Test Drive: 2012 Volkswagen Passat

The 2012 Passat's base model is down to just over $20 grand, nearly $7,000 less than the 2010 model.

Like Coldplay or U2 hitting the studio, the team at Volkswagen, when creating the new Passat, were in search of a smash. The brand’s goal, as outlined by VW CEO Jonathan Browning, is to triple it sales of all models in the U.S. by 2018, claiming a bigger slice of the American automotive pie and taking the brand mainstream in the process. No minor indie hit would do.

So how will they do it? First, by dropping prices. The redesigned Jetta, VW’s smaller sedan, arrived last year and took a price cut of more than $1,500 versus the previous year’s model to make it more competitive against domestics. But the cut corners were apparent — especially the plastic-y, bare-bones interior.

The Passat gets a price cut that’s even more dramatic. The base model is down to just over $20 grand, nearly $7,000 less than the 2010 model. But unlike the Jetta, the new Passat, now built specifically for the American market at a new factory in Tennessee, doesn’t feel like a downgrade. Instead, it’s an understated ride that feels like a more expensive luxury car.

The Passat is available with a Baskin-Robbinsian array of powertrain choices, including three engines and four transmission options. I drove the up-spec’d 3.6 SEL model, which gets its 280 horses from the smooth VR6 engine paired with the always sublime DSG six-speed automatic transmission. On a mostly urban route the Passat proved to have enough power to chirp its tires off of a standstill, and a suspension tuned tight enough to make the drive engaging — without making me have to avoid Brooklyn’s native potholes.

The real news, though, comes inside. The Passat is bigger — its backseat legroom is epic, offering four inches more than last year’s model, and is the best in its class. And the redesigned cabin, though stripped down, is tastefully teutonic, with supportive seats, soft touch materials and a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and simplistic (though smartly placed) controls. It’s as if the car serves to soothe.

So how will the Passat chart? Time will tell. If enough buyers get past the bland body design and hop inside, VW will have a hit on its hands.

LOVE IT: Limousine–like rear legroom. An interior with a Muji-an sense of simplicity. A loud, Fender-branded soundsystem (via Panasonic) that delivers.

LEAVE IT: An exterior design so risk-averse that it makes a scotch tape dispenser look exciting.

The Specs

2012 Volkswagen Passat

Price: $28,995 as tested (base model from $19,995)

Engine: 3.6-liter VR6

Horsepower: 280

Torque: 258 lb.-ft.

0-60mph: 6.4 sec

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Posted by Dania on 22:25. Filed under Drive, Passat, Volkswagen . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Feel free to leave a response