New Volkswagen Passat review, test drive

The new VW Passat is more comfortable and luxurious, and as capable as ever. But will it manage to lure buyers away from established luxury badges?

Published on Oct 09, 2014 12:10:00 PM

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New Volkswagen Passat.

The car now feels as spacious as a Mercedes E-class and, as ever, it feels nicely put together; well appointed and meticulously finished. From the climate control knobs to the trip computer and multimedia buttons, every rotor and switch feels solid and intuitively placed. Chrome is tastefully deployed and every single above-the-knee moulding is soft and and luxurious. Even the quality of the door shut has been improved quite a bit and they now close with a satisfying thunk, adding greatly to perceived build quality levels.

The boldest design feature on the inside are the radiator-like slats that run from one side of the cabin to the other, merging the air-con vents into one styling theme. All versions come as standard with conventional instruments, but VW will also offer a 12.3-inch Active Info Display as an option. This very high-definition screen can be configured in a dozen ways, to display almost anything.

There's plenty of new tech as well, such as app-mirroring for Android smartphones, and Google Earth functionality. But despite all these updates, the cabin still doesn't feel as luxurious as that of an E-class or an Audi A6; though now, it's much closer than it's ever been. Where this car can compete is on comfort levels. There's not much to choose between the seats of this car and the Audi A6's and the nicely angled and supportive rear bench is also almost as good as an E-class.