Long-term update: 2012 VW Passat CC goes to Abu Dhabi
Our Volkswagen Passat CC had taken a back seat for the last month as we fiddled around with, what else, other Volkswagens. We drove the VW Phaeton and the VW Passat Ecofuel recently, and we have become quite familiar with Volkswagen DNA by now. Of course, we’ve come to realise that the Passat CC is indeed tuned to be sportier than other sedans in their fleet, as our car rides a wee bit firmer than either of those cars, while taking corners with much more confidence. But does it make a good highway cruiser?
Of course it does. The CC has been put to use by my brother as a daily commuter car to Abu Dhabi for the last couple of weeks. We also used it to go to a couple of events in Abu Dhabi. Ironically, those events were also hosted by other premium German carmakers, though the VW held its own in their company. This may sound biased, but we’ve come to believe that the VW Passat CC with the 3.6-litre V6 and all-wheel-drive is the perfect midsize sedan ever built for the daily drive at its price, although after so many months, we might be biased by now.
It’s got enough power to overtake anything and everything quickly. It’s got enough space to carry five average-sized people with ease, as my visiting British relatives found out. And it’s got an adjustable suspension system that softens it up, so that we could cruise around in comfort just as we would in a lumbering Chevy Caprice, but with the option of firming things up if we wanted to carve corners later. Even in “comfort” mode, there’s always a hint of firmness, as BMW 3-Series owners would know, but it’s only noticeable on some rougher surfaces. It’s also fairly quiet, not as much as the ultra-silent Phaeton, but still quieter than a Toyota Camry, even with its frameless doors.
As for fuel economy, we’ve been getting a consistent 10.3 litres/100 km on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi drive at 140 kph, according to the trip computer. We expected better, considering our Galant V6 burns less, but then again, the CC has 70 extra horses and an all-wheel-drive system. We’ve also been using “Special” RON95 petrol because the fuel cap says “RON95 or better”. Given it has a fancy-pants direct-injection engine, we’re now going to use only “Super” RON98 petrol and see it that improves things.
We’re also having issues with the navigation system, as it does not seem to have any points-of-interest stored, so it either wants street names or crashes when we attempt to force-feed it with names of shopping malls. We only needed it on one trip to Abu Dhabi, where it was only of partial help, but since this country has a great signage system, for the most part, we’ve barely used the nav. The multimedia touchscreen works perfectly fine otherwise.
We are now into our fourth month of Volkswagen ownership. The first service is due at 15,000 km, and even with these occasional Abu Dhabi trips, it is unlikely we will hit that mark before having to return the car. Isn’t it ironic how local dealers for Japanese brands still force customers to go in for “5k” service intervals in this day and age?
Original Mileage When Borrowed: 435 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 7,400 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 10.3 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Borrowed: Dhs 0
Comments
Shanosblue
nice, comparo’s coming up soon? (ref to 2nd pic)
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
Hehe, would be unfair. Ironically, I preferred the VW better on the street. The BMW liked to go into drifts, even when you didn’t want to.
delan
damn it I love that car more than the bmw , it has everything the bmw has with much less money and much more style, hey mash how comfy is it compared to the bmw.and how much more fuel efficient u want it to be , i think its great for a car ive seen beat a bmw 650i in a drag race !
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
The VW can never take on the new turbo 550i. The 550i is also a wee bit more comfortable, but not a big difference.
delan
no , I meant the old 650i
cc 1.8tsi
i got a VW CC 1.8 , i would recomend it bcoz its better than the V6 as a daily driver (it has better low end torque) and i get 37mpg(uk) and its more fun(one of the best fwd handling cars)bcoz its lighter. but the v6 is very nice too i mean its got all the gadgets a 7-Series or S-Class has(like park,lane assist, message seat , attention assist)…with a very good value.and those features are even on my 1.8 model.mash u forgot to mention the great engine sound and the stereo is epic (the bass is great).
Thebet
Are you still happy with your 1.8tsi? I am strongly thinking about it and it would be a great help if you can give an advice.
mohammad
Thebet, I have the 2013 VW 2 liter. It is the fully loaded version. A beautiful car with lots of toys to play with.
I would strongly suggest it!! I ended up paying AED 130k for it (includes 5 yr warranty, comprehensive insurance and three free services….until 45k km)
cc
I just had to say that i really appreciate this car and praise VW for really making a masterpiece , I say this because just a couple of weeks ago a friend drove this car and raced it and at 240km/h !!! hit a high sidewalk , when he saw it he braked and steered quickly which probably made it worst but fortunately both him and the passenger are fine !!