Volkswagen Passat review

Prices start at a mite over £39,950 (or around £450 a month) for a Passat 1.5 eTSI in base-spec Life trim. VW claims 52.3mpg.

These base Life trim cars get massaging seats up front, a 10.25-inch digital dial display, three-zone climate control, USB-C ports all round, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, wireless phone charging, LED lights front and rear, 17in wheels, a reversing camera, adaptive cruise control and a smart park assist function that remembers common manoeuvres to take the sting out of everyday driving. It’s hard to know what other kit you’d need.

Nevertheless, there’s Elegance trim that starts from £43,045, which brings sports seats with a greater breadth of massage functions, a panoramic sunroof, fancy LED matrix headlights with a genuinely smart high-beam assist system and an ‘acoustics pack’ that adds extra sound deadening and laminated glass for a comfier atmosphere inside. The latter is also optional on the base car.

Topping the range is R-Line, starting from £44,295 (or just over £500 a month) yielding an interior and exterior makeover with fancy fabrics and black detailing. The 17in alloys of lowlier trims, cutely named ‘Bologna’ and ‘Napoli’ after cultured Italian towns, are replaced by 18in ‘Coventry’ rims here. Well, it was UK City of Culture in 2021, and has a notable place in automotive history.

While R-Line loses the pano roof as standard (relegating it to a pricey option) it counters with standard DCC Pro chassis control and its 15 selectable damping levels (a £1,085 option on other trims), plus there’s special fabric for the seats and a specific R-Line view for the digital dials. This is the sole trim level to offer two-tone paint too, albeit only the top of the roof is daubed black.

The larger 15in touchscreen comes as a £870 option across the range and is accompanied by a head-up display. We’d certainly be tempted. Bougie things like leather seats and a Harman Kardon stereo lie waiting to crank your bill up further, too. While the base trim packs a lot of desirable stuff as standard, it looks far too easy to get carried away in the configurator.

How much do the plug-in hybrids cost?

Most of the PHEVs will no doubt go to company car buyers, but if you are looking to pay in cash you’ll be able to get the 201bhp eHybrid in Life trim for £44,555. Step up to Elegance with the same powertrain and you’ll be paying £47,650, while the R-Line is £48,900.

The 268bhp eHybrid is obviously the most expensive Passat available in the UK and won’t be available in entry-level trim. Prices start at £50,370 for Elegance and £51,420 for R-Line. Yep, it’s the dawn of the 50 grand Passat.

And what about that turbocharged non-hybrid petrol?

The 2.0-litre car? That's only available in range-topping R-Line trim, and prices start at £47,715. That's a decent chunk of Car for the price.