Brian Chee’s 2006 Volkswagen Passat Driving Impressions:
Few things in life beat a good engine, which is what the Passat has – a good, maybe great engine, full of life and eager to please. You can feel the quality of the 3.6-liter V6 at speed, you can feel its desire to work in city driving. That makes it doubly shameful to saddle those 280 horsepower and 265 lb.-ft. of torque with a transmission that feels like it chokes the engine’s smooth power with lagging in low gears. Picture it: you’re at a stop sign, and want to accelerate quickly through the intersection. The lag makes you feel as though you’ve taken your oars out of the water for a second or two. The six-speed Tiptronic feels darn unnatural in this application, ugh, and it leads to a relatively frustrating experience behind the wheel – especially in traffic or during stop and go driving. Shifting your own gears with the manual gate helps to offset the experience, but still – you know what you have at throttle, but darn it all, it’s so hard to get there.

Once there, though, once through the initial gears and into the flow of this powertrain, the Passat offers a driving experience few other sedans can offer. The suspension leans toward sport, giving you full feel of the road while easily soaking up bumps and other irregularities. It’s a comfortable car to drive sedately or aggressively, not too soft nor too harsh. The steering is finely tuned, one of the more enjoyable aspects of driving the Passat, and the brakes are capable stoppers. Some may well feel that the pedal placement is too close to the accelerator, and perhaps it is, though I never had any trouble with placing my feet on the right pedal. The Passat makes it easy to see what’s going on around and behind you; especially with what seemed like a nice, large back window. I did wish for bigger rearview mirrors, however.

Overall, the 2006 Volkswagen Passat delivers an above average driving experience, one different than what you’ll find from most sedans on the market in good and bad ways. It’s certainly worth a test drive, especially if you’re looking for something fresh.

Christian Wardlaw’s 2006 Volkswagen Passat Driving Impressions:
What a terrific engine this 2006 Volkswagen Passat has. The turbocharged four is a gem, too, but my money is on this wonderful 3.6-liter V6. It pulls all day long, and sounds great doing it. This sedan is capable of serious speed. Plus, I got impressive fuel economy without babying it. I’m not so fond of the transmission. There’s a delay in response in Normal mode, but in Sport mode the accelerator is touchy and the downshifts are intrusive. Manual shifting works best, but I’m not sure that buyers of this model really want to press paddles or toggle a shifter.

The Passat’s steering is sublime, and the suspension gives you a great feel for the road without transmitting a bunch of impact harshness into the cabin. The brakes work well, but I don’t like the pedal placement. On several occasions, my big right foot either got caught under the pedal as I lifted off the accelerator, or depressed both the brake and accelerator at the same time. Rather disconcerting during a panic stop in the rain, that last. And because I drove the car in the rain, I cannot comment on handling capability, except to say that the front wheels spin quite easily and that the traction control system is not intrusive. I look forward to giving the upcoming 4Motion all-wheel-drive option a try.

One of my favorite things about driving the Passat, or even sitting in it, was the Dynaudio stereo system. I’m no audiophile – in fact, I’ve lost a good deal of my high-frequency hearing thanks to excessive use of headphones as a teenager – but the Passat’s Dynaudio setup is terrific, sounding better than just about anything I’ve ever heard inside an automobile.

Thom Blackett’s 2006 Volkswagen Passat Driving Impressions:
Not long after the Passat left our care we temporarily adopted a V6-powered 2007 Toyota Camry, one of the VW’s primary competitors. What a difference. The Toyota felt plenty powerful and had some upscale appointments, yet it felt more like a Buick than the last Buick I drove – soft suspension, lifeless road manners, and as one staffer mentioned, it was the perfect car for people who don’t like to drive. The Passat, on the other hand, provides a fantastic blend between engaging ride and comfortable cruiser. The 280-horsepower V6 moves out with authority, making a high-speed highway pass as effortless as a lane change in congested city traffic. There’s a weighted feeling to the responsive steering, the braking system is effective with a communicative pedal, and the suspension is tight enough to make for fun cornering while not being sports-car stiff. Drivers will also appreciate the quiet cabin, though the visibility, limited by a steeply angled rear window and three rear headrests that fail to fully retract, could be improved.