 2012 VW Passat 2.5L Comfortline. Click image to enlarge |
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Review and photos by Greg Wilson
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2012 Volkswagen Passat
Though it was designed and engineered in Germany, the all-new VW Passat was clearly designed with the needs of North American customers in mind. Now built in Chattanooga, Tennessee instead of Emden and Mosel, Germany, the 2012 Passat sedan (not the coupe-like CC) is bigger and roomier, with a wider cabin, limousine-like rear legroom, and a generously-sized trunk. And with a longer wheelbase and wider track, the new Passat offers a more comfortable highway ride.
VW’s choice of its 170-hp inline five-cylinder engine as the base powerplant instead of the previous 200-hp 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder could be considered a downgrade – but in fact, VW’s five-cylinder is more comparable with its competitors’ base four-cylinder engines: it offers similar horsepower and torque to the Camry, Accord, Mazda6, Altima, and Fusion (but less than the new Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima) and uses Regular grade gasoline instead of Premium.
    2012 VW Passat 2.5L Comfortline. Click image to enlarge |
The new Passat is also more affordable: in Canada, the 2012 Passat’s base price has dropped by some $3,800 to just under $24,000 for Trendline models with the manual transmission. Popular mid-level Passat Comfortline models with automatic transmission now go for under $30,000 compared to over $32,000 for the previous Passat Comfortline sedan, last seen in 2010. The new pricing is also more in line with its competitors.
Volkswagen doesn’t offer a hybrid version of the new Passat, but they do offer the only diesel engine in this class: the venerable 140-hp four-cylinder TDI diesel engine which offers hybrid-like fuel economy numbers of 6.8 L/100 km city and 4.4 L/100 km highway. Top-of-the-line 2012 Passats can be ordered with the same 280-hp 3.6-litre V6 that was available in the previous model.
A five-speed manual transmission comes standard in the Passat 2.5 but a six-speed manual is available in the TDI. An optional six-speed automatic is available with the 2.5 engine, while VW’s six-speed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) is available with the TDI and standard with the V6.
For 2012, front-wheel drive is standard, but 4Motion all-wheel drive is not yet offered. As well, a Passat wagon bodystyle isn’t yet available.
The Passat sedan’s new styling is very similar to the Jetta, and from a distance you might mistake one for the other. The headlight and grille design in particular, follows a common styling theme seen in many other new VWs, including the Jetta, Golf, Eos, Tiguan and Touareg. Some might argue that the Passat’s simple, horizontal grille bars and covered headlights, horizontal body lines, and plain red tail lights are a tad boring, but simplicity of design does have its fans. The new Passat is not trendy and may well outlast the exaggerated sculpture of some of its competitors. Personally, I like the Passat’s understated elegance, both inside and out.
The simple horizontal design of the new Passat’s interior is similar to the Touareg’s. The upper dash and armrests are made of a high quality, soft-touch plastic, and the quality and fit of the dash materials is very good. Standard aluminum-look trim extends across the dash (optional carbon-fibre look or wood trim) while subtle use of chrome trim around the vents, centre stack and shift lever adds a classy touch. The two round backlit white-on-black gauges for the speedo and tachometer are easy to read and are separated by a digital information display which the driver can operate using steering wheel controls.
