Whether it's a plebeian four-cylinder sedan, or a fully decorated V6 all-wheel-drive estate, every Volkswagen Passat I've ever driven has been at the head of its class among affordable family cars. All Passats are roomy on the inside, handle well, and offer credible performance and stylish looks without removing too much from your wallet.
Apparently, that wasn't good enough for former VW Group chairman Ferdinand Piëch. Introduced halfway through the 2002 model year, the Passat W8 ($57,005 as tested in Canada, £31,325 in the UK) is Volkswagen's attempt at a 'mini-me' Mercedes-Benz. Along with the ultra-luxurious
Phaeton, and the slightly less luxurious
SUV Touareg, this ultimate Passat is only part of VW's zealous aim to move upmarket.
As adaptable as the Passat platform is, I wondered if it could handle the extra cylinders and prestige. Or as my cynical brother-in-law questioned, "Who needs a $50,000 Passat?" and "What's with the 'W'?"
The "W" graphically explains the eight-cylinder configuration of the all-aluminium engine made up of two narrow-angle V4 cylinder banks joined to form not exactly a "double-U", but more like a "double-V". Only 420 millimetres long (petite for a V8 engine), this compact solution was the only way VW could get the extra cylinders to fit into the Passat's engine bay, designed to hold only four or six. It's the only current eight-cylinder production car with such a set-up, so be prepared to explain to your brother-in-law what's under the bonnet.
The W8 engine displaces 4.0 litres and provides 270 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, along with 273 pound-feet of torque at 2,750 rpm. Unhindered by its dual exhausts, the W8 sounds for all the world like the kid-next-door's Camaro. All four wheels rein in the extra vigour through VW's 4Motion all-wheel-drive system. If the road is dry, 4Motion doles out engine power 50/50 between the front and rear axles; if grip is less than optimum the mechanical centre differential redistributes it up to a ratio of 67/33 in either direction.
My particular W8 had the Tiptronic five-speed automatic transmission, which probably better suits Mr. Piëch's lofty luxury ambitions rather than VW's attempt to go BMW 545i-chasing with the six-speed manual version also available (
straight-six.com awarded four out of a possible six cylinders to the W8 estate with this drivetrain combo in its
2004 Straight-Goods Anti-SUV category, just below the Audi A4 Avant and BMW 3-series Touring). The engine has loads of torque through the entire rev range. For around town I found myself leaving the transmission in "D". It steadily delivered smooth shifts, but when I did put my foot down, the transmission held gears longer when pertinent.
There's nothing 'mini-me' about the W8's density. All of the extra hardware adds up to a porcine kerb weight that's 288kg more than a Passat 1.8T and weightier than such eight-cylinder luxury saloons as Audi's S4, BMW's 545i, or Mercedes-Benz's E500 4Matic. Like a tutu-wearing elephant, it's hard for the W8 to hide its heft.
You can feel it in the car's ride; body movements are delayed and more stringently dampened by the suspension compared to a livelier Passat 1.8T. You can feel it in steering that shows its Audi roots by being resolutely accurate, but has a numb luxury-car feel that reflects the car's avoirdupois. And you can feel it at the fuel pumps, as I only managed 19.6mpg during a week of urban, back road, and highway driving.
My automatic equipped car obviously benefited from the Sport package ($2,000 in Canada). The package's stiffer suspension and 17-inch alloy wheels and tyres were certainly giving it their best efforts. However, a BMW 5-series owner won't be threatened on a challenging back road by a Passat with a W8 badge on the boot lid - Sport package, or not.
Notwithstanding the predilection to luxury, the Passat W8's balanced chassis and tenacious 4Motion system made the car fun-to-drive - to a point. The W8 is fairly nose heavy and will ultimately (and safely) give way to understeer. With ABS, the brakes provided a progressive feel, but VW's Brake Assist gave certain twitchiness during the pedal's initial travel and nosedive under harder braking was evidence of the W8's extra kilograms.
A Jaguar S-Type 4.2 owner would feel envious sitting inside this pre-eminent Passat. When it comes to fit and finish, VW interiors have become some of the best on the planet, regardless of price. For the W8, VW cranked it up a notch with standard features such as automatic climate control, genuine wood trim, sunroof, premium stereo, trip computer, anti-theft immobiliser, electric seats, and rain-sensing wipers. A navigation system is the only ostentation missing.
The myriad of controls in the Passat's grey leather interior are presented in an ergonomically logical manner, and all have a weighty, confident feel. Much effort has been made so that your fingertips do not land on any hard plastics. All in support of Mr. Piëch's upmarket designs, see?
Except for the high-intensity discharge headlamps, dual exhausts, and discreet W8 badges, it would take a highly trained Passat-spotter to recognise my Silverstone grey coloured test car as a separate and distinct model. Which takes us back to my questioning brother-in-law.
Do you really need a $50,000 Passat?
The mellifluous sounding eight-cylinder engine, Audi-like cabin aesthetics, on road aplomb, and overall quality may sway your decision. Trouble for me was I kept remembering how good the lesser-priced Passats are. A V6 Passat, now available with 4Motion, provides a lot of the same, basic Passat qualities as the W8, at about £8,000 less. Sure, it doesn't have 270 horsepower, but it weighs a lot less with all of the benefits that that implies.
Trouble for Volkswagen's high-end competitors is that they don't offer an eight-cylinder car for anywhere near the W8's £31,325 base price. And forget about all-wheel drive. VW is counting on a relatively small number of buyers not to question this most premium of Passats uniquely configured value.
John LeBlanc is a Canadian-based freelance automotive writer, and publisher
of
straight-six.com.
Most cars reviewed on
The Car Enthusiast are UK specification models. However, the UK press fleets are busy, making it impossible to drive all models in each car range. Though John reviews Canadian-spec cars, we will do our best to point out the differences. For instance it is worth noting that 91 RON fuel is the recommended octane rating in Canada, which would lead to a loss in performance in comparison to the UK standard of 95 - 98 RON.
