Posted Apr 15, 2008, 4:52 pm
Filed under: Volkswagen

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Volkswagen Passat CC gallery: 25 photos >>

Story by: Max Toome
Photos: Max Toome; Volkswagen

First drive: Volkswagen Passat CC

Germany is a land of cars. During only a half an hour of driving the autobahn we saw a spy-car in a camouflage, then the huge column of Mercedes-Benz rarity convertibles passed by and we have overtaken a carrier fully loaded with all-new BMW X6 cars. You can not surprise German people with a car, especially if it is a Volkswagen. But the new Passat CC has proved that every dog has his day. Passers-by were trying to peep through the window to explore the interior of a parked car and on a highway the other drivers were catching up with us on a purpose to look closer at the a new four-door coupe from Wolfsburg.

The concept of «a four-door coupe» is a nonsense in itself. It is the same like duet consisting of… four musicians. The coupe body has two doors by definition. And this is the main difference from a four-door sedan. But several years ago Mercedes-Benz has created the first four-door coupe - a sedan with proportions of a classical coupe. The great success of Mercedes-Benz CLS has forced many car manufacturers to think of working out the similar cars. The internet is full of speculations on a Porsche Panamera and an Aston Martin Rapide.

Unlike exclusive car makers still collecting the thoughts, Volkswagen has decided not to take people for a ride and showed its vision of a “problem” at the Detroit Auto Show at the beginning of the year. Certainly, it is difficult to avoid comparisons with Mercedes, but, if you look closer, you will realise that CLS and Passat CC have not as much in common as any other pair of competitor cars. Though Volkswagen considers the CLS to be far enough competitor for their model but recognize, that the design is close enough.

Covered with leather seats and wooden, chromed and polished aluminium panels raise the Passat CC to a level of expensive elegant cars which mostly live near the doors of luxurious hotels.

Really, the idea is the same. High lifted line of side windows and the roundish roof, smoothly flowing into the rear window and then into a boot line. All the rest is a hundred percent Volkswagen. And what is more – the most beautiful Volkswagen ever. Except the ideal proportions, each separately taken element - headlights, the grille or bumpers are looking perfectly well! Besides, all elements are harmoniously combined together, creating a complete picture.

There are good enough chromed details in the exterior of a car. The chrome-plated radiator grille has become traditional for all Volkswagens of the past years. But Passat CC has also got mouldings and strips around windows polished to a mirror shine. And that’s not all. You can also order fantastic bling-bling rims. All this shining stuff raises the Passat CC to a level of expensive elegant cars which mostly live near the doors of luxurious hotels and certainly do not travel around the country roads with a jingling trailer behind (it is quite normal to see the usual Passat in such conditions).

”This is just a miracle! Switch on adaptive cruise-control and lane assist. And here we go! Just sit back and enjoy. The car will drive by itself.

The interior of a coupe matches the exterior perfectly. It feels like you shouldn’t sit in the car wearing snickers. You have to put on your best shoes and a suit or, at least, a pair of stylish jeans with a shirt. Only then you will fit the seat covered with a two colour cream and black leather, rounded by a wooden, chromed and polished aluminium panels. Of course the panel trims are made of plastic, but they do look like the absolutely natural ones.

I will not admire the convenience of controls. I could discuss the remarkable round wheels of a car with the same success. The ergonomics of all Volkswagens is an etalon since the old times. Though, I have found something. When you place two bottles of water in cup holders on the central console near gear stick, it becomes inconvenient to change gears of manual transmission. And so-called «holy-shit-handle» on a passenger side door, could be a little bit closer. That’s all. Nothing more to carp.

There is no need to admire the convenience of controls. I could discuss the remarkable round wheels of a car with the same success. The ergonomics of all Volkswagens is an etalon since the old times.

But it’s all about the first row. On the rear seats you can press a dent in a roof. Yes, that’s a coupe, no matter if it has four doors. However, the seats are very comfortable. First of all, there are only two places to sit on, and each of them is a separate sportive armchair with a perfect support. Rear seats are almost the same as in the front. And all this stuff is being offered as standard equipment.

Besides the convenient seats you can find plenty of pleasant surprises in the standard features list. Everything is like in a premium-class car. You cannot purchase a Passat CC without a rain sensor, ESP or a climate control. Electric windows and a leather covered wheel are not being discussed at all. Nevertheless, you have to pay extra for the most "tasty" options. The list of optional features is written on eight sheets of paper. Everything is so interesting and important: heated windshield made of noise-dampening glass, actively ventilated seats, auto-hold function working via electronic parking brake… But the most options are available while you are driving.

When I first time test-drove the Volkswagen Passat CC, I realised that completely independent autopilot is not such a far future. Adaptive cruise-control, which can hold certain distance till the car in front of you, is not news anymore. This system successfully functions on many premium cars for several years already. Automatic parking assistant showed its best on a Volkswagen Tiguan half a year ago. Now the new Passat CC has made one more step towards the future, where you can relax on a back seat on your way home.

Brilliant sportive seats are offered as standard equipment. Though you have to pay extra for a leather finish.

I am talking about the lane-keeping assistant. You can tell me that Lexus and Audi were first in it. True. These systems give a signal when you leave your lane. But Volkswagen, silently and peacefully and without any warning vibrations, starts to tighten up the wheel to bring the car back to a correct lane. This is just a miracle! Switch on adaptive cruise-control and lane assist. And here we go! Just sit back and enjoy. The car will drive by itself.

Certainly, you shouldn’t take it too seriously. The system only helps to correct some mistakes of a driver. And it performs only there, where an accurate marking is present. Even pedantic Germans couldn’t draw it everywhere. Therefore you can not fully rely on Lane Assist. It can switch off every second at the most improper moment. Or it can insufficiently turn a wheel on a too curvy road. In this case the assistant may become a murderer. Its mission is clear. If driver falls asleep behind the wheel the system will reduce risk of frontal impact. At the same time Lane assist forces the driver to fall asleep. Imagine you drive on a perfect route and the car turns a wheel for you. You yawn, once again, eyes are closing, and marking comes to an end. There you go! Welcome to heaven… It would be interesting to investigate in couple of years if the number of accidents caused by a fallen asleep driver is higher or lower for a Passat CC than in average.

The rear “VW” badge conceal a luggage carrier handle, as well as a rear-view camera. In this way camera doesn’t get dirty while driving.

Choosing an engine will be much easier than browsing a list of extra features. There are only three versions available at the moment. The most amazing engine is a 3.6-litre petrol V6, of course. It sounds tremendously, perfectly accelerates the car right away at the lowest engine revolutions, and in a combination with a 6-speed DSG transmission consumes only 10.1 liters per 100 km (23.3 mpg) in combined cycle. And I am talking about huge heavy saloon with a four-wheel drive! 1.8 Turbo-FSI engine is also quite a good choice - the reasonable balance between the performance and the price. The weakest one here is a 2-litre diesel engine, but it has the lowest fuel consumption. It is proved by Volkswagen authorities, that Passat CC will be equipped with petrol 2.0 TFSI soon. Probably, more powerful diesel engine will be also added.

At last, the most intriguing question - how much this miracle of techniques costs? In Germany Passat CC 1,8 TFSI starts from 30 300 EUR. Quite expensive for “the peoples car”. But comparing to Mercedes-Benz CLS the price is twice cheaper. Of course the Mercedes is equipped better and has more powerful engines. But all the rest is almost the same. So why pay more?

The four-door coupe is a sedan with proportions of a classical coupe. High lifted line of side windows and the roundish roof smoothly flowing into the rear window and then into a boot line.

Volkswagen Passat CC technical specifications
Version 3.6 V6 DSG 4MOTION
Power (kw/hp) 220/300@6600 rpm
Torque (Nm) 350@2400-5300 rpm
Acceleration 0-100 km/h 5.6 s
Top speed 250 km/h
Fuel consumption (average): 10,1 l/100km (23.3 mpg)
Price EUR 30 300