Category: Large Family 
Price Range: £15,150 to £32,780
Good looking, feels like a high-quality item, strong image and good diesels.
Not the world's best petrol engines and manual gearbox a bit floppy, newer rivals better to drive, replaced in 2005.
Reasonable car but not as good as latest rivals. High feeling of quality and image means that it'll always find fans though. Petrol V6 and W8 models mostly pointless.
All Passats get the important options: air-conditioning, CD player and front and side airbags. Other options are competitively priced with its rivals.
The Passat has always been regarded as one of the more refined and comfy cars in this class, with seats that are large and supportive, if a little firm.
Wind and road noise is well suppressed, too, but the petrol engines are no longer the smoothest available.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volkswagen Passat
wrote on 06 06 2006