the back of the head when we have to brake but it keeps by dumb dog from jumping over into the back seats putting hair and dirty footprints everywhere. The boot is deep but can be a bit narrow at times with the bigger pram. It does however have very clever little storage pockets on each side and you can drop the backseats flat from the boot. (Unless of course you have car seats fitted.) I am yet to have any issue with the car. There was a minor warranty issue with the infotainment screen having a line through it but the local VW dealer was great getting it sorted under warranty. It has been practical in every sense and we haven't found a shortfall as a family wagon. My concern coming from the Prado was space but it definitely hasn't let me down. If I had to criticise it the biggest issue I’ve found is as I do mostly country driving around roo country the halogen lights are pretty ordinary so it hopefully can be fixed in the next generation. I would definitely option the LED lamp pack in future. It would also be difficult to fit a light bar because if you were to mount it on a number plate mount it would obscure the driver tech out of the badge. The other thing that I would criticise is the small centre console and glove box however this can be overlooked as there are a heap of other storage compartments in the vehicle and they have lined large door pockets. It’s great not hearing things rattle around in them. To sum this car up; as an entry level base model car with cloth interior it definitely doesn’t feel base spec. It’s very comfortable, practical and quite punchy for a little engine and a real world fuel economy of between 6.5 to 7L per 100kms. The Mondeo was a close second (however I was driving the titanium spec second hand at the same price) and in some areas was a little nicer particularly the leather seats and moon roof but the comfort and drive were much better in the VW. The commodore (RS spec) was the most powerful and had a biggest boot of the cars I looked at but really lacked in comfort and technology. The infotainment was crap and the driver assistance aids were basic. Then on top of that it would cost more in fuel to run. However I would’ve got a huge discount being a Holden they can’t sell. The one thing that nearly stopped me buying the Passat was a poor dealer experience from one of the largest VW dealers in Victoria. I wanted to buy at my local country dealer but this demo’s price was unable to be bettered and not many dealers had any stock let alone a demo Passat. I have absolutely no regrets in my decision and don’t miss the Prado. I would definitely buy another VW product again.