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01-02-2008, 05:36 AM
The last time the Indian sun glinted so brightly off the Passat's chrome grille was when it saw offits cousin, the Skoda Superb, quite comfortably in our comparison test. This time around, the spotlight is solely on the Passat. It's been on Indian shores for two months, and 105 Passats have made their way out ofVW's squeaky-clean showroom floors. VW has set up three dealerships, one each in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. There are plans to expand this network by getting in 15 more dealerships in as many cities by the end of2008. Until then, customers living outside these cities will have to rely on the flying doctor service that VW is providing to keep their cars in shape. Should you wait for the next VW showroom to open near you? Or is the Passat so good that it's worth driving into another town to get one? We get under the tough German exterior of this VeeDub for a nuts-and-bolts road test.
Designed by ex-Peugeot and Mercedes designer, Murat Gunark, the massive chrome front end gives the car some seri¬ous road presence. The nicely has improved body stiffness by 57 per cent over the previous¬generation Passat. The suspen¬sion uses alotofaluminium components as well as more sophisticated multi-piece sub¬frames for improved refinement. The front suspension uses con¬ventional MacPherson struts, but thanks to the aluminium components, weight is down by an impressive 13.3kg over the earlier Pass at. The new indepen- / dent, multi -link rear suspension also offers greater wheel control. And, unlike the old Passat that had its engine mounted longitudinally, the new Passat is better packaged. The engine is mounted transversely and drives the front wheels to help improve cabin space.
42
INTERIORS *********
The Passat's cabin is typically German. In English, this means cabin quality is generally out¬standing. The chrome-ringed dials, mock wood, aluminium trim and the beige leatherwork go really well together. Although certain plastics, like on the doors, aren't really up to VW's usually high standards, the cabin
does feel like a really nice place to be in. The party tricks haven't been left out on Indian Passats the paddle-shift system, etc.tronic parking brake, electronic ignition key, hold function for detailed headlamps and the LED the brakes, parking sensors, sunrear lamps highlight an other- roof and the six-CD changer are wise plain design. all here. All these are supposed To its credit, the less-trained to convey a feeling of sophistic a eye might just mistake the ation, and they do for the most Pthassaht for VW'b s flthagship limo, Pkart: Bubt .thfiededlel ctronic ignitione Paetonute more you easy to use. look at the car, the more you The Passat also shares a few see it for what is essentially interior. bits with the Skodas quite a nondescript shape.The air-con controls are from . big overhangs, front and rear, the Laura and the power window remind you that this car is based switches are ~om tI:e Superb. on a stretched Golf platform. The electromc parking brake VW claims the long overhangs works well enough, as does the are necessary to meet pedestrian hold function for the brakes. safety laws that are in force in The Passat's front seats are other markets - a feature that's supe!"bly comfortable. idea and surely useful in India. spacIOUS, the seat cushIOn has Under the skin, the Passat is just the right amount of support. Pull the badge to 5 Massive chrome grille is the reason quite high-tech. VW's super- The fully-powered driver's seat open the boot. Neat. for the Passat's great road presence. accurate laser welding process on this S version has a generous amount of travel and height adjustment, and the steering wheel is adjustable for reach and rake.
But the rear seats are where most Passat owners are more likely to sit, and they won't be disappointed. There's more than enough legroom and headroom is generous too. The middle passenger won't be too comf)rthough, thanks to the high transmission tunnel (there is a four-wheel-drive version sold abroad) and the rear-air can vents that intrude into the kneeroom. The windows are a bit small and the seats are low too, so this makes you feel a bit locked in. Thankfully, the beige interiors brighten things up. Also brightening things up at night are the cabin lights, all five of them - rear passengers get individual reading lights.
The Passat's cabin is full of cubbyholes. There's a huge bin in each doorpad, an umbrella holder in the driver's door, a huge box between the front seats and a big glovebox. But the most interesting cubbyhole is the very- usable 565-litre boot - bigger than the BMW 5-series' 520-litre boot. There are a lot of nice practical touches too, like the electric sunblind for the rear windscreen and the manual pull-up sunblinds for the rem' windows.
The car in this test is the fully¬loaded Passat S, which costs Rs .13Iakh. But if you are willing to chop a few toys off the options list, like the bi - Xenon ligh ts, sunroof, powered seats, parking sensors and the paddle-shifters, go for the base Passat; it costs two lakhs less. Or you can opt for the Passat S with a solar roof and a Bluetooth conection kit forRs25.77lakh.
ENGINE, GEARBOX & PERFORMANCE ********
Unlike other manufacturers which have embraced common¬rail diesel technology, VW has an alternate method. It's called Pumpe Duse and this technology first made its Indian debut in the Skoda Laura. The PD system can deliver fuel to the cylinder at upto a phenomenal 2200bar.
The numbers. This 1968cc engine's torque output of 32.6kgm comes in at 1750rpm. It can propel the 1467kg Passat to a top whack of 206kph, but this engine's real strength lies in its solid mid-range. Once past 1800rpm, it pulls forward like a locomotive. In the lower gears, power comes in a sudden burst, and the steering wheel shim¬mies in your palms as the front wheels struggle to put all that torque down cleanly.
43
There is a considerable amount oflag below 1800rpm and the fact that that the DSG doesn't have a torque converter to help mask turbo-lag, means you'll find yourself planning ahead for those short bursts of acceleration that are so much a part of city driving.
Take the Passat out on the highway and the turbo-lag rears its ugly head again; overtaking on single-lane highways needs to be thought about. Of course, you can pull the left paddle a few times, drop the engine into its powerband and rocket ahead, the 'box automatically shifting up when you hit the redline.
The lightning-quick shifts are also part of the reason why the Pass at takes only 11.38 seconds to growl past the 100kph mark. This is also the reason why the 20-80kph run is dispatched in just 6.6 seconds, slightly quicker than a petrol-engined Skoda Superb. But, typical of high¬pressure fuel injection systems, the engine can get quite audible. Disappointingly so. Even when cruising, you are always aware that it's a diesel car.
The Passat is fantastic on an open road. This is a genuine mile-muncher, great at dis- guising speeds. The six-speed 'box keeps the engine spinning at a lazy 2700rpm at 100kph. Road irregularities are dis¬patched without as much as a flinch from the suspension and road and wind noise are very effectively suppressed. It's got good body control too - even when you push the car hard around corners, it will faithfully change direction. But, driving the Passat is quite an impas¬sive experience. The electro¬mechanical steering filters out any feedback from the front wheels, and here lies the prob¬lem. You turn the wheel, the car turns. You get off the throttle, the car slows down. You brake and the car slows down some more. It's hard to criticise a car that does its job so well, but the interaction that marks out a car with real driver appeal simply isn't there. If you enjoy the occasional spirited drive, you will be better off spending a bit more for a BMW 3-series.
VW recommends a high 42psi of pressure for the rear wheels as part of the rough road package. This, combined with low¬profile 16-inch tyres, brings out the shortfalls of this suspension. The low-speed ride is stiff-kneed - the car hates lumpy tarmac and sharp bumps, but what really lets the car down is the noisy suspension. The suspension thumps through bumps and pot¬holes, and a bit too much of this enters the cabin, and makes the Passat feel a touch unrefined.
FUEL ECONOMY ********
9.68kpl in the city and 13.5kpl on the highway are what you can expect from your 1467kg, 2.0-litre Passat. Good for a big diesel saloon, but bettered by the BMW 320d, the Audi A4 TDi and even the Mercedes C220CDI
Designed by ex-Peugeot and Mercedes designer, Murat Gunark, the massive chrome front end gives the car some seri¬ous road presence. The nicely has improved body stiffness by 57 per cent over the previous¬generation Passat. The suspen¬sion uses alotofaluminium components as well as more sophisticated multi-piece sub¬frames for improved refinement. The front suspension uses con¬ventional MacPherson struts, but thanks to the aluminium components, weight is down by an impressive 13.3kg over the earlier Pass at. The new indepen- / dent, multi -link rear suspension also offers greater wheel control. And, unlike the old Passat that had its engine mounted longitudinally, the new Passat is better packaged. The engine is mounted transversely and drives the front wheels to help improve cabin space.
42
INTERIORS *********
The Passat's cabin is typically German. In English, this means cabin quality is generally out¬standing. The chrome-ringed dials, mock wood, aluminium trim and the beige leatherwork go really well together. Although certain plastics, like on the doors, aren't really up to VW's usually high standards, the cabin
does feel like a really nice place to be in. The party tricks haven't been left out on Indian Passats the paddle-shift system, etc.tronic parking brake, electronic ignition key, hold function for detailed headlamps and the LED the brakes, parking sensors, sunrear lamps highlight an other- roof and the six-CD changer are wise plain design. all here. All these are supposed To its credit, the less-trained to convey a feeling of sophistic a eye might just mistake the ation, and they do for the most Pthassaht for VW'b s flthagship limo, Pkart: Bubt .thfiededlel ctronic ignitione Paetonute more you easy to use. look at the car, the more you The Passat also shares a few see it for what is essentially interior. bits with the Skodas quite a nondescript shape.The air-con controls are from . big overhangs, front and rear, the Laura and the power window remind you that this car is based switches are ~om tI:e Superb. on a stretched Golf platform. The electromc parking brake VW claims the long overhangs works well enough, as does the are necessary to meet pedestrian hold function for the brakes. safety laws that are in force in The Passat's front seats are other markets - a feature that's supe!"bly comfortable. idea and surely useful in India. spacIOUS, the seat cushIOn has Under the skin, the Passat is just the right amount of support. Pull the badge to 5 Massive chrome grille is the reason quite high-tech. VW's super- The fully-powered driver's seat open the boot. Neat. for the Passat's great road presence. accurate laser welding process on this S version has a generous amount of travel and height adjustment, and the steering wheel is adjustable for reach and rake.
But the rear seats are where most Passat owners are more likely to sit, and they won't be disappointed. There's more than enough legroom and headroom is generous too. The middle passenger won't be too comf)rthough, thanks to the high transmission tunnel (there is a four-wheel-drive version sold abroad) and the rear-air can vents that intrude into the kneeroom. The windows are a bit small and the seats are low too, so this makes you feel a bit locked in. Thankfully, the beige interiors brighten things up. Also brightening things up at night are the cabin lights, all five of them - rear passengers get individual reading lights.
The Passat's cabin is full of cubbyholes. There's a huge bin in each doorpad, an umbrella holder in the driver's door, a huge box between the front seats and a big glovebox. But the most interesting cubbyhole is the very- usable 565-litre boot - bigger than the BMW 5-series' 520-litre boot. There are a lot of nice practical touches too, like the electric sunblind for the rear windscreen and the manual pull-up sunblinds for the rem' windows.
The car in this test is the fully¬loaded Passat S, which costs Rs .13Iakh. But if you are willing to chop a few toys off the options list, like the bi - Xenon ligh ts, sunroof, powered seats, parking sensors and the paddle-shifters, go for the base Passat; it costs two lakhs less. Or you can opt for the Passat S with a solar roof and a Bluetooth conection kit forRs25.77lakh.
ENGINE, GEARBOX & PERFORMANCE ********
Unlike other manufacturers which have embraced common¬rail diesel technology, VW has an alternate method. It's called Pumpe Duse and this technology first made its Indian debut in the Skoda Laura. The PD system can deliver fuel to the cylinder at upto a phenomenal 2200bar.
The numbers. This 1968cc engine's torque output of 32.6kgm comes in at 1750rpm. It can propel the 1467kg Passat to a top whack of 206kph, but this engine's real strength lies in its solid mid-range. Once past 1800rpm, it pulls forward like a locomotive. In the lower gears, power comes in a sudden burst, and the steering wheel shim¬mies in your palms as the front wheels struggle to put all that torque down cleanly.
43
There is a considerable amount oflag below 1800rpm and the fact that that the DSG doesn't have a torque converter to help mask turbo-lag, means you'll find yourself planning ahead for those short bursts of acceleration that are so much a part of city driving.
Take the Passat out on the highway and the turbo-lag rears its ugly head again; overtaking on single-lane highways needs to be thought about. Of course, you can pull the left paddle a few times, drop the engine into its powerband and rocket ahead, the 'box automatically shifting up when you hit the redline.
The lightning-quick shifts are also part of the reason why the Pass at takes only 11.38 seconds to growl past the 100kph mark. This is also the reason why the 20-80kph run is dispatched in just 6.6 seconds, slightly quicker than a petrol-engined Skoda Superb. But, typical of high¬pressure fuel injection systems, the engine can get quite audible. Disappointingly so. Even when cruising, you are always aware that it's a diesel car.
The Passat is fantastic on an open road. This is a genuine mile-muncher, great at dis- guising speeds. The six-speed 'box keeps the engine spinning at a lazy 2700rpm at 100kph. Road irregularities are dis¬patched without as much as a flinch from the suspension and road and wind noise are very effectively suppressed. It's got good body control too - even when you push the car hard around corners, it will faithfully change direction. But, driving the Passat is quite an impas¬sive experience. The electro¬mechanical steering filters out any feedback from the front wheels, and here lies the prob¬lem. You turn the wheel, the car turns. You get off the throttle, the car slows down. You brake and the car slows down some more. It's hard to criticise a car that does its job so well, but the interaction that marks out a car with real driver appeal simply isn't there. If you enjoy the occasional spirited drive, you will be better off spending a bit more for a BMW 3-series.
VW recommends a high 42psi of pressure for the rear wheels as part of the rough road package. This, combined with low¬profile 16-inch tyres, brings out the shortfalls of this suspension. The low-speed ride is stiff-kneed - the car hates lumpy tarmac and sharp bumps, but what really lets the car down is the noisy suspension. The suspension thumps through bumps and pot¬holes, and a bit too much of this enters the cabin, and makes the Passat feel a touch unrefined.
FUEL ECONOMY ********
9.68kpl in the city and 13.5kpl on the highway are what you can expect from your 1467kg, 2.0-litre Passat. Good for a big diesel saloon, but bettered by the BMW 320d, the Audi A4 TDi and even the Mercedes C220CDI