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VW Passat's got pizzazz
By Frank S. Washington
Contributing Columnist
Columbus Post
BOSTON – A drizzly, dreary, depressing day turned driving into Drudgery here. Traffic slowed; two lane streets and highways got slippery, everybody was cautious and that made it difficult and foolish to try and push the 2006 Volkswagen Passat to its limits. Still, we were able to walk away from our test drive with a favorable impression of the all-new Passat. Much of that had to do with the engine.
Even though we couldn’t press the pedal to the metal, our test vehicle was equipped with Volkswagen’s 3.6 liter V6. Known as the VR6, this narrow angled (10.6 degrees) engine produced 280 horsepower and 265 pounds-feet of torque at a relatively low 2,750 rpm. It was mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
Acceleration was exceptional during a few stints on I-93 and I-95. Gear shifts were smooth, although I could feel the gearbox downshift from sixth to fifth. Power was transferred to the front wheels smoothly and efficiently.
The new Passat has grown. The car is wider, longer and taller than the sedan it replaces, so interior room has increased. My driving partner and I had plenty of head, hip and legroom. And a quick check of the trunk was surprising. The cargo area was 14.2 cubic ft. It looked large enough to hold just about anything, except furniture, that you could ever pick up on a Saturday afternoon. Although we really couldn’t get a full sense of just how well the Passat handled, we can say that the suspension traversed different road surfaces well.
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