The current Passat four-door sedan isn't exactly the most exciting car around, so VW have introduced a new faster looking variant.
In addition there's also a host of electronics usually reserved for luxury cars. Most of our excitement for this new model is due to the all-new navigation and entertainment system, which looks to be a big improvement on Volkswagen's current offering.
Engine choices
For Europe, the Passat CC will be offered with diesel and petrol engines, and we can reasonably expect the same here albeit, probably, with less choice. Engines available overseas are a 2-litre turbocharged four cylinder putting out 147bhp or a 3.6-litre V6 making 205kW. There's also a 118kW 1.8-litre engine which can be paired with a seven speed version of Volkswagen's DSG.
Design
Volkswagen considers the Passat CC a four door coupe, following the lead of the Mercedes-Benz CLS-class. Although we might disagree with that designation, there is no denying that the Passat CC is a good-looking car.
Electronics
The Passat CC uses the most aggressive lane departure prevention we have ever seen. If you start to drift into another lane, it will steer back into its own lane. Of course, the turn signal turns this function off, and the driver can easily overcome the car's corrections. Along with that, the car also features adaptive cruise control and self-parking.
Navigation
We have been very disappointed with Volkswagen's current navigation system, so it was nice to see this new system. We just hope it has a fast enough processor to keep up with the car's actual position. From our brief time with it on the show floor, it seemed to respond quickly.
Media centre
A push of the Media button brought up this screen, which shows that the Passat CC has an in-dash hard drive, which most likely holds the navigation maps and works as a music server. It also has an SD card slot at the front of the unit and a CD/DVD drive.
