Volkswagen Passat. Farewell. Management Fleet

We bid farewell to the Volkswagen Passat, not the most scintillating of vehicles but all you will ever need.

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Driver's Log
Date acquired: November 2013
Total kilometres: 9934
Kilometres this month: 1282
Costs this month: $0
L/100km this month: 11.2

Goodbye, trusty Volkswagen. You were not the most exciting of cars, but hot damn you were useful. With your comfortable ride and excellent Bluetooth phone music-reading skills, you provided an excellent day-to-day motoring experience. And your capacious boot could swallow a horse. Well, probably. A large stringed instrument though, for sure. And a photographer on crankandpiston photo shoots.

We’ve spent three months with the Passat – three months that saw, if we’re honest, little excitement from people before they drove it, but then raised eyebrows and impressed faces after the fact. Several members of the team spent time in the car, and all of them came back commenting on how much better it was than they expected.

The name Passat doesn’t conjure up much enthusiasm, even if our test car is named Sport (more for trim than performance promises). But it delivers on everything it’s realistically going to need in the real world. People don’t buy a Passat for scintillating performance or handling, but it’s not bad at either of those things. Sure, it’s tuned for comfort more than cornering, and the steering is somewhat vague compared to a Golf, but it whips around U-turns well and you never feel disconnected from what’s going on underneath you.

The five-cylinder engine pulls strongly when you’re firing the VW onto the freeway, or whipping past a truck on a single lane road. And honestly, that’s all you need it for. It doesn’t spark the desire to drive into the mountains on a weekend, but it does have understated good looks, exceedingly comfortable seats, and a thoroughly decent stereo. And during our time with the car, we had absolutely no issues at all.

This is the reliable, practical, well-made saloon that comes with everything you would need for stress-free motoring. For all crankandpiston’s focus on cars that set our world on fire, sometimes you just want a cocoon for the commute, and for the money, there’s not much better than the Passat.

– FULL GALLERY OF SHOTS AVAILABLE HERE – CLICK –

Volkswagen Passat Sport
Engine: Inline 5-cyl / 2480cc
Power: 170hp @ 5700rpm
Torque: 177lb ft @ 4250rpm
Transmission: Six-speed tiptronic transmission
Front suspension: McPherson struts with lower wishbones / anti-roll bars front and rear
Rear suspension: Four-link suspension with separate spring and shock absorber arrangement / anti-roll bars front and rear
Brakes: Disc brakes front and rear / front discs ventilated / ABS / EBPD / brake assist system / electromechanical parking brake
Wheels: 18in Bristol alloys front and rear
Tyres:  235/45 R18 front and rear
Weight (kerb) 1483kg
0-100kph: 9.2sec
Top speed: 190kph
Price: $24,900

Categories: Fast Fleet

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