New 2006 Passat Sedan

Just delivered
Originally uploaded by cvilly.

I'm part of the VW Alpha Drivers program. It's a marketing campaign that VW created to promote the new Passat. To date I have gotten sneak peeks at photos and videos of the new Passat, but the real payoff is when they deliver the car to your front door.

I got 24 hours with the new Passat sedan. They delivered it to my door at 11 am, filled with gas. "Here are the keys. Here's how to start it. Here's how to set the parking brake. Have fun!" I did. I drove it over to the Sausalito Art Festival, into San Francisco and up and down the local highway. The new Passat is luxurious. It feels like a much more expensive car than the previous model. The ride is firm, but not too firm and as a result handling is improved. The displacement has been bumped up to 2.0L for the 4-cylinder which now produces a hefty 200 horsepower. It's a solid car and it gets lots of looks. Of couse, after they sell 2 million of these they'll be like the current Passat, a nice sedan for people who wouldn't be caught dead in a Camry.

If you're in the market for one of these, be prepared for some sticker shock. The car looks and feels like an expensive import because it is one. As tested, my Passat was $32,000 fully-loaded with leather, premium stereo, DVD navigation and sport package.

Conclusion? The new Passat is a very nice car that is probably worth the money, but when VW goes over the $30,000 mark, I start thinking about BMWs.