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.

Volkswagen B1 Passat TS
Released: 1974
Ended: 1976
Family Tree: PassatDid 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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