Road Test
Volkswagen Passat CC 1.8 TSI
Test date 25 June 2008
Price as tested £21,065
For Dramatic styling, premium feel to the cabin, ride quality and refinement
AgainstOverly complex electronic parking brake, uninspiring handling
Passats have been around since 1973. The first, second and fourth generations shared much with contemporary Audi 80s and A4s. The third iteration was mechanically more like a big Golf, as is the current one.
This new four-door Passat coupé seeks to ensnare buyers who think the saloon a bit too minicab by looking dramatic and feeling like a properly premium product.
It’s clearly not a coupé-cabriolet, despite its name. Instead, it’s a “comfort coupé”, but it’s not called Passat Coupé because the US market (a prime target) reckons a coupé can’t have two doors per side. Compared with the Passat saloon, the CC is 31mm longer, 36mm lower and 50mm wider. The driver sits lower behind a standard Passat dashboard and there are just two fully shaped rear seats with a limo-apeing storage area between them.
The CC is Volkswagen’s take on the Mercedes CLS idea, if less radical. But if it’s spacious enough to function as a proper four-seater, is this the car the Passat should have been all along?
The pricing structure might puncture that thought. This entry-level 1.8 TSI version, albeit with a fair equipment level, costs £2150 more than the equivalent saloon in goodie-laden Highline trim.
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