Super TestCar reviews - Volkswagen - Passat - R36 sedan/wagon rangeVolkswagen modelsOverviewVW introduces Australia’s least expensive German sports tourer, the Passat R3614 Aug 2008 VOLKSWAGEN is building up its R portfolio of high-performance cars in Australia with the arrival of the Passat R36, an all-wheel drive V6 family car with a powerful V6, high equipment levels, and great build quality. It isn’t particularly subtle, and perhaps the looks are not quite matched by some aspects of the car’s overall dynamics, but the latest Passat makes for an intriguing and ultimately rewarding drive. Model release date: 1 August 2008 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen Previous modelDid you know that the original Passat was built in Victoria? It was a Toyota Corona-sized five-seater family car twinned with the first Audi 80 of 1972, with crisp Giugiaro-penned styling and a water-cooled engine in the front and driving the front wheels – a first for a VW in Australia. It came in 1.3 and 1.5-litre guises, with the latter tuned to a heady 73kW in the two-door TS edition – the first sporty Passat. Four round headlights set it apart from regular versions. Coupled to a rather obstinate four-speed auto, the VW was nevertheless a responsive, lightweight sedan with enjoyable road manners, in an era when the same could not be said for under-engineered mid-sized rivals like the Holden LH Torana, Ford TC/TD Cortina, Chrysler Centura and – most appallingly – the Morris Marina. No wonder that only the Passat has survived (rather sporadically in Australia until 1995) since then. |
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