Happy New Gear

Equipment level remains very high, with powered adjustments for everything – keyless entry and engine start, as well as the thoughtful auto hold feature. The seats are wrapped in a mix of leather and alcantara, something associated with far more premium cars. What has changed for the updates is the instrument cluster and steering wheel. The dials are taken from the Passat CC, the most handsome-looking thing to ever wear the Passat name. The steering comes from the latest Golf.
It takes more than a new tiller and a fascia to justify a review here, of course. More significant is the arrival of the 7-speed dual clutch transmission (DSG in VW-speak) for the 1.8-litre engine. The usual strengths of the 7-speed DSG over the 6-speed automatic apply. It feels more direct, gives better economy (claims 15% less under the urban driving cycle) and delivers improved acceleration (half a second quicker to 100km/h). Not quite so good is how the dry-clutch DSG doesn’t work as well in low speed situations as the traditional automatic, it hesitates. But the gain in efficiency over the already quite good automatic has the effect of making the 160 horses from the engine feel that much stronger.
It was part wisdom – and mostly cost control – that stopped Passat from getting shift paddles. Those things make suggestions of sportiness that the Passat has little interest in. Dynamically, the Passat is capable, safe and comfortable, rather than inspired or particularly sporty. It’s a new model year for the Passat and it’s business as usual.

Tags: Passat 1.8 TSI DSG Volkswagen