On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, May 12, 2001

Chrome beauty is better than ever

George Tuley/Caller-Times

The Volkswagen Passat GLX is a model that hardly required redesigns. Nevertheless, its lines are smoother, the ride is more comfortable, its engine is more powerful and its interior is shiny and luxurious.

From Day One, the VW Passat has been an enormously likable vehicle, combining as it does gobs of passenger room, impressive scoot, and that indefinable European cachet that has for years propelled adventurous American drivers into the showrooms of the European marques.
   Unhappily, though, the first-generation Passat had some . . . er . . . reliability issues, as did so many VW offerings in the era between the ditching of the Beetle (the old Beetle, that is) in the mid-'70s and the resurgence of Volkswagen's fortunes in the mid-1990s.
   The second-generation Passat, which debuted in the '97 model year, was a key player in that resurgence: While retaining, and in most instances improving upon, the strengths of the original Passat, the second-generation version ditched most of its quirks. And the fact that it was a strikingly handsome customer didn't hurt a bit, either.
   (I'm not the only one to have noticed this, you should know: Even those gimlet-eyed, severely rational guys over at Consumer Reports have waxed rhapsodic in their praise of the made-over Passat. When you can sweep those guys off their feet, you know you're doing something right.)
   'The New Passat'

George Tuley/Caller-Times

The 2001.5 Passat is available with an optional 30-valve V-6, capable of producing 190 horsepower.

   However, resting on one's laurels is a luxury the smart carmaker resists, given the fiercely competitive nature of the automotive marketplace. And in no niche (save, perhaps, for the SUV segment) is the going any tougher than among the midsize-sedans. What was charming, novel and alluring a couple of model years back may be stale and boring today.
   So: While VW didn't see a need to cobble up a radically redesigned Passat, a certain freshening was indicated. The 2001.5 Passat is the result. (You have to love that ".5". So Teutonic.) If decimals give you the willies, Wolfsburg gives you the option of referring to the car as "the New Passat." Like "the New Beetle." Get it?
   Now, just looking at the vehicle, you'd be hard-pressed to see any dramatic departures. To be sure, there's a pinch here, a swoop there, and a curve over yonder, but you'd never mistake it for anything but a Passat.
   Lots of chrome

George Tuley/Caller-Times

The tester features leather seats, wood trim and one feature that may jump out: a great amount of chrome in interesting places like around the shift-stick and cleverly hidden around the trunk.

   There is one touch, though, that may jump out at you: There's appreciably more chrome. OK by me: While one motoring journalist has already registered a certain dismay regarding this departure, I find myself strangely conflicted. But then you must consider that I grew up when glittering '58 Oldsmobiles and Caddies and Chrysler Imperials roamed freely over the veldt. (You know what's really neat on the Passat? A big ol' splash of chrome where the trunklid closes - visible only when you open the trunk. Camouflaged chrome! Whoo!)
   Of course, there's more to it than that. For one thing, additional structural rigidity - fairly impressive when you consider that the Passat was already a right stout conveyance. But then everybody's doing it, right? And it does work: The Passat (dare I say it?) approaches almost Mercedes-like levels of solidity.
   Under the hood

George Tuley/Caller-Times

This VW is not exactly a sport sedan, but it's close. The suspension is effective, and the handling is also quite good.

   There's been progress beneath the hood as well: The entry-level engine for the basic Passat, the GLS, is still a 1.8-liter turbocharged and intercooled four, but it gains 20 horses for 2001.5, boosting the output to 170 hp. As any leadfooted auto aficionado knows, Power Is Good, and More Power Is Better.
   But we're going to motor right past this particular issue, since our tester is the coveted GLX, which gets VW's hardy perennial, the 2.8-cylinder, 30-valve (that's not a misprint), good for 190 hp.
   Now, I know this engine, which I believe I first encountered in the late, immensely likable Corrado, the little four-seat sport coupe that supplanted the Scirocco. In the, shall we say, petite Corrado, it delivered vivid performance. In the considerably weightier Passat, however, it is . . . better than adequate, but a step or two short of exhilaratin'.
   I think this may have something to do with the marriage of this engine with the hi-tech five-speed automatic transmission in our tester. Now, this combo will get you launched just fine - but when you're out on a farm-to-market road and pull out to pass, the downshift seems to take an extra beat or two. You then pick up momentum briskly enough, but to the accompaniment of an odd, growly note from the mechanicals.
   Comfy interior

Volkswagen Passat GLX Four-door, five-passenger front-wheel-drive sedan Base price: $28,750 Price as tested: $30,375 Drivetrain: Dual-overhead-cam, 30-valve fuel-injected 2.8-liter V-6, 190 hp; Five-speed automatic/overdrive transmission Brakes: Front and rear discs, power-assisted, with standard antilock (ABS) EPA mileage: 18 city/26 highway Web site: www.vw.com

   My suggestion? Go for the five-speed manual box. (Or, alternatively, you might just want to consider the newly energized four, with either transmission: After all, it's now within 20 hp of big brother. You should know, by the way, that you'll be feeding your VW premium petrol, whichever way you go.)
   The Passat GLX cannot claim to be a sport sedan - not quite. But it's not far off the mark. VW has done a remarkable job of engineering the handling/ride tradeoff. There's very little front-drive plow, and the suspension does a better than respectable job of filtering out bumps and thumps.
   The interior is sumptuous in a restrained, Germanic sort of way. Leather seating surfaces, wood garnishes and (incidentally) more chrome: The splashy surround for the shifter (which lets you choose between all-automatic or shift-for-yourself modes) is particularly noteworthy.
   The party animals
   Still not satisfied? OK, how about this: If you wish, you can order up 4Motion, VW's techy all-wheel-drive system, on any V-6-equipped Passat.
   Oh, and do not under any circumstances miss the light show: With the gauges illuminated by blue and red lighting, it is a strikingly funky display, suggesting that even as the honing and polishing of VW's products proceeds, there are still some party animals busily at work in the castle.
  
  

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