2017 Volkswagen Passat 2.0L TDI First Drive Review

Why would I buy it?

Loaded with features, offers a great balance between comfort and dynamics

Why I would avoid it?

The Skoda Superb looks better and feels better value

The Passat has been VW’s flagship sedan for a while now. With each new model, the Passat got better and better and now in its current avatar is supposed to be the best of the lot. The new Passat took a while to reach Indian shores and VW was missing from the important luxury market for a good amount of time after the last-gen Passat was discontinued. Now that it’s here, the Passat aims to offer plenty of technology and features and at the same time be a hoot to drive.

Design-wise, the Passat sticks to its regal character. The Passat has never been the one to shout about saying ‘hey look at me’. And even with the new car, the subtle character is retained. Upfront, the Passat now gets the family grille and full LED headlamps with DRL’s. The side profile is clean with what VW calls, the Tornado shoulder line running across the length of the car. The multi-spoke 17-inch ‘London’ alloys give the car a nice sporty touch.

The rear is somewhat similar to the previous gen car but now gets the new signature LED tail lights. Overall, the Passat isn’t the kind of looker like the Skoda Superb is, but it manages to evoke more than enough presence with its elegant demeanor.

The straight lines on the outside follow on the inside too. The dash is typical VW, with a lot of familiar elements. You get a matte finish wood panel and air-con vents running across the length of the dashboard. The centre is occupied by a touch screen infotainment system which is surrounded by glossy black surface. It’s a very clean and uncluttered layout which looks and feels good. 

Getting to the seats, they get power adjustment for both driver and co-passenger. But that apart, they are plain fantastic. We spent close to ten hours in the car and it felt like we could do some more. The right amount of support and firmness is what’s so good about them.

At the back you get enough legroom and very well angled backrests which makes the Passat ‘superb’ for the chauffeur driven kind. However, the Passat is a true 4-seater and a sometimes only 5-seater thanks to the raised and stiff centre section.

Apart from the storage places inside the cabin, the Passat has a massive 586 litre boot too which by the way also swallows a full size spare with alloy wheels. 

Talking about the features, the Passat comes fully loaded. We’re talking, panoramic sun-roof, automatic parking, electric sunshade, tyre pressure monitoring system and a three-zone climate control system.

The infotainment system gets all the tech too including mirror-link apple car play and android connectivity. It’s also got a CD player and can read off SD-cards as well, VW has offered it all. It’s safe too, with nine airbags, ABS, ESC and the works.

We had over 400km to cover from Udaipur to Jaipur. With our photographer Kapil being extremely anal about his photos, that was already a good amount of time already spent which meant we only had a few hours to make it to our flight. We buckled in and I pushed the 2.0 TDI engine to life. Even with VW’s brilliant insulation and NVH levels, this isn’t a silent motor. Burying the throttle gets the front wheels chirping pretty loudly as you let loose all of 175bhp and 350Nm of torque.

With the power coming in at around 1500 rpm, it’s not laggy either. Before you know it, the Passat is already into silly three digit speeds. The 6-speed DSG works flawlessly and optimizes all the available power brilliantly. And it’s quite precise too whether you are shifting using the Tiptronic function or the well placed paddles.

You get a Dynamic Chassis Control system too, which depending on your mood, lets you switch between eco, normal, comfort, sport and individual. While normal mode offers the best balance, sport mode really liven things up. The shifts are quicker and throttle response gets into hyper mode. Belting it out on the open highways, the power is there, but you can’t help feeling the need for a few horses and a few Nm more. Frankly had it not been for the brilliant DSG gearbox, the Passat would have felt a tad underpowered. For normal commutes and the occasional highways however, the Passat has more than enough and there is nothing to complain. It’s efficient too, with VW claiming upwards of 17 kmpl.

Sport mode also firms up the suspension quite a bit and the difference is very apparent. Suspension travel is minimised and the Passat turns super stiff with the steering gaining weight too. In comfort mode, the Passat’s ride quality gets way better and it absorbs most bumps well, but even then there is no denying the underlying stiffness. The Passat like most VW’s is set up stiff and sharp bumps upset the cars composure and are felt inside the cabin too. The steering though has very good feel and the Passat is a joy to flick around.

The VW Passat is available in two trims, the Comfortline and the Highline and is priced at Rs. 30.33 lakh and 33.15 lakh respectively and that makes it slightly more expensive than its in-house competitor, the Skoda Superb. The Passat has all the virtues of a good luxury car, it’s loaded with features, high on tech and safety and drives extremely well, however with the understated design the Passat lacks the wow factor that is important in this segment, especially considering the Skoda Superb and the Honda Accord  whichlook fantastic. If you specifically want an understated car without flair that has all the luxuries you need and works like clockwork, the Passat is the car for you.

The Passat goes head to head against the Skoda Superb, the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Photos by Kapil Angane