Volkswagen Passat Estate - long-term review

No, ‘our’ Passat has not been in for a respray, rather that’s photographer Mark Fagelson’s own Volkswagen Passat Estate (or VPE for short). And whatever a photographer has for their work wheels is, by default, good, because a) our erudite opinions rub off on them and b) their requirements are so exacting that anything subpar doesn’t stand a chance. Let me explain…

Theirs is a life of early starts and late finishes, so the cabin must be welcoming, quickly warming through and with an infotainment system that works – which seems simple enough but often isn’t. Then the boot must be cavernous, as these creatures of the camera are like roadies with all their tripods, rigs, light stands and Peli cases. The ride must be comfortable too, so when they can strap themselves into the boot for tracking shots, they’ve only got themselves to blame when the images aren’t sharp.

But the car can’t be a cosseting blancmange either, because at any moment they may declare “this location isn’t working” and move the whole shoot 10 miles away. At which point the journalist inevitably effs-off down the road in whatever fast thing is being shot, and the photographer needs to hustle along behind (together with all that gear in their cavernous boot).

In the early ‘00s most photographers defaulted to a BMW 330d Touring, in M Sport trim, in dark blue – but the Three isn’t quite the out-and-out star it was back then, and the rise of the SUV has led many to try something new.

Mark’s never actually been in the BMW camp, though. He started with an Audi A4 Avant two decades ago, then had a VPE (“not as premium as the Audi and a bit boring, but it did have a bigger, squarer boot”) before moving onto a slew of Mercedes E-Class Estates. Why the E-Class? Funny story that…

Tracking shots mean driving along with your tailgate open, and in the early days of electric boots Mark didn’t know how they would react at 30mph. So he dutifully went to Audi, BMW and Mercedes dealerships and test drove the A6, 5 Series and E-Class estates – all with their boots open. None of the salespeople knew what to make of him, but the Mercedes dealer did at least get a lease sale off the back of it.

Peak E-Class ownership was an E63 S AMG Estate (these guys are too well paid, aren’t they?) but it didn’t work out: “It wasn’t very good for taking photos out of, too bumpy. And it only did about 12mpg.” He went back to a more sensible E Estate soon after (his fourth) and then had a Merc GLB, most recently an A4 Avant, and now he’s got a VPE once more.

“It was a ridiculously good lease deal that caught my eye,” admits Mark. “So I started looking at reviews, asked a few of you guys, and although my spec isn’t quite so cheap per month it’s still a lot of car. It rides smoothly, and it doesn’t irritate which so many modern cars do. I’ve got the plug-in hybrid and the electric range is really good – it’ll get me 70 miles from home to Heathrow. I’m surprised how much I like it. I absolutely love it.”

There you go then. If you ever need to get to the Lake District to photograph an Aston Martin DBS X and Ferrari Purosangue, the VPE is all the car you need. Less helpful, more acerbic consumer advice will resume soon.