Volkswagen Passat 1.8 TSI (CKD) Test Drive Review
Economies of scale are important bywords in any industry aiming to serve the mass market and cars are no exception. The ability to commit huge volumes allows car makers to leverage lower pricing of parts from suppliers, and such savings can translate to more competitive prices when the final product hits the market.
The volume game is an important element in the Volkswagen Group’s business plan, and it has multiple brands to help deliver those numbers – Volkswagen, Audi, and Skoda just to name three that Malaysians are more familiar with. Up till August this year, the Volkswagen brand alone sold 3.72 million vehicles worldwide, whilst Audi contributed a further 961,000 vehicles in that same period.
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| Our test car the locally assembled model at RM172k. |
Such massive numbers put Volkswagen in a very strong position when negotiating parts prices, and the result is competitive costing combined with high quality. This inevitably brings us to the subject of our review today, the Volkswagen Passat, which can be on your drive way for less than RM180k if you opt for a locally-assembled unit like our test car pictured here.
Volkswagen currently sells the Passat in both CKD and CBU guise. Equipment levels are identical, but the cost of shipping and duties mean you pay an additional RM14,000 for the pleasure of being able to boast that your car is made in Germany and not Pekan. The two are indistinguishable from each other, and from what we can see, there are no visible compromises in quality on our test car. So, if you plan to help yourself to one, the smart money would be to pick a CKD unit.
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| Built in Pekan by DRB-Hicom. |
Indeed, the Passat CKD makes sense when compared not only against its fully-imported sibling, but against other residents of the upper D-segment as well. At RM171,967.20 before insurance (estimated premium at RM4,670), the Passat’s price tag matches those of 2.4 to 2.5-litre entries from Japan, even undercutting some, notably the Toyota Camry and Mazda6.
That money buys you underpinnings of considerable sophistication. Though its engine displaces a mere 1.8 litres, Volkswagen’s application of turbocharging and direct injection has helped liberate 158hp and 250Nm that comfortably keeps in on par with bigger capacity engines whilst sipping a miserly 7.0 l/100km on the combined cycle. In the real world, we managed 8.1 l/100km on the highway maintaining a brisk pace.
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| We didn’t detect any build quality issues with our CKD test car. |
The highway is where the Passat puts its best foot forward, and fuel economy is just one in a list of many desirable virtues. While you can exclude ‘exciting’ as an adjective to describe its driving experience, words like quiet, comfortable, refined, and smooth all accurately reflect the Passat’s personality. At its price point, the Passat is an unrivaled highway mile-muncher that will ferry a passenger load of four in serene comfort.
Volkswagen makes no effort in pretending the Passat is sporty or dynamic, and it is indeed all the better for it. Ride comfort is top notch, with a suspension setup that convincingly irons out surface imperfections to the point of non-existence. Noise levels are pleasantly low, and if that boy racer overtakes you with a modified Proton, chances are you will hear his big exhaust louder than your own engine.
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| Rear accommodation is spacious. Cabin is satisfyingly refined for long distance cruising. |
Characteristics of the engine and transmission further contribute to the car’s stately and dignified persona. Power build up is pleasantly linear, and the 7-speed DSG swaps cogs with highly polished smoothness. There is an effortless grace in the way this car works, which may bore the enthusiast but will undoubtedly please the lot who prioritize comfort and refinement.
If there is an Achilles heel to the Passat’s overall package it would be in the area of equipment. While it is undoubtedly well-stocked in the area of safety (it is a Euro NCAP five star vehicle, after all), the absence of features such as Bluetooth integration, electric folding side mirrors, and keyless entry is a little shocking to this writer. This shortage in equipment is however compensated by an immaculate cabin built to the VW Group’s typically high standards.
It is quite obvious that Volkswagen’s overriding for the Passat is comfort and refinement, and it is pleasing to report that both qualities have been nailed spot on. Dynamic sharpness is clearly not prioritized like it is with the Ford Mondeo, and the Passat is not as engaging and less memorable to drive as a result. However, this will not concern the potential buyer, and we would heartily recommend the Passat to anyone shopping with a sub-RM180k budget.
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