By Frank S. Washington
CHATTANOOGA, TN – It may sound strange but we came here to drive Volkswagen’s 2012 Passat midsize sedan. The reason VW picked this venue is because the German automaker recently built a plant here that will assemble roughly 150,000 Passats annually.
That’s significant, not what the plant will do but what it allows Volkswagen to do — cut the Passat’s base by $7,000. It’s called the currency exchange rate and because future Passats sold in North America will be built in this market and not in Germany VW will not have to contend with it.
But there’s a lot more to this than the exchange rate between the euro and the dollar. Transaction prices for the old Passat were at the top end of the midsize car market, hovering around $27,000. With a new starting price of $19,995, the 2012 Volkswagen Passat now has a starting price close to the bottom of the midsize sedan price range and extends to the upper tier of the segment.
What we’re witnessing at VW is a major market reposition. The company vows to triple its U.S sales by 2018 to 1 million units annually. That means it must enter the mainstream rather than remain a niche player at the upper end within each of its competitive segments. With every redesigned vehicle that VW introduces, it cuts the price and broadens its offering in that segment.
For example, the Passat has 15 different price points depending on model and equipment. The 2.5-liter five cylinder Passat engine makes 170 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque and starts at $19,995.
Purest will bemoan the loss of the two-liter four cylinder turbo engine in the last model but the five cylinder engine needs regular gasoline versus premium fuel for the turbo and I think that will matter to couples and individuals protecting their pocketbooks from soaring fuel prices.
Add to that the 2.0-liter turbocharged direct injection diesel engine powered Passat which starts at $25,995 and the competition promises to get interesting. The only diesel in the segment, this engine generates 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. What’s more, VW says it can get 43 mpg on the highway and it gives the 2012 Volkswagen Passat a range of 795 miles.
As the flagship Passat is the 3.6-liter VR6. It starts at $28,995. The six cylinder engine generates 280 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. This powerpant puts the Passat VR6 near the head of the segment in terms of oomph.
The 2.5-liter can be mated to a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox. The diesel can be equipped with a six-speed manual or a dual clutch six speed automatic. And the 3.6 VR6 comes with the dual clutch automatic transmission as standard equipment.
The Passat sported VW’s new horizontal grille and the wide design cue was carried over into the interior. The car’s instrument layout was refreshingly simple.
The 2012 Passat was four inches longer than the model it replaced. It was also a bit wider and a bit taller than the old model. The extra length translated into three more inches of leg room in the rear seat area. I had no problem getting into the back seats and I had plenty of leg and head room
That extra length also meant that the 2021 Volkswagen Passat had a longer wheelbase. And on the Interstates and state highways that we took on our drive to Nashville, the Passat’s ride was exceptionally smooth.
The car was also quiet, comfortable and responsive. I tested the 2.5 liter engine as well as the diesel. Both impressed me in terms of their miserly gas consumption. Both of my test cars had automatic transmissions and both gear boxes proved effective here in the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
As Volkswagen cuts prices and broadens its offering, one of the concerns is that the quality of the materials its uses in its vehicles as well as the quality of the product itself will go down. My initial impression didn’t find either being the case.
The Passat retained its air of high quality through precise fit and finish found in Volkswagen interiors. VW will offer free routine maintenance for the first 3 years or first 36,000 miles of Passat when the car goes on sale this fall.
Still, I plan to test drive The 2012 Volkswagen Passat once again on urban streets and expressways and in shopping mall parking lots to get a comprehensive view of its street credibility.
Frank S. Washington is managing partner/editor of AboutThatCar.com and AboutThatCarBlog.com.
This was printed in the August 14, 2011 – August 27, 2011 Edition.
