First Drive – 2012 Volkswagen Passat a Family Friendly Winner

Posted by Michael Waterman on June 20th, 2011

Nashville, TN – Think back to high school. There was a kid in your class who was already popular, but wanted to become really popular. So he or she transformed over summer vacation and bought more stylish clothing, got a new hairstyle and showed up for the first day of classes with a better car to ferry friends to and from the first fall football game.

The 2012 Volkswagen Passat is kind of like that. Bigger. Better. A bit more stylish but not overly so.

Volkswagen plans to more than double their current annual sales to 800,000 vehicles per year by 2018. To do so, they’ll need to compete against best-selling family cars like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. In other words, they need to become more popular. A lot more popular.

Doubling your volume is a lofty goal in any business and the redesigned and American-made 2012 Volkswagen Passat is the likely answer to VW’s family car sales equation.

At least that’s some of the thinking behind the updated 2012 Passat that is larger and more family friendly that ever before. We recently had the chance to drive the Passat in both Tennessee and Colorado where we put everything from climate controls to seat comfort and engine performance to the test.

The first drive was from Chattanooga to Nashville, Tennessee on a 95-degree day. It’s a 130-plus mile journey that was spent primarily on two-lane country roads that generated three lasting impressions:

1. The new Passat is an American-made sedan that should resonate with family car buyers (especially those who want to buy a car that boasts that 85-percent of its content is truly made in America).
2. The new Passat starts just under $20,000, which moves this German-engineered car into middle-America pricing.
3. The new Passat looked right at home in the Tennessee countryside, which makes perfect sense since the car is manufactured in VW’s new factory that has already created more than 1,800 jobs and will ultimately put 2,500 Americans to work.

In other words, the new Passat appears to be a likely hit among American drivers who will cross-shop the Passat against the Accord, Camry and the upstart Hyundai Sonata.

Passat is Not a Bigger Jetta

Some may comment that the new Passat is really just an extended Jetta. Perhaps that’s a fair assessment from outside the car. But look more closely and you’ll see a higher-end interior and improvements across the car. In fact, you won’t mistake the interior for anything other than a VW. The layout is simple, concise and very clean. All VW trademarks.

Three engines differentiate the model lineup and all include an SE and SEL trim (the base S trim is only available on the entry-level Passat). The base 2.5-liter, inline 5-cylinder engine that will be the volume seller of the bunch makes 170 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. Step up to the TDI or clean diesel variant and the 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine and horsepower drops to 140 but torque increases to 236 pound-feet (more about the TDI Passat later). The highest-end engine is the 3.6-liter VR6 that boasts 280 horses and makes 258 lb-ft of torque. Prices start at $19,995 for the 2.5-liter S model and rise all the way to $32,950 for the 3.6-liter SEL.

I spent most of my Nashville drive in the 3.6-liter Premium that features all the bells and whistles like leather seats, sunroof, keyless entry, navigation system, wood grain interior, 8-way power seats, upgraded Fender sound system, 18-inch wheels and interior chrome accents.

A Bigger, Better Family Car

Americans like to live large. Some will credit our affinity for fast food for our girth. Others will defensively claim “we’re just big boned.” Still others might peg our larger stature on good genes. Regardless of your stand, Americans needed a bigger Passat before they would buy this car in big numbers. Volkswagen listened to customer feedback and the result is a Passat that is better suited to the needs of the typical American family of 3.14 people.

The new Passat is four-inches longer than the old Passat and two inches longer, a half-inch wider, and a half-inch taller than the Toyota Camry. It’s in the back seat where that extra space is most noticeable: two inches more legroom than the Camry. That rear passenger legroom also bests the Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata. And that passenger space may ultimately prove to be the most compelling reason why the Passat transforms showroom browsers into Passat drivers.

On a hot Tennessee day, the 3.6L SEL Premium Passat proved comfortable to both driver and passenger. Quiet, too. With the radio down and windows up, the Passat is remarkably quiet. That became extra apparent when I dropped the windows in a twisty canyon and heard the nearly overwhelming buzz of millions of cicadas cheering us down the road (at least that’s the way I heard it during the 2011 Cicada Invasion).

Speaking of sound, Volkswagen teamed with Fender for the new head unit that boasts Fender sound. Frankly, I was a bit underwhelmed. The sound from the nine-speaker Panasonic system is good, no doubt. But if you’re expecting the gutty tones of a Stratocaster through a Fender Twin-Tube Reverb amp, you’ll be disappointed. The Fender/Panasonic system simply isn’t as spectacular as I hoped it might be. But the navigation system and radio is easy to manage. It takes just a few moments to master the radio thanks to thoughtfully placed buttons and dials. The Fender system is available on higher-end trims only.

At our stop in Lynchburg, Tennessee, home of the Jack Daniels distillery, Volkswagen lined up a 2011 Honda Accord, 2011 Toyota Camry and 2011 Hyundai Sonata. At a glance, the Sonata is the most highly stylized and looks the most aggressive. The Honda and Toyota appear relatively sedate. The Passat falls in the middle ground, which is likely the right place. Not too edgy. Not boring either. Yet when it comes to interior layout, the Passat easily wins the battle. The buttons are logically placed yet minimal. The wood trim is tasteful. The steering wheel feels right-sized for driving.

Best-in-Class Fuel Economy with the Passat TDI

My second chance to drive the new Passat was in the Colorado Rockies on the road to Mt. Evans that tops out at 14,130 feet above sea level. I had the ideal Passat at my disposal for high-elevation driving: the 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI SEL Premium.

American drivers haven’t yet embraced diesel engines in large numbers. If you’ve resolved to do what you can to drive greener by improving fuel economy, it may be time to board the diesel train VW is driving.

Here’s what you need to know about Volkswagen’s 2.0-liter TDI Clean Diesel engine: it boasts lower horsepower numbers but higher torque ratings. Why does that matter? Because torque is the initial blast of energy that gets your car moving. On the Volkswagen Passat TDI, you can expect 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque between 1,500 and 2,500 rpm. That may look a bit anemic on paper, but that rapid initial acceleration grabs your attention when you’re behind the wheel. Especially when you’re driving at high elevations where the air is thin enough to cause naturally aspirated engines to hack and wheeze.

As I wound up the road, the turbodiesel engine forced more air into the engine to keep it respirated and happy. I watched a number of fairly powerful V6 engines turn downright sluggish in this rarified air. But the TDI had no problem and proved willing and anxious to zip up the winding mountain roads with each heavy push of the pedal. Keep the TDI engine in mind if you live at higher altitude.

Whether you live at a beach house or in a tent high in the Rockies, the fuel economy of the Passat TDI will impress. While the S, SE and SEL models achieve 21 mpg in the city and up to 32 mpg on the highway, the Passat TDI in all trims returns 31 mpg in the city and 43 or better on the highway. We know people who can consistently return 50 mpg or more on the highway with the TDI engine, which places the Passat TDI in the same neighborhood as the class-leading Toyota Prius in terms of top-end fuel economy.

The Passat TDI also boasts a best-in-class cruising range of 795 miles. That will let you drive from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City (about 689 miles) and still have room in the tank to get up and down from the ski resorts before you’re forced to refill.

Impressive.

The Vehix View

Volkswagen has engineered a family friendly Passat that is a worthy competitor to the Accord, Camry and Sonata. It has legroom. It has lotsa cup holders. It sports German driving dynamics and it’s nearly all American made. Sales of the Volkswagen Jetta are up nearly 70 percent year to date. Will the Passat add fuel to that VW sales fire? I think so.

The entry price for the 2012 Passat starts under $20,000 and VW expects about 75-percent of buyers to choose the more affordable 2.5-liter engine vehicles. That leaves 25-percent who will step up to higher trims like the well-equipped 3.6-liter SEL Premium and TDI models I drove that fall somewhere between $26,000 and $33,000. Were I buying the new Passat myself, I would opt for the TDI SE with Sunroof that starts at $27,895. It’s a great mix of fuel economy and comfort in a competitively priced mid-size family sedan that boasts a German nameplate but will look right at home in your Topeka, Kansas driveway.

Related posts:

1. 2012 Volkswagen Passat Priced Under $20K
2. 2012 Volkswagen Beetle Priced Under $19 Grand
3. VW TDI Drives 1,531 Miles On One Tank
4. Diesels Boost Volkswagen Sales
5. Volkswagen XL1 Concept is the Worlds Most Efficient Car
6. Ford’s EcoBoost Engine Family to Include 1.0-liter 3-Cylinder
7. 2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI vs. 2011 Toyota Prius (Vehix March Motor Madness)
8. Review – 2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Feels Right for Utah’s Roads

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