The 2007 Volkswagen Passat Wagon is a family-luxury sport wagon that offers performance as well as comforts.
By: Mike Blake
The sportwagon is a genre that has gained exposure and buyers, as gasoline economics has convinced many would-be SUV purchasers to go smaller. Nearly every major automotive manufacturer has added sportwagons to its arsenal to cash in on the wagon train gravy train.
Volkswagen has upped the ante with its 2007 Passat Wagon.
The Passat Wagon, known in Germany as the Variant, came into being this spring, and as the elongated version of the Passat sedan, my test vehicle was decked out in lavishness and Volksie luxury, marketed at a very aggressive price.
The sleek wagon looks like a luxury car but costs far less. The front engine, front-wheel drive, five-door passenger vehicle carries a base sticker price of $26,175, and my bells-and-whistles luxury wagon came with a $30,320 price tag. That included an $1,800 navigational system, and a $1,625 package that contains a power sunroof, upgraded stereo system with in-dash CD changer and XM Satellite radio. The destination charge added $630 to the bill.
The 3,468-pound Passat Wagon is powered by a fuel-efficient 2.0-liter fuel-injected turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine that is rated at 22 mpg city and 31 mpg highway. My weeklong tests secured an average of 25 mpg, using the preferred fuel unleaded 95 octane. Volkswagen explains that using 91 octane will lower your performance levels, and they don’t advise using 89- or 87-octane fuel at all. The in-line four pumps out 197 horses and 207 pounds/feet of torque, and secured zero-to-60 mph in about 8.5 seconds.
The engine, called the 2.0T, utilizes an intercooler for cool, higher-density intake air. Its broad, flat torque curve thunders out plenty of pulling power, and I found decent acceleration in all gears and at all ranges. For those who demand more power, an option will be made available that offers a 280-horsepower, 265 pounds/feet of torque, 3.6-liter V-6, with better performance and lower mileage figures.
My Blue Graphite wagon was accentuated by a Classic Gray leatherette interior, and it is the interior that really pays this Vee-Dub off as a luxury vehicle. With comfortable seating for five the Passat Wagon enjoys a passenger volume of 97.1 cubic feet and a cargo volume of 35.8 cubic feet. Among the cabin’s niceties and state-of-the-art accoutrements are an air conditioning system that is CFC-free. Its pollen and dust filter keeps pollutants out of the cabin and out of your lungs.
The vehicle also comes with a power sunroof, trip computer with compass, power windows with pinch protection, power/heatable side mirrors and height-adjustable telescopic steering wheel. The driver’s seat was designed with power recline, height and lumbar support, but a manual forward position apparatus moves you toward and away from the wheel and pedals. On the confusing side was the driver’s tech manual that showed how to operate the info center if you had a control-on-the-steering-wheel setup, which my test vehicle didn’t have. Because of that, it became an engineering lesson and took much time, effort and trial and error to switch the information system from German to English.
The navigational system was easily changed into English, and the $1,800 unit, tied into the $1,625 eight-speaker audio system that accommodates the in-dash single CD player with MP3 capability. XM Satellite radio is summoned into action with an easy-to-use turn-and-push knob. It isn’t as user friendly as touch-screen technology, and you can only navigate through one screen at a time, without a split entertainment and navi screen, but the system is accurate and a fine addition in this upgraded family-luxury vehicle.
Volkswagen attends to safety well, and Passat protection includes standard ABS with power brake assist, front-vented disc brakes in front and solid discs in the rear. VW has also installed stability control and traction control systems that help the 16-inch alloy wheels covered with Michelin Pilot HX 215/55/R16 all-season tires grip the road and react properly when called upon. And they’ve added anti-theft wheel locks to the four on the pavement.
Passive safety measures have also been taken with the inclusion of side protection door beams and eight airbags dual front, front side-impact, and side-curtain protection head airbags in the front and rear along with crash-active front headrests. Load limiters, height-adjustable seat belts, seat belt pre-tensioners and emergency-locking retractors all work well in case of an accident, and a tire pressure monitoring system lets you know when your rubber is low.
Aiding the Passat in its smooth ride are electro-mechanical power steering, independent strut front suspension, electronic stabilizations program and anti-slip regulation. They work well enough, though I found the Passat Wagon to produce a small amount of understeer, a bit of yaw, but a quiet, stable ride during all of my highway, city and road course tests.
Add to all that a power liftgate, press-start ignition switch and push-button parking brake, and you get a fun, luxury, family vehicle that is priced as fairly as anything in the niche.
Visit www.carlisleevents.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.