The flagship series from Volkswagen divides into a four-door sedan and five-door wagon, each packing either a four-cylinder or V6 engine, manual or automatic transmission with standard front-wheel-drive (FWD) or VW's optional 4Motion AWD.
A base GL Passat feels like it's racked with power, despite only four cylinders in the engine. The feisty dual-cam 1.8-liter plant with turbo-charger and inter-cooler delivers 170-hp.
Coupled to the turbo is a manual five-speed that's a mechanical treat for those who like to do the shifting, but Passat also offers an optional five-speed automatic with Porsche's Tiptronic.
A V6 drops into any version of Passat. Displacing 2.8-liters, the longitudinally-mounted plant pumps out 190-hp with either the manual or automatic.
Passat GLS stocks a long list of comfort gear ranging from air conditioning to power mirrors, cruise control, automatic door locking and power windows, plus a sound system with eight speakers and a CD deck. GLX loads up the luxury gear like leather upholstery and wood trimmings, electronic climate controls, a power sunroof and Monsoon sound with optional multi-disc CD changer.
