VW Passat 1.8TSI SE 2011 Pictures 
gallery (18 photos)
Are you a family man with a steady job and a couple of kids? Do you prefer to drive around at a leisurely pace, thinking about life, rather than rushing around in a car with sporting intentions, flashing your lights at the unsuspecting proletariat? Step this side and consider one of the so-called ‘non-executive’ large sedans, the Volkswagen Passat.
The D-segment is shared between many manufacturers, all fighting for a small piece of the pie. These are the cars seen as alternatives to the ‘establishment’, namely the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4. Vauxhall, Volvo, Mazda, Honda, Skoda, Ford, Citroën and Peugeot are the other main players in this league, and the gaps between these cars are becoming ever smaller. So how does the Passat stack up? Well, the exterior of a car in this segment is perhaps not one of the most important factors, but no-one wants to drive around in something as attractive as a fridge. The Passat’s styling remains understated, with the familiar VW face receiving a restrained make-over which can make it disappear into the crowd. There is nothing shouty about this car, but finer detailing like the daytime running lights, LED’s used in the tail lights, chrome window linings and chrome strips running as ‘supporting lines’ around the car does give the Passat a touch of class. The overall design keeps things simple, but the V-shaped creases on the bonnet do blend into the A-pillars to give it a stronger character. One has to say that the Isignia and 508 has the beating of the Passat in the styling stakes, but then beauty is only skin deep.
The understated elegance is continued on the inside where you are surrounded by quality materials in different variations of black and grey. The faux brushed aluminium centre console is neatly integrated with the dashboard, which uses soft plastics for that extra feeling of quality. The look of these centre console panels is so convincing that you are quite disappointed when you realise that it’s plastic, especially where there is a bit of flex in the panels. Another ‘aluminium’ panel runs across the face of the dashboard, and houses an analogue clock. It’s always risky to use retro features in a modern car, but this little clock suits the character of the car. All you need is a robe and smoking pipe so that you can drive around like it’s 1937. Our test model had the optional touch screen with satnav (yours for £1835) which can also be used to control the radio, CD, auxiliary input and phone. I’m all in favour of touch screens as it cleans up the centre console and is quite intuitive to use in most instances. The optional dual climate control (standard on Sport models) uses VW’s standard set of buttons and knobs and don’t take much getting used to.
Although the interior is not particularly interesting, it’s a comfortable place to be and the designers made an effort with storage areas and other creature comforts. The leather steering wheel hosts buttons for radio, phone and trip computer, and can be adjusted for reach and height, while the six way electrically adjustable leather front seats come with memory function to make your life just that little bit easier. On those dark and cold wintery mornings you can use the heating function to defrost your pants while you sink into the comfy seat, but VW could provide more lateral support, just in case you need to push on. There are lots of covered storage areas, a large glovebox and cup holders for front and rear passengers, while the Mafia will be happy to know that the boot is big enough for at least two adults. It beats the competition (except for the Skoda Superb – 595 litres with seats up) hands down with a storage capacity of 565 litres. Rear legroom is good, and you can even order your Passat with a rear window blind, to protect you from those nasty paparazzi blokes. Feeling twitchy when parking? Just get the optional reversing camera with parking sensors and you’ll never lose another drop of sweat while you wait for that scratching noise.
The overall cabin quality is of a high standard, but there were some uncharacteristic rattles from the dashboard. Road and wind noise are well contained, while the wing mirrors only produce the slightest bit of wind noise. Other standard features include cruise control, hill hold assist, auto dimming rear view mirror and flat tyre indicator, but you have to pay an extra £430 for keyless entry and a whopping £1735 for the leather seats.
Out on the road it is easy to get along with the Passat. The turbo charged 1.8 litre engine revs smoothly in any gear, especially when mated to the ultra-slick seven speed DSG gearbox. Leave it to its own devices in D mode and you’ll hardly notice any gear changes. Swap it over to manual mode and the Passat will let you change up at will, even if you’re reaching the red line. As with the other VW DSG gearboxes it starts changing down gears when you ‘freewheel’ it down hill in D mode, but in general this gearbox suits the nature of the car perfectly. Maximum torque (250Nm) is available from a very low 1500rpm and makes a ‘table top’ graph up to 4200rpm which makes it feel like a diesel, without the rough sound. This gives the Passat great flexibility when needing to overtake or drive around town, and also leads to good fuel consumption figures. VW claims 40.9mpg for the combined cycle, but when you ‘feel the need for speed’ you can expect (still commendable) figures of around 28mpg. To reach the Passat’s maximum power output (158bhp) you have to take it to at least 5000rpm, but there is more than enough torque available low down that it’s rarely necessary to push the engine that far. On the highway you can quietly cruise at 90mph in seventh gear as the Passat will still not have reached 3000rpm.
VW’s chassis engineers must’ve modeled the Passat’s handling characteristics on those of a magic carpet. This is one of the smoothest riding cars I’ve driven in a long while, and can probably put some limos to shame in the way it glides over virtually any rough patch, wrinkle or other undulations in the road. It also starts gliding a bit when you’re faced with strong cross winds, but only small corrections are required to keep you in your lane. Be prepared to hang onto the steering wheel when you get perky in the twisty sections, as you might find the Passat leaning on the door handles as you get over eager. There’s lots of bodyroll and more than enough understeer. The steering is not particularly accurate and the Passat will even lift the rear inside wheel if the corner gets tight on you, however unless you`re the Stig, you are unlikely to notice this. VW is quite wise to opt for comfort in favour of handling as the buyers of Passats are unlikely to be screeching around roundabouts and playing `chicken` with oncoming traffic. The ‘normal’ person will more often than not be sitting in traffic and praying to get to their destination or tootling happily down country lanes of a Sunday. The world becomes a much better place if you do it in a car that makes this as comfortable as possible.
The price of this particular SE model may also make you feel comfortable enough - £21 375, but beware of the options list as the price can quickly jump by a good couple of thousand pounds if you let yourself loose. Relative to most of its competitors the Passat is good value for money, but it should look out for the French who are making a strong comeback after being in the wilderness for a few years.
In short then, if comfort and quality are top of your list, and you’re not too worried about styling and handling, then the Passat could just be the car to take you on a magic carpet ride.
CAR MAKE & MODEL
VW Passat 1.8TSI SE 2011 Pictures
CAR REF NUMBER
39509
VIEWS: 526
TOTAL VIEWS: 1,846
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