Meeting the in-laws

I’ll be honest in that I haven’t had too much seat time in our Passat, but that is not because I turn my nose up at its boring looks or sales rep stance. It is simply because prying the keys out of Mario’s hands is a tough job. With a host of launches to attend and a number of test cars to be tested, Mario has had to leave the Passat at the office for a few days and I’ve had the chance to pocket the keys without him really noticing. So here is my opinion of the Passat following my quick refresher course.

This is the ultimate car to impress the future in-laws with. The external visual is nothing really to write home about as it is neither top-notch nor bottom of the class pile. It is clean cut, well proportioned and functional without taking your breath away. Sure, VW has tried to spice it up with some alloys, a chrome finished grille surround and privacy window tinting, but it still just says ‘car for commuting’.

Inside it gets a bit more passionate with some leather bucket seats and steering wheel and the aluminium trim appeals to my wind-gat side. Space both inside the cabin and in the boot is substantial.

I’m not normally a fan of autos but the smooth changes and well spread ratios make the daily commute a pleasure – so much so that I reckon if I needed to by a new car I would seriously consider buying an auto for daily driving and keep a manual as a weekend toy. It is possible to switch the Passat’s DSG box into ‘manual’ and use the steering-mounted paddles to choose your own gear if the urge really gets you.

The time away from the VW has meant that I’ve forgotten how good the 2.0-litre turbo mill under the hood is. The Passat 2.0T FSI must be a front-runner in any hot-rodder’s Sleeper of the Year awards. Without too much lag, the Turbo winds up and the Passat rockets of the line. And it keeps pulling to well above the lock-you-up limit.

Overtaking acceleration is also of an impressive calibre and passing someone usually just means a squirt on the loud pedal.

It all sounds rosy for the Passat because it has for the most part been a trouble-free experience over the last few months.

Besides the slightly boring tendencies, it is almost impossible to really find a fault with the car. I can’t fault the product, the quality or even the dealers that support VWs. The only problem I can find, and I’m splitting hairs here, is that the passenger seat leather, like our S3's, seems to be wearing thin. It now looks like those old leather seats you see in rich guys’ drawing rooms or libraries. A bit of Dubbin should sort it out but maybe VW should send their suppliers cattle on a toughening up boot camp.

So there you have it, so far a basically flawless time with the Passat, if commuting and quality are your number one goals. If you want a bit more passion then rather shop for an impractical, unreliable and pricey piece of machinery.