SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Plain sailing in a 2016 Volkswagen Passat 1.4 TSI Comfortline a/t

Wins hands-down

Posted: 25 March 2016

The numbers
Basic price: R410 800
Engine: 1395 cc, belt-driven DOHC, 16-valve, direct injection, turbocharged
Power: 110 kW between 5000 and 6000 rpm
Torque: 250 Nm between 1500 and 3000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 8.4 seconds
Maximum speed: 220 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.4 l/100 km
Tank: 66 litres
Boot: 586 litres
Warranty: 3 years / 120 000 km
Maintenance: 5 years / 100 000 km; with servicing at 15 000 km intervals

We reckon the biggest reason VW doesn’t sell more Passats is because they look too “nice.” They’re built long, low and neat and have widely smiling faces. If, on the other hand, they were restyled to look chunky and angry like Three-series BMWs and had that brand’s particular mystique, sales would probably soar.

That was our gut feeling after driving, back to back, a BMW 318i with eight-speed automatic and a Passat 1.4 TSI with seven-speed DSG. The number of gears is not decisive; it’s how those gears work and VW’s ‘box wins hands-down. The Passat is also more spacious, more comfortable, more powerful, lighter on fuel and quicker. It offers better value for money and has a bigger boot. For all practical purposes, there’s nothing to choose handling-wise either.

According to Volkswagen everything is new; design, technologies and engines. It’s marginally shorter than its predecessor but its wheelbase is 79 millimetres longer for more passenger space and a bigger boot. The new car sits 14 mm lower but was plumped out by 12, while shedding up to 85 kg in body mass.

At the same time, both front (McPherson strut) and rear (multilink) suspensions were reworked to make them stronger, lighter and more effective. Safety systems were upgraded to again win five stars against ever-tightening EuroNCAP standards while BlueMotion equipment includes automatic stop-start and braking energy recovery.

Three petrol engines were available at launch. That’s the 1.4-litre fitted to our test car and offered with either a six-speed manual transmission or seven-cog DSG, a 1.8 with the same automatic box and a 2.0-litre with six-gear DSG. A 130-kilowatt version of the 2.0 TDI is expected later this year.

Three trim lines, Comfortline, Highline and R-Line, are restricted progressively to each engine size although an R-Line package (special bumpers, grille with R-Line logo, tail pipe trim panels integrated into the rear bumper, side sill extensions, 18” wheels and a glossy black diffuser) can be added to either of the cheaper models. The “genuine” R-Line kit on the top model further boasts a lowered sports chassis, different 18” wheels, XDS+ differential lock and dynamic chassis control.

Lights and bumpers, at both ends, are noticeably different from those on the old car. Internal changes are less subtle. Although the centre console and gear shifter look fairly similar to the old ones, the updated displays and new, full-width, air vents are spectacularly different. The latter mimic the car’s grille, with its horizontal slats, while extending beyond the all-virtual instrument pod to the driver’s door.

Those virtual instruments can be set to offer four different views. The first is Classic with normal-looking gauges, second is Consumption and Range with current and “since start” fuel consumption and expected travelling distance to empty. Third is Efficiency showing average consumption and blue graphics that encourage more frugal driving and finally, with Navigation, the instruments shrink slightly and move farther apart to accommodate the map screen between them.

While we’re playing with settings, three driving modes plus an Individual (programmable) one offer choices between Normal, Sport and Eco with accompanying changes to throttle mapping and engine management. Used in conjunction with the DSG gearbox, Eco mode adds the increasingly popular coasting function that switches the engine down to idle, when demand is minimal, for added economy.

While on the subject of economy, this car is one of few that shows only “since start” average fuel consumption on its trip computer. Just as we were thinking rude thoughts on that point, we discovered that, if you dig deeply enough, you can recover long term- and since-refuel consumption figures from its innermost archives. We suggest you make that function  more accessible, VW.

What impressed us immediately, after recently driving a number of cars with brutal suspensions and hard runflat tyres, was how comfortable this Passat was. Speed humps, rumble strips and rough asphalt were all treated disdainfully. And before you think: “Oh, so it handled like a Dachshund on a roller skate,” let us put your minds at ease. It didn’t. Not one little bit. We drove it aggressively through our favourite twisty back roads and weren’t the least disappointed. Refer to paragraph two above.

Performance was brisk, lively and tractable but one expects that of any turbocharged engine. It also loafed along contentedly at about 2100 rpm for 120 km/h in top gear with smooth and almost instinctive kick-down operation. Manual override is courtesy of stick or paddles.

The boot lid opens, by pushing a button on the fob or with the rubber pad underneath, to reveal a neat rectangular space equipped with four lashing rings, a suspended bag hanger, a light and a 12-volt socket. The hinge arms move within boxed sections so they cannot foul your suitcases, there are remote releases for the rear seatbacks and the spare is a fully sized alloy wheel.

Our tall tester rated head-, knee and foot space at eight, ten-plus and eight out of ten respectively. His first thought was that this would make an excellent wedding car with its generous big-skirt room. The central armrest opens to reveal a pair of cup holders but there is also a flap that turns the space into a handy load-through. Naturally, three head restraints and full belts are fitted, although the central tunnel is too big to allow any but the smallest middle passenger.

Overall fit and finish was to the expected VW standard, with doors and boot lid closing with a satisfying thump. Seats were comfortable and supportive while space for four was plentiful. We really liked this car, but might not buy one for ourselves. It looks too “nice” to take seriously.

Test car from VWSA press fleet


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

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