Under the hood, Volkswagen has provided more pop than you ever thought a VW could muster
By: Mike Blake
When Volkswagen finds that one of its models is getting tired, it has a recent history of rejuvenating the car with modern, up-to-date styling and electronics. VW has followed through on that approach with the 2006 Passat. The midsize sedan is now in its sixth generation, and Gen-6 has turned the Passat into a trendy driver’s car with room for the family.
Born in 1973 as the Dasher (a replacement for the 1600 series), VW’s largest car was renamed the Quantum/Santana for its second generation in 1980. Since Gen-3, in 1988, the car has been called Passat, but that incarnation wasn’t available in the United States until 1990. The marque has come a long way in the years since, and Gen-6 is a worthy evolution of the theme.
On the outside, the Passat’s architecture is aggressive. A large VW logo takes over its face, the shoulders are athletic, the roofline is swept and hip and the overhangs purvey a quality of strength befitting a luxury sedan. This new version of the Passat presents a wider track, by an inch-and-a-half. That adds to the car’s stability. Other body adjustments include an additional 3 inches in width and 2 inches in length. Interior room was also increased by 5 inches, thanks to repositioning the engine. The transverse-mounted power plant translates to a roomier cabin on the driver’s side of the firewall.
Under the hood, Volkswagen has provided more pop than you ever thought a VW could muster. That transverse-mounted engine is a 3.6-liter VR6 that thumps out 280 horses and 265 pounds-feet of torque. Mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with a Tiptronic system in place, my 3,600-pound test Passat was able to get me from zero to 60 in about seven seconds. Acceleration was interesting to say the least. Pressing down on the pedal brought hesitation and lack of movement. But then the system kicks in so powerfully that you get torque steer followed by incredible kick. Smoking the tires is commonplace from a dead stop, with all the g-forces that go with quick forward movement. And you keep that rapid velocity increase through all gears and ranges. The combination worked well enough to get me 26 mpg during my weeklong examination, though the car was only EPA rated at 19 mpg/city and 28 mpg/highway.
Power gets you out there in a hurry and gets your attention, but it is the quiet and smooth ride and exceptional handling that keeps you interested. With a 57 percent gain in torsional rigidity over the Gen-5 version, the ’06 Passat takes the bumps and ruts out of uneven surfaces, allowing the 17-inch alloy wheels and P205/55 R16 89H all-season tires to hug the road in all situations.
Volkswagen has made great strides in safety provisions and it certainly pays attention to driver and passenger protection by employing six airbags including side curtain air bags, stability control, active front head restraints, ABS brake system with brake assist, traction control and daytime running lights.
The Passat also takes advantage of three new avant-garde brake improvements: a hill holder that keeps you steady even while waiting on an incline or decline for a light to change, an auto-stop mode that allows you to take your foot off the pedal while sitting at a stoplight, and there’s also and an intermittent wipe function that will squeegee off your disc brakes as rain pelts down on them.
Electronics seems to be part of all German-made vehicles and the VW Passat lives up to that stereotype with such functional toys as a tire pressure monitoring system, electronic parking brakes, DVD navigational system, information center, MP3 capability, dual climate control and speed warnings system.
The navigational system is knob and button-driven, rather than the more user-friendly touch-screen set-up, but the GPS is accurate and quick during reconfiguration of course.
Other electronic and mechanical bells and whistles include adaptive cruise control, a heated windshield, and swiveling bi-xenon headlamps.
The 2006 Volkswagen Passat may not be the sportiest car on the highway, but it is a very solid-handling family sedan that offers performance driveability.
Priced at $36,115, my test vehicle started at $29,950, and included such option packages as Package One luxury a $2,750 addition that features leather comfort seats, wood trim, leather-wrapped four-spoke steering wheel, genuine walnut shift knob, automatic headlights with coming home feature, fog lights, rain-sensing wipers, heated driver and passenger front seats, heated washer nozzles, heated exterior side mirrors with environmental lighting, dual-zone climatronic, homelink, switchable auto-dimming interior mirror, 12-way power driver and passenger seats with three-position memory for driver seat, manual rear and side sunshades and a storage net in trunk.
The Satellite radio option, which includes three-months service, was standard at no extra charge. The Dyanadio premium eight-speaker sound system was included for an extra $1000, and the DVD satellite navigation with glove box-mounted six-CD changer added $1,800 to the sticker.
Fifty-one years after a low-cost, no-frills approach to automobiles gained Volkswagen a presence in America, this sixth-generation Passat gives VW a midsize sedan with all the power, frills, amenities and performance one expects from a family sedan.
Visit www.carsatcarlisle.com for more on the automotive hobby. Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He’s been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.

