Volkswagen Passat 130TDI 2013: Road Test

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $46,490
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): N/A
Crash rating: Five-star ANCAP
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 5.4
CO2 emissions (g/km): 142
Also consider: Mazda Mazda6 GT Wagon (from $47,370); Peugeot 508 Allure HDi Wagon (from $45,990); Ford Mondeo Zetec Wagon (from $41,240); Hyundai i40 Tourer Elite (from $41,590)

The Volkswagen Passat wagon is best described as a comfortable and cruisey family hauler. It does what you ask of it most of the time, is spacious, refined, and has that sought-after European appeal.

It's not perfect, with a some minor turbo lag and transmission response issues, and could be accused of being a little dull in its execution. But for the most part it's hard to criticise.

With more than 15 million units built globally, the Passat is one of the world's best-selling models. For the first eight months of 2013 it was the third-best-selling medium car in Australia, behind the Toyota Camry and the Mazda Mazda6, indicating strong demand for a European alternative to the Japanese mainstays.

The vehicle on test is the Passat 130TDI Highline wagon, which replaced the 125TDI earlier in 2013 with a more powerful, and more frugal, 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine.

Priced at $46,490 it commands a $2000 premium over the sedan, but brings more practicality and more boot space with the rear 60:40 split fold seats folded down.

It offers 603 litres of boot space (565L in the sedan) which expands to a sizeable 1730 litres when flipping the rear seats, facilitated via buttons on the top of the rear seats or levers in the boot.

Fitting a top-tether baby seat wasn't too much trouble, and left plenty of room for three adults for a day trip to the country with no problems in terms of head and leg room. It also proved adept at swallowing a 6’8” surfboard with one of the rear seat sections folded down.

It was interesting comparing the 2013 Passat (which was updated in 2010 with a major facelift) with a 2007 Passat a mate of mine owns, which revealed a handful of differences. The removal of the business card/coin drawer hidden in the middle of the dash is no more, which was a bit of a shame. But moving the electric park brake button from behind the steering wheel to the transmission tunnel was a good move.

The HVAC controls also look expectedly more modern in the 2013 Passat and the exterior eschews the curvy head and brake lights for more angular designs. There's also a bit more chrome trim on the body of the newer Passat.

Standard features on the 2013 Volkswagen Passat 130TDI Highline are extensive, with an dual-clutch transmission, 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, auto wipers and headlights, Bluetooth phone and music streaming and leather seats all as standard.

Other standard inclusions, such as heated front seats with partial electric adjustment, an electronic parkbrake with auto-hold function, front and rear parking sensors and a rear view camera make driving less stressful. The electric tailgate is also a nice touch.

Eight airbags, stability control and anti-lock brakes contribute to the wagon's five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.

It's not the most affordable turbo-diesel wagon in its class, with models like the similarly equipped Hyundai i40 Tourer Elite (from $41,590 plus ORCs) and Ford Mondeo Zetec (from $41,240 plus ORCs) offering strong value. The Passat diesel is one of the most expensive wagons in this class, but the beefy engine belts outs 5kW more power and 30Nm more torque than the previous model for a total of 130kW/380Nm, giving the car plenty of thrust.

It's also one of the few models in this class to offer a fuel-saving six-speed DSG transmission which, together with an idle stop-start system, sees claimed fuel economy drop from 5.7L/100km to 5.4.

After spending a week with the car it managed impressive economy. A large majority of test was freeway driving but I returned the car to Volkswagen with 587 kilometers on the trip meter and the fuel gauge was a whisker under half full. Assuming I used 36 litres of the 70 litre tank, that's about 6.1L/100km. Getting 1000km from one tank of fuel would have been easy.

It's a great highway cruiser and feels more at home loping along at 103km/h than it does in cut and thrust traffic. At 100km/h in sixth gear the Passat wagon was using around 4.7L/100km on a level stretches of road, the engine ticking over at 1850rpm. But the sharpness of the DSG transmission, combined with the turbo lag of the 2.0-litre diesel engine, made for less than smooth operation during my first day commuting.

The steering is light, making the car easy to turn, and in terms of handling the Volkswagen has good grip and is easy to place on the road. That said the competition has moved up since the Passat hit the scene, and it can't match the likes of the new Mazda6 in terms of driver involvement.

I personally had no problem with the leather seats, finding them comfortable over longer distances, but a mate who spent three hours in the car with me heading to the surf and back said they were "The most uncomfortable seats I've sat in for many years".

The Passat has aged very well. It has a premium look and feel, is generally refined in operation and has impressive levels of practicality and safety. The recently upgraded engine gives it loads of muscle too, ensuring it's one of the more athletic diesels in the medium car segment.

This Passat nameplate turns 40 years old in 2013, and I reckon it's probably going to appeal buyers around the same age. It's got a smart look, despite remaining unchanged since 2010, and has the competency to keep Volkswagen's fires burning until the eighth generation model arrives next year.

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