Our new Passat CC

I just picked up this Passat CC last Thursday. Bear in mind, I’m a guy who has been driving a proton saga 2003 hatchback (which I still keep and love, I got one of the better batch), and have also been driving a Lancer regularly. Been in an A4, 3 series and C class before (which supposedly the comparison with Passat CC), and I must say I am very happy with the Passat CC! Each of the models above has their characteristic and I narrow down to the A4 and VW, finally giving in to the Passat (not to mention the VW is also cheaper).

It’s really a car made more for comfort rather than sport and racing. You can hardly feel the road with its ACC modes and feels like its floating. I am so tempted to get into the S gear in my DSG box but technician advice is to wait till 1000km first, let the car change its gear naturally. I’m somewhat a safe driver, but really the car is screaming at me to go faster. I got a 2.0 TSI for some extra power just to get out of sticky situations, and has a nice hum on the highway when the turbo kicks in. Corners are great and well balanced and work wonders on a roundabout with sports mode.
Fuel consumption is fair and good. So far based on my driving pattern (rather safe and reasonable) my average based on the car record average at 8.5l/100km. I spend equal amount of the time on the freeway and in the city.

Interiors. With all the bells and whistles in the car, VW has managed to reduce the clutter in the cockpit while maintaining the luxury. It’s all very familiar with the normal Passat, but with the extra sporty spirit. I got the fabric seat option (2 tone) and it feels just as good as the leather seat which I’ve test droved, and looks just as great. All the controls are within easy reach. One thing about German cars and in particular of this, it feels big yet you can get the sense of its scale almost immediately and can maneuver through difficult corners I thought having problems getting through. Nevertheless, the rear camera is an indispensible component with the narrow rear window (knowing there could be kids especially around my neighborhood) worth the extra buck. Oh, and I got the 4+1 seat options, though rather low at the rear but can still fit in a 6 footer comfortably.

Exterior. I know it’s all about taste. It was love at first sight. There’s a strong resemblance with the standard Passat, and the lower roof and broader width makes it look and feels faster. Lots of chrome parts may put some people off. I choose black to bring out the details of the shape better. I just feel the car looks ‘clean’ in terms of details and tooling up, not too much but enough to makes you to take a second look. I was driving it next to a CLS (the inspiration to the Passat CC) this morning and can’t help but feel VW car designer did a better job on the exterior (at half the price too). Again that’s my opinion.

It’s refreshing to drive a car of this class that has yet to be contested thoroughly. Yes, there are many models/makers out there which can offer the same/better spec on paper and cheaper, but really, it’s the extra little details and thoughts that has been put in place that gives this car a special feel when you step into in. You can’t really put logic into feeling I guess, but it’s very real alright.

Personally I’m pleased to see more effort from VW and Audi to push themselves to compete with the other 2 giant German car makers. The Passat is of those efforts that will elevate them to the next level, and that is just the start. I hope to see more good things to come from these 2 carmakers.