Cars Service

New Car 2006 Volkswagen Passat

Introduction

The Passat is Volkswagen’s midsize sedan, designed to offer Volkswagen owners a step up from the Jetta to the near-luxury category with a higher level of performance and sophistication. The first Passat, introduced in 1974, marked a radical departure for Volkswagen at the time with front-wheel-drive and a water-cooled engine. The Passat was completely new for the 1998 model year with more appeal to the design and slightly larger than its predecessor. The Passat is updated again for the 2006 model year.

After six generations and thirteen million examples produced, Volkswagen has enthusiastically pulled the covers off its all-new B6-generation Passat.



Completely redesigned from the ground up, the upcoming Passat will push the boundaries of what is to be expected in the midsize-car class by introducing new technologies, adding unexpected luxuries and advancing quality and overall refinement.

Said to be influenced by todays Passat as well as the sporty Concept C and Concept R, the all-new Passats styling is evolutionary as opposed to revolutionary. Like the recently announced Mk.V Jetta, the B6 Passat bears Volkswagens chrome-plated grille surround, with raised hood and dimpled headlamps.

Tomorrows Passat is also influenced by todays flagship Phaeton, in the form of a rounded, more contemporary shape, wing-mirror-mounted turn signals and rear LED tail lamps. VW has also adopted a body panel shaping similar to, but not quite as dramatic as BMWs flame surfacing technique; convex and concave fenders and doors make the car stand out in a world of bulbous, anonymous family sedans.

Theres some truth to that. The Passat has always been one to go its own way, with its manual transmissions, turbochargers, station wagons, all-wheel-drive, 8-cylinder engines arranged in the shape of a W, key-operated windows, and air-conditioned gloveboxes keeping things interesting. For anyone fed up with the cornucopia of sedate sedans from the Far East and Near West, VW was the only game around.

But by 2005, the somewhat small and slow Passat had fallen out of favor. The 2006 is here to address that, with acres of reinvented machinery riding atop a new platform - one that severed its former ties to the Audi family. News exists on nearly every engineering front, and several versions got lost in the model reshuffling. In other words, everything past the Passats familiar appearance really does suggest eight years worth of work.

New for 2006

The 2006 Volkswagen Passat is redesigned with a longer wheelbase and a wider body featuring a new medallion-shaped grille and clear high-tech headlights. Inside the Passat interior if more functional and ergonomic, with more rear-seat legroom and new rear vents heat and air conditioning. The Passat is powered by a new 200-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged intercooled engine delivering 207 lb-ft of torque from 1800 to 5000 rpm. The 280-hp VR6 narrow-angle V6 engine returns and is mated to a refined six-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic and sport mode. The Passat wagon and 4Motion all-wheel-drive sedan will be available later in the model year.

Not a stripped car

To be sure, VW officials rightfully claim that their Passat has the lowest starting price of any midsize family car sold by a German carmaker in the U.S. Indeed, the Passat is even lower priced than Audis smaller, compact A3 hatchback.

Still, budget-conscious consumers with families may wonder why theyd want to spend so much on a midsize sedan or station wagon. They could, after all, spend less in buying a Chevrolet Impala, Honda Accord or Toyota Camry.

One thing to remember, though: The Passats pricing reflects standard equipment that might be optional on competing sedans.

For example, anti-lock brakes are standard on all Passats, but theyre optional on the base, 2006 Impala. Floor mats are standard in the Passat, but theyre not necessarily included without charge on some other cars. The Passats steering wheel telescopes as well as tilts to help drivers get comfortably situated, and the base car has a nice-looking leatherette upholstery, not cloth.

In addition, the Passat comes with a manufacturers comprehensive new-car warranty that runs for four years/50,000 miles, whichever comes first. This compares with a three-year/36,000-mile manufacturer warranty for a Camry.

The Passat also doesnt skimp on safety features. Even head-curtain airbags and front-seat side airbags are standard, and the Passat earned the top score of five stars in European crash testing.

Inside

Other innovative new technologies available on the B6 Passat include Automatic Distance Control, a sort of intelligent cruise control which uses radar to judge the speed of the vehicle in comparison to others on the road. Should a car ahead be traveling slower, ADC will automatically apply the brakes, preventing a potential collision. When the vehicle is no longer ahead, the car will accelerate, resuming the original preset speed.

Replacing the Monsoon audio system in the current Passat is an even more powerful ten-channel, 600-watt Dynaudio sound system with DVD player and LCD display. The audiophile-approved system is said to turn the Passats interior into a concert hall, but it also doubles as an on-board navigation system and hands-free telephone via a Bluetooth module.

The new, state-of-the-art Climatronic two-zone digital climate control, derived from the Phaeton, is another luxurious option which allows both the driver and passenger to tailor the cabin temperature to individual taste. The Passat will be equipped for the first time with a new intelligent starting and locking system. It does away with the conventional key, and takes the non-traditional form of a one-piece transmitter. When in close proximity to the car, the receiver automatically locks and unlocks the car. The transmitter is then slid into a holder on the dashboard, and the driver can start the car via a touch-button.

Road Test

Volkswagen has shown a recent willingness to tune their cars in line with our tastes, which means the grandest change is with engines. Just when you thought the sedan scene had settled into sanity, Volkswagen goes and punches out its V6 from a perfectly moderate 2.8 liters to a mines-bigger-than-yours 3.6. How does a 47% increase in power sound? Sounds to me like the Passats 280 horses just made it the first of its kind to pull off a 0-60 run in 5.9 seconds. Sounds like the Nissan Altima just got drop-kicked into second place. And as for the engine itself, it sounds terrific.

Technology deserves some credit here. Despite the engines heavy-handed iron construction and a loss of one valve from each cylinder (down from five to four), Volkswagens latest V6 makes more power than ever thanks to direct fuel injection, which lets the fuel bypass the intake port and squirt straight into the combustion chamber, allowing for a sky-high 12:1 compression ratio. All these changes also bless the Passats other engine, which enjoys a rebirth as a newly invigorated 200-horsepower turbo 2.0-liter 4. I sampled it on the Audi A4. It kicks.

Starting with the obvious, the power is there. Heck, its everywhere. Theres never any need to analyze whether you can pass that other car in time; you can. You can also go around town picking fights with nearly any Mustang built between 1964 and 1998 - and winning. The Passat is yet more proof that our society crossed the line of reasonable power in a front-wheel-drive car a long time ago: floor it from a stop and the tires will scream and squeal all the way to 40 MPH; try accelerating through a turn and you may not turn at all. But as long as youre already moving and the road is straight, just slam your foot down and revel in the excess acceleration. (Fun fact: Passats elsewhere on Earth start with 102 horsepower.)

Not that VW packed punch into the Passat and left the rest alone. That would be most un-German. They also did their deed with the suspension, which is now fully independent on every model (instead of just on all-wheel-drive cars) thanks to a new four-link setup in the back. They also swapped out the conventional steering rack for an electro-hydraulic type. In other news, the body is claimed to be no less than 57% stiffer in torsion than before, and the all-season tires are more aggressively sized at P245/45R17, though they also have 225 more pounds to carry.

So even if for slightly different reasons, the Passats ride and handling have the same slightly sporty slant they had before. Freeway ripples can hammer through pretty succinctly, but the suspension is comfortable enough on most roads. And while the all-season tires arent hard to overwhelm, the Passat takes a fairly willing attitude through curves. The switch to electrohydraulic steering sounded ominous, but it somehow comes off as less numb and more natural here than on the new Jetta. However, despite the slippery 0.28 drag coefficient, all that noise coming from the tires and the buffeting wind didnt seem up to autobahn standards. The last Passat did it better.

The Tiptronic automatic transmission abides by all the same rules as before, such as upshifting automatically at redline and downshifting when floored, eliminating it of much of its manual-ness. But it still shifts properly and on-time, and with a total of six gears this year, lets VW one-up (or two-up) every competitor except Mazda and Ford.

The Passat also felt familiar in a few strangely specific ways, even though the last one I drove was of a wholly different breed (a 1.8T 4Motion). Hit the gas and the Passat accelerates normally, then surges ahead once the tachometer swings past 2,000 - yup, just like a turbo engine. Turbos are fun, but wouldnt someone buying a V6 Passat expect linear V6 behavior? Also, VW still hasnt figured out how to program normal behavior into this cars brakes. The pedal is still squashy at times, especially when you press down more than halfway and the antilock kicks in, sending panicky pulsations through the pedal and making you feel like youre about to crash (though with the standard antilock and ESP stability systems, you probably wont).

So even with all the changes, weve gotten a Passat that manages to drive a lot like the last one. Mostly, thats an accomplishment.

Quality concerns

VW didnt fare well in some recent quality studies.
For example, in the 2005 J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study of owners, VW was fourth from the bottom in the number of reported problems in only the first three months of ownership.

This is the poorest showing of all European marques and was only a slight improvement over the previous years ranking of second from the bottom. In 2003, VW also was below the industry average in this Initial Quality Study.

Meantime, in a look at longer-term issues, VWs from the 2002 model year ranked fourth from the bottom and worst among European brands, according to Powers 2005 Vehicle Dependability Study. The study measures problems owners report with their vehicles over the first three years of ownership.

"The Superiorly-Styled Sedan"

Pros:

The styling - interior and exterior - sets this car apart from not only its normal competitors (Accord and Camry) but also from its higher-priced rivals (BMW, Lexus, Infiniti). However, VW also drastically improved the functionality along with the form in the 2006 design. Cup holders, umbrella storage, trunk release, seat adjustments, radio controls, etc. are all very well laid out and add to the pleasant experience of getting around town in the Passat.

Cons:

Unfortunately, it is not the ecomonically-wise decision to go with the Passat over the Accord or Camry. With the requirement to use premium fuel and synthetic oils along with the steep sticker price, it costs to get in the well-styled Passat. However, it should be noted that many features are standard on the Passat that are normally upgrades on similar cars (leatherette, ABS, side air bags, turbo engine, etc.).

Overall Review:

The Passat breaks the mold in the "me-too" family sedan market. VW clearly decided it wanted the Passat to stand apart from the competition, and they succeeded. Does this make it a better car than the Accord, Camry, or other competitors? Not necessarily, but for the customer interested in a superior-styled, high performance sedan that doesnt want to spend the money on a BMW, Audi, or Lexus, the Passat is the clear winner. No one will argue that an Accord or Camry would be "cheaper-to-own" vehicles due to better gas mileage, cheaper maintenance, standard fuel, and lower sticker-prices, but the Passat serves as a strong player that should be considered. The 2.0T engine is a blast to drive around town, the interior styling (red-and-blue lights!) is a joy to experience, and the exterior looks compete with the high-end cars.