Volkswagen will ultimately sell the redesigned 2006 Passat in four different flavors available on both sedan and station wagon body styles, but initially only the 2.0T Value Edition and 2.0T sedan are rolling into showrooms. The Passat 3.6L arrives in October of 2005, followed by the 3.6L 4Motion all-wheel-drive sedan just in time for winter snowstorms, and finally the wagon in February of 2006.

With a starting price of $22,950 plus a $615 destination charge, the 2006 Volkswagen Passat 2.0T Value Edition lives up to its name. Standard features include air conditioning, power windows with one-touch operation for the front glass, power door locks with remote entry, power heated side mirrors with integrated turn signals, cruise control, a tilt/telescopic steering wheel, and an eight-speaker stereo with a CD/MP3 player. But the Passat 2.0T Value Edition gets even better. It also comes with floor mats, a trip computer, leatherette upholstery, a 60/40 split folding rear seat with a pass through, and a center console bin with cooling capability.

Loaded with safety gear, the Passat 2.0T Value Edition includes a tire pressure monitor, ABS with brake assist and brake drying, stability control, eight airbags including front and rear side curtains and front side-impact restraints, and crash-active head restraints. A full-size spare tire is tucked into the trunk, while the Value Edition’s cabin is spruced up with fake metallic trim bits and manually adjustable front comfort seats with height adjustment and lumbar support for the driver and front passenger. An immobilizing theft deterrent system and a self-draining umbrella storage slot in the door panel round out the list of impressive standard features on the 2.0T Value Edition.

Rear side airbags ($350) and a Tiptronic automatic ($1,075) are the only options for the Value Edition. If we were in the market for a new 2006 Volkswagen Passat, this is the one we’d buy, and immediately dump the 16-inch steel wheels with their plastic wheel covers and 215/55 all-season tires for a nice set of rims and rubber. Clearly, the Passat 2.0T Value Edition represents the best value.

But, if you want to move up to the $23,900 (plus destination) Passat 2.0T to gain access to luxury features, you’ll be rewarded with 16-inch alloy wheels with wheel locks, chrome accents on the side window frames, rear reading lights, ambient lighting for the interior, and power recline and lumbar functions for the front seats as part of the starting price.

The 2006 Volkswagen Passat 2.0T’s options are bundled into packages. Package 1 ($1,625) includes premium sound with a six-disc in-dash CD changer and satellite radio (XM or Sirius), and a power sunroof. The Luxury Package ($2,825) has that stuff plus leather seats, 10-way power and heated front seats, a multi-function steering wheel, and a leather shift knob. If you want to skip the packages and just add heated front seats, you can with the Cold Weather Package ($225). A 600-watt Dynaudio stereo system ($1,000), 17-inch alloy wheels with 235/45 all-season tires ($400), a DVD navigation system ($1,800), and rear side airbags ($350) are stand-alone options. The Tiptronic automatic adds $1,075. Load the Passat 2.0T up with all the goodies, and you’re spending more than $32,000.

For that coin, you could upgrade to the Passat 3.6L for $29,950 plus the $615 destination charge. The Passat 3.6L adds chrome grille slats, 17-inch alloy wheels with 235/45 all-season tires, a premium sound system with a six-disc in-dash CD changer, and an in-glass radio antenna to the 2.0T’s standard equipment list. Plus, there’s a standard Tiptronic automatic transmission, and a 3.6-liter V6 with more power and torque than the standard turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine.

As with the Passat 2.0T, options for the Passat 3.6L are mainly grouped into packages. Luxury Package 1 ($2,750) includes leather comfort seats with 12-way power front adjustment and three-position memory for the driver’s seat and mirrors, walnut wood trim on dash and shifter, a multi-function steering wheel, automatic headlights, fog lights, rain-sensing wipers, heated front seats, heated washer nozzles, Climatronic dual-zone automatic climate control, a Homelink universal transmitter, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, manual rear side window shades, and a trunk storage net. The Sport Package 1 ($3,050) includes the same stuff, but replaces the comfort seats with better bolstered sport seats, kills the wood trim in favor of a leather shift knob and aluminum dash trim, adds a three-spoke sport steering wheel with shift buttons, and adds a sport suspension.

Take either of these packages to the next level with bi-Xenon headlights with an Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS), headlight washers, the 600-watt Dynaudio sound system, and park distance control – cost is $5,250 for Luxury and $5,550 for Sport. Stand-alone options for the Passat 3.6L include 18-inch alloys with 235/40 tires ($400), the Dynaudio stereo ($1,000), a DVD navigation system ($1,800), the bi-xenons with AFS and washers ($950), and rear side airbags ($350).

A loaded 2006 Volkswagen Passat 3.6L runs more than $40,000, and adding a 4Motion all-wheel-drive system will bump the price another $1,950. That Value Edition model is looking pretty good, eh?