Category: Large Family 
Price Range: £15,150 to £31,825
Much better to drive than previous model, build quality, enormous boot.
Styling on the dull end of scale, rear seat legroom not brilliant.
With hugely improved dynamics and excellent perceived quality, the Passat takes the fight to Mercedes and BMW.
Volkswagen might be trying to nudge the Passat upmarket, but the good news for buyers is that prices are little changed, yet running costs should be reduced. As the new Passat is no heavier than the previous model, its fuel consumption figures are generally outstanding. A Passat with the 140bhp TDi engine will return 47.8mpg overall and low emissions of 159g/km. The 1.9 TDi manages 50.4mpg and 151g/km, making this one of the most frugal diesel powered cars in the class. Even the 3.2 V6 is claimed to return 28.2 mpg - excellent for a car this quick - though we suspect that real-life figures may be a little less impressive.
Carbon dioxide emissions across the range are correspondingly low, too, meaning lower tax bandings for BIK company car tax and lower annual road fund duty; the 3.2 V6 returns a respectable 240g/km, so even this should be viable as a company car.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volkswagen Passat
wrote on 06 06 2006