Volkswagen Passat CC 2008 Review

Launched: Volkswagen Passat CC

On the challenging drive route from Munich airport to the Lake Tegern resort region in the Bavarian Alps (challenging, not in the tricky, off-camber way, but in the not-driving-into-some-unsuspecting-lederhosen-sporting-motorist way) we were grateful for two of the Passat CC's extensive list of safety/convenience features.

Being out of our usual comfort zone of a driver's seat on the right side of the car, on the left side of some New South Wales road we know like the back of our hand, the 'lane assist' and sat-nav systems on Volkswagen's new four-door coupe were far more welcome than we'd ever have credited.

But what's that - a coupe with four doors? As you've probably gathered from the pictures, CC doesn't stand for coupe cabrio - the new premium Passat isn't a bigger version of the folding-hardtop Eos. It's a 'comfort coupe'. Volkswagen says it doesn't have any direct competitors, but it's positioned relative to Passat sedan and wagon as Merc's CLS is to its E-Class.

Perhaps the Passat's biggest drawcard, aside from its ability to be optioned with the latest techno-kit, is its styling. Here, the handsome but conservative panels of the Passat sedan and wagon make way for genuinely sexy sheetmetal - cop an eyeful of its flowing, virtually constant radius roofline and aggressive front- and rear-end treatments tied together through a rising beltline.

There are compromises, however. The Passat loses its centre rear seat in the quest for exclusivity and improved comfort for the two people it does seat in the rear. It's also clear just by looking at it that rear headroom doesn't measure up to a three-box sedan's, either. At least boot space doesn't suffer. Impressively, the CC's (532-litre) boot easily swallowed overseas-trip-sized luggage for three on our drive.

Inside, the Passat sedan's interior carries over with subtle changes that quite effectively inject a dose of extra class.

The CC's strut front/multi-link rear architecture is also borrowed from its sedan/wagon siblings, meaning their innate sense of balance and reassuringly accurate (if a fraction inert) steering come standard. Also debuting on CC is Volkswagen's 'adaptive chassis control' that offers three suspension settings - normal, comfort and sport - with a corresponding change in steering weight. Regardless of setting the system continuously adjusts damper rates with input from road wheel displacement and body movement sensors, and promises a better ride/handling compromise than is possible with fixed-rate dampers.

It's likely Oz will get two Passat CC variants - a front-drive 2.0-litre TDI turbo-diesel four and an all-wheel-drive 3.6-litre FSI petrol V6. Each drivetrain gives the car a different character - the oiler brings out the loping, relaxed luxo-mobile (we drove the 103kW unit, though it's possible we'll get the 125kW version in Oz) while the all-paw V6 unleashes the CC's sports-sedan/coupe demeanour.

Both engines team with a six-speed DSG transmission, which is particularly rewarding backing the deeply sonorous six, given its sweet throttle-blips on downshifts and rapid-fire response to paddle shift flicks. The 220kW/350Nm V6 offers plenty of poke, too.

Standard equipment for Oz, though not yet confirmed, should include safety kit such as ESP, seatbelt pre-tensioners, multiple airbags, parking sensors and a reversing camera as well as luxo fare including sat-nav, cruise and climate control, power-adjustable front seats, multi-function steering wheel and either Alcantara/leather or nappa leather interior trim.

Browse down the optional equipment list and you may well induce a bout of future shock. Witness the 'lane assist' system, which steers correctively if it senses the car is going to leave its lane.

The sensation through the tiller is of a gentle tugging that feels not unlike tramlining, but here it's actually helping you stay on course. Add automatic distance control, which maintains a safe distance to other vehicles, and park assist, which steers the CC into a parking space, and we're getting close to a car that drives itself.

The Passat CC hits Europe from late this year and Australian deliveries start in the first quarter of next year. We're tipping pricing in the low-$50Ks for the oiler and about $65K for the V6.