The Gen XY Lifestyle
Review: Volkswagen Passat 1.8 TSI Highline
The new Volkswagen Passat is poised to set hearts aflutter despite the competition in its class.
Many car manufacturers of late are fond of producing turbo-charged cars. In the past, forced induction was mainly used for providing that extra surge of power in order to push a car beyond its peak. These days, manufacturers adopt this option to downscale the engine capacity of the car, even more so in order to circumvent certain engine capacity restrictions. In fact, it has also become a noteworthy element that can outclass competition in its respective categories.
As we all know, the rising Certificate Of Entitlement (COE) prices would have burnt a hole in anyone’s pocket by now. For many reasons I wouldn’t be comfortable spending over S$200,000 on a mid-sized luxury sedan that dons a continental badge, but once you have driven a car such as this Passat, you’ll then realise that there really isn’t any need to spend such an amount of money. Truth be told, you can actually get value out of a Volkswagen for under S$200,000.
This is the 2015 European Car of the Year that we are looking at.
In terms of looks, the new Volkswagen Passat is modest looking, nothing like a savaging brute in swift-foot boots. Yet the defining lines portray the sort of discipline that is able to shake the market up. Never mind about the MQB (Modularer Querbaukasten) platform. The Passat B8 is the result of a systematic and non-complex engineering that has made cars ingeniously affordable. The sharply sculpted lines along the margins are masculine and exude maturity, while the widened grille flanked with a pair of lean LED headlights edges down onto a conservative kit that is equipped with regular fog lamps.
As for the rear, the boot is generously spaced with the Volkswagen rear view camera built inconspicuously into the rear hatch release emblem that offers a 130° viewing angle; this is especially important because the car takes up quite a bit of space on all sides of a normal parking lot.
On the inside, the new Passat offers good cabin space, which means it would not be much of a hassle to transport five adults plus driver comfortably to your intended destination. Both driver and the front passenger get electrically operated seats while the ones at the back have the luxury to caress the two-toned cabin interior, traced by classy leather stitching while getting a fair distribution of cold air via the rear air-conditioning. The massaging feature that works along the driver’s spine is fascinating, but never a salient move. In addition, should you require more space for your Lunar New Year goods, the knockdown rear seats are advantageous in granting even more space to the already roomy boot.Another interesting feature that the new Passat has, is the GPS-enabled touchscreen infotainment system that comes with an interactive speech recognition feature that allows the user to control key functions with voice commands.
Nearly everything else meant on the dashboard is neatly arranged on the centre console for ease of access.
On the go, the 1.8-litre turbo-charged engine with 178bhp worth of power is sufficient to ensure that the new Passat is never underpowered, and paired to the smooth shifting 7-speed DSG transmission, one would hardly need to engage the manual mode even when overtaking, although the car does seem a tad fidgety at times when you’re overly enthusiastic in shifting gears yourself, I’ll suggest you leave the shifting to the computer.
What’s pleasing however, is that your family would have little to complain about road irregularities. The suspension system of the new Passat is forgiving and the Traction Control (ASR) handles the bends instinctively. But getting back to the basics, all we really want to know is whether if the new Passat is decent enough for sign off your cheque for. And to be honest, we’re quite impressed with it, as the new Volkswagen Passat possesses a comfort level that outlasts the performance that wouldn’t have mattered in the first place.
In conclusion, as a person shopping for a new ride, it is perfectly all right to assume that you might be more interested in a well-mannered continental sedan that sets the benchmark for the upmarket Asian pretenders and at the same time, gives the more luxurious European mid-range a run for their money. The new Passat is case in point.
