Last year I drove and reviewed the then-new front-wheel-drive Volkswagen Passat 2.0T and found it a very good sedan, if not quite a sport sedan. A six-cylinder engine and all-wheel-drive became available after my test drive. With the six, a Sport Package was optional.

Would the top Passat feel much different than the car I drove? I recently had my Mazda in for service, and the dealer also sells VWs. So I took advantage of my time stuck at the dealership to take a Passat VR6 4Motion Sport for a spin.

Styling

The previous Volkswagen Passat was something of a classic. Its gracefully arched roofline and shear bodysides deserve at least as much credit as the Beetle for VW's resurgence in the late 1990s. People saw this car on the street and instantly wanted one. Competitors reacted by drawing heavily on the Passat for their own designs, some (Nissan) better than others (Ford, Saturn).

The new Passat is more trendy, especially the overly chromy nose. Like the latest Audi A6, the new Passat has much longer overhangs front and rear, to the detriment of the car's proportions. As with the Audi, you'll want the largest wheels available to visually shrink the larger fenders. The Sport Package includes 18-inch wheels that greatly improve the overall appearance of the car compared to the 2.0T I drove last year, which was shod with 16s.

In general VW puts out very upscale interiors. The rest of the industry keeps saying their latest interiors are just as good as VW's. But they aren't. Even in base trim with black vinyl seats, the new Passat has the feel and ambiance of a premium car. The black leather sport buckets in the car I drove this year, with an Italian exotic flavor to the upholstery pattern, take the interior up another level. Yet there is a bit more hard plastic inside the new Passat than I recall in the old one, especially on the lower part of the instrument panel.

Accommodations

The driving position is much better in the Volkswagen Passat than in the related Jetta. The larger car's instrument panel is less imposing and it is not topped by a short wall at the base of the windshield. As a result, I felt much more comfortable driving the larger car. Paradoxically, the experience was more intimate.

The tach remains numbered in tens rather than the ones found on most tachs. This again led me to frequently confuse it with the speedometer.

I liked the comfort of the regular buckets last year, but the sport buckets are much better. Larger, firm side bolsters provide very good lateral support. Four-way power lumbar is always welcome, and it's standard here.

I have mixed feelings about the back seat. Legroom is up a bit, such that the Passat retains a legroom advantage over the Jetta. Yet the Jetta's seat is preferable in some ways. Likely owing to its racier roofline, the Passat's rear seat is mounted closer to the floor than that in the Jetta. As a result, thigh support is so-so at best and the view forward is largely blocked by the front headrests.

As before, the Passat has a usefully large trunk and its rear seats fold for even more cargo volume.

On the Road

The 2.0-liter direct-injected turbocharged four-cylinder in the base Volksagen Passat is a very good engine. It feels more powerful than its 200-horse spec suggests, with the least boost lag I've ever experienced in a turbo. Quiet too.

But the six is still better. In its latest iteration, VW's unique narrow-angle V6--the cylinder banks are so close together they share a single head--has grown to 3.6 liters and 280 horsepower. As the torque peak of 2,750 rpm suggests, this is a very flexible engine as normally-aspirated dual-cammers go, with decent low-end grunt, a strong midrange, and a thrilling top end. The main thing that keeps it from being noteworthy is that there are so many extremely good V6s in the class these days.

I've said before that no four sounds as good as a decent six, and the VR6 has a throatiness that sounds even better than the typical VR6--as long as your ears are those of an enthusiast. It sings the song of refined power. If, on the other hand, you believe that engines are better felt and not heard, this isn't your powerplant. Thanks to the odd angle, it's also not the smoothest six at idle, but it's smooth enough.

Hitched to the lusty six is a six-speed automatic that doesn't react nearly as quickly as VW's revolutionary DSG transmission, currently offered only in smaller VWs. Get the DSG into this car pronto!

Something isn't quite right with the powertrain programming. Throughout my test drive, each time I gave the throttle a prod from a dead stop I initially got...nothing. BIG, annoying hesitation.

I'd personally prefer a six-speed manual even to a DSG, but one is not offered with the six, and I doubt one will be offered in the future. At least options are now available with the manual on the 2.0T--this was not the case last year.

The all-wheel-drive system fares better than the transmission. Despite being a system that normally sends power to the front wheels, only shunting torque rearward when the fronts slip, this transfer was quick enough that I didn't notice any lag. Floor the throttle mid-turn, and the system effortlessly transfers the six's power to the pavement, shooting the car out of the turn exit. I would not want the six without the optional all-wheel-drive system.

The standard Passat is no sport sedan. But this was the Sport, with a stiffer suspension and lower-profile 18-inch rubber. At low speeds, it felt taut but a bit numb and a little slow to turn. As speed climbs, the car begins to feel tighter and react more quickly to steering inputs. Finally, at highway speeds, the VR6 Sport is a delight. Very tight, very firm, very quick to react, and undeniably German. The regular Passat is something of a Japanese Camry. Not this car, as long as you drive it fast enough.

Why oh why can't it feel as good at 30 miles-per-hour as it does at 60-plus?

Slicing through curves at lower speeds, I found the same confidence-inspiring fluidity I found in the 2.0T, just with a tighter feel and less lean in turns (owing to the Sport Package). The car feels more big and solid than agile--much more A6 than A4--but I'm fine with that. As mentioned previously, the all-wheel-drive really helps put the power down in curves. The ride is definitely firm, but avoids being annoyingly busy and is far from punishing.

All in all, much more impressive than I expected. Then I took a left turn (the first dozen or so had all happened to be rights), and discovered a grinding noise at the right front corner. Something was wrong with the car. I turned around after testing for bad CV joints (not the problem, sounded more like something in the strut), and completed the test drive taking only right turns.

The salesperson later called to follow up. He said he still didn't know what was wrong with the car, and the dealership refused to take it into the shop. Apparently, they can only get the warranty to pay for a repair after someone buys it. Until then, he's simply steering people towards other cars for test drives.

At parking lot speeds the Passat has the tomb-like silence and highly-insulated ride of a luxury sedan. Get the car up to 40 MPH or so, though, and road noise can be a bit intrusive. No doubt the lack of noise from other sources makes road noise seem higher than it is, but perceptions count here.

The character of the latest Passat, especially in non-Sport form, is closer than that of the previous one to a Toyota Camry courtesy of increased refinement, lower noise levels, and increased insulation from the outside world. That said, it remains clearly German, with a more substantial feel to the doors, seats, and body structure than you'll find in a similarly-priced Japanese product.

VW Passat Price Comparisons and Pricing

The Volkswagen Passat has tended to cost more than its Japanese competitors, and the new one is no exception. The car I drove listed for over $35,000. The VR6 alone tends to add about $3,500 to the price.

Compared to a similarly loaded Camry SE, a front-drive Passat VR6 with Sport Package, nav, and Dynaudio sound lists for about $6,600 more, and even after adjusting for its additional featuers the gap remains about $5,500.

Compare the all-wheel-drive Passat VR6 to an Infiniti G35x, and you'll find that the VW is still a touch more expensive.

The VW only looks like a decent value when you compare it to other German sedans. Similarly load up both the Passat and an Audi A6 3.2 quattro, and the VW lists for a huge $13,500 less. Adjusting for equipment differences only reduces the gap slightly. The Audi is somewhat nicer inside (but also has a few bits of inappropriately hard plastic) and handles a bit better, but isn't as quick. And thirteen large is a lot of money.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the Passat:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Passat.php

Last Words

I have very mixed feelings about the Passat VR6 4Motion. I love the engine, the seats, the effectiveness of the all-wheel-drive system, and the solid German feel. On the other hand, the powertrain hesitation at tip-in is at best an annoyance, the price is deep into near lux territory, and the suspension had a problem that the dealer was hesitant to fix. So let's just say that the high end Passat is flawed, but I could not help but like it.

A Note on VW Passat Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Passat rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in VW Passat reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need data on all cars--not just the Passat--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

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Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
2002 VW Passat VR6 review
2006 VW Passat 2.0T review
Acura TL review
Audi A6 review
Cadillac CTS review
Infiniti G35 review
Lexus GS review
Mercedes C-Class review
Nissan Altima review
Saab 9-3 Aero review
Subaru Legacy GT review
Toyota Camry review
Volvo S60 review