Fast Facts

Verdict:
The Passat CC is a desirable alternative to a conventional coupe, and it’s proof that you can have style without sacrificing practicality

Looks striking from all angles, soft ride, classy interior scores high on the feel-good scale

V6 doesn’t feel like it has 300bhp, vague steering, feels big from behind the wheel

The Passat CC isn’t so much a cut-price Mercedes CLS as it is a signal that VW is moving in on Audi and BMW

By Colin Yong in Munich, Germany

Don’t be confused by this car’s CC name. The two letters might be commonly used on coupe-cabriolets with a retractable hardtops, but here they denote a stylish four-door coupe version of the Volkswagen Passat.

Stylish, a Passat? You’d better believe it. VW’s mid-sized saloon and estate range has long been synonymous with quality and refinement, but stunning visual appeal has never been offered, even as an option.

That’s now changed with the launch of the CC. While it shares its underpinnings and four-door layout with the standard Passat, it’s slightly longer and wider, plus a good deal (50mm) lower.

This is the same formula Mercedes-Benz used to create the CLS from the E-Class, and the results are similarly impressive. The CC is a genuine object of desire, and if anything is better-proportioned than its more expensive German counterpart.

Two engine options will be available when the car is launched in Singapore in the third quarter of this year – the 3.6-litre V6 tested here and the familiar 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder unit from the Golf GTI.

Both are hooked up to six-speed gearboxes but only the V6 model has all-wheel drive.