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Volkswagen Passat (B8) 1.8 TSI: A class leader

Text and photos by The Lenspeed Team

The benefits of Volkswagen’s MQB are now well covered in the press, but it is hard not to see why. When one gets into a vehicle blessed to be based on this platform, the incredible torsional rigidity and refinement of the chassis can be felt even without an expert behind the wheel. Then after a few days you realise even more gains when you see how slow the fuel needle drops.

The new B8 Passat is a true benefactor of MQB and has done very, very well to make sure it left no stone unturned to maximise this opportunity to make the Passat better in every possible way.

For instance, the car is now much bigger in every way, but for once it also looks incredibly athletic and dare I say it, even beautiful. It’s all in the details – the sharp creases that could only have been possible with some delicate manufacturing techniques; the LED tail lamps; the way the roofline rakes in an elongated, coupe-like way. It has been a while since we have seen a Passat that looks this good, and for that reason alone would have drawn some people to the showrooms.

But the good news continues in the interior. It seems to have been designed to be incredibly airy, with lots of interior space optimised by making the door and dashboard panels as thin and unobtrusive as possible. This can only come with decades of experience in building these saloons, day in and day out. The buttons, instruments and controls are all fantastically classy, and can easily pass off being in an Audi. You’d then start to wonder, perhaps unfairly, how amateur the attempts of other manufacturers are in trying to compete.

Drivers will enjoy a massage function that’s been orthopedically approved, although this may stoke the anger of passengers who do not get the same privilege! It is a seriously good massage, more shiok than what I can remember in any car I’ve driven in recent memory. Well, at least the rear seat space is now generous rather than adequate, so that should appease the driver’s companions somewhat.

The Passat we tried came with a 1.8 TSI and 7-speed DSG combination. The way the steering feels, the handling, the power delivery and the ride all feels very similar to a Mk7 Golf, which is no bad thing of course, as in our eyes that is the class leader among hatchbacks. It feels light on its feet, super efficient, yet super intelligent, being able to be supremely frugal whenever it can yet also responsive when it needs to be. An example of how brilliantly sorted it feels is its engine start-stop system, which is the smoothest I have tried in any car. The gearbox and engine tuning seriously takes some beating, the onboard ECU almost feels like an extension of one’s mind!

The fact that you get an efficiency of a Golf in something the size of an Audi A6 is also a revelation – the Passat is seriously frugal! Without batting an eyelid, you can see a range readout comfortably above 700km and the fuel gauge refuses to budge from full even after traveling 100 or so kilometres (although this could just be down to how it is tuned).

So is it perfect? No. One area which we feel it could be even better in was the ride comfort. In general, the ride of the Passat is firm and never cushy. This means over some roads it can feel a tad harsh, which is surprising in a luxury sedan. It is not bad, but for our local road conditions a softer suspension would be appreciated. The other is insulation from tyre noise, which is more noticeable given the excellent all-round refinement of the car.

We’ve never expected to say this, but a Passat has won our hearts in a way that no other recent VW product we’ve tried, had. What a car!

The Simple Plan

By The Lenspeed Team

Can Volkswagen’s Golf in base spec trim deliver more miles for the money in its bid to capture mass-market appeal?

When Volkswagen Group Singapore (VGS) broke the news to us regarding the introduction of a smaller capacity Golf, the Lenspeed team wondered if this could be VW’s secret weapon to drive sales, especially with restrictions and taxes impeding the market’s desire to acquire large capacity haulers. A small turbocharged unit fitted in a practical Golf. A marketing stroke of genius, perhaps?

While this reduction of engine capacity to 1.2 litres to complete VW’s petrol Golf hierarchy at least in the local market tells most of the story, drivers will also not receive standard features found in the 1.4 TSI Golf specified with an “Equipment Pack”, or “EQP” in VGS speak. Lack of keyless entry, an 8-inch touchscreen display, “Park Assist”, LED daytime running lights, bi-xenon headlamps with cornering lights, sunroof, 18-inchers and twin tailpipes might be deal breakers for some, but we at Lenspeed feel that a Golf in its most fundamental trim level has its own appeal. It directs the focus to one that supplies affordable and a fuss free mode of transport in a constructive and practical manner, just like how it was set out to accomplish back in the 70s with the Mk1. The appeal of a Golf based on a unanimous vote from the Lenspeed jury lies in the manner in which it delivers maximum efficiency with minimal fuss.

While we can live without these “enhancements”, a crucial tech “upgrade” that would be a huge plus for a car developed to tackle the miles will be the “Coasting” function, which is found only in Golfs equipped with a driver profile selection. What this does is reduce “mechanical drag” by decoupling the engine from the transmission to save on fuel. We tried it in the 1.4 TSI Golf, and it works brilliantly. It’s a perfect basis for comparison here, too. How will a 1.2 TSI Golf (104bhp) with narrow tyres stack up against the slightly more powerful 1.4 TSI Golf (122bhp) with broader rubbers and a “Coasting function”?

With a tyre profile of 205/55/16 compared to the 225/40/18 slapped on the 1.4 TSI with an EQP trim, you will notice more lean from the chassis as it loads up the front rubbers, but there is always a sense of control even when you embark on more enthusiastic driving. Mid corner adjustability is predictable – you can pitch it in and the chassis conveys a sense of reassurance even when it sways towards slight understeer. And with this encouragement from the driver’s seat you will realise that you can chuck it in at a tempo you would not expect to achieve from a five-seater, 104bhp hatchback. This is primarily due to the manner in which it executes a great deal of “flow” – the suspension works in conjunction with the smooth power delivery to cover ground in an effective manner.

The utilitarian Golf certainly feels more urgent than 175nm of thrust on paper, at least right from the get-go. Sink deep into its wave of torque up to 4000rpm and there is more than sufficient poke to keep up with traffic. It displays its love for the open roads too, settling into a comfortable cruising momentum while holding firmly in the highest gear. We were not able to trouble the upper regions of the rev range as much as we would like to, but there is no question that the 1.2 TSI motor feels at home riding steady with the needle hovering just over 2000rpm in seventh. The stability at freeway speed is superb, and more remarkable is the fact that the motor feels relaxed, belying the pint-sized unit resting beneath the hood.

The fuel gauge refuses to settle for less even during more heavy-footed driving, with the MFD consistently recording no less than 12.2km/l even when driven within the congested confines of the central business district. When the roads widen, fuel figures start to land even more in our favour – a 100km, traffic free route yielded 18km/l, not a far cry off VW’s claims of 20km/l. These are numbers that are nearly identical to the 122bhp-powered 1.4 TSI Golf. We anticipated from the start that it would be a fistfight to the finish line, and now we conclude that both are equally efficient haulers and winners in their own right.

At $116,300, it represents superb value considering the current COE landscape. We wouldn’t pitch this variant against premium German hatchbacks though; we even reckon potential buyers of the Mazda 3 (priced at $103k) flocking towards this tempting proposition. And yes, green cars need not be based on diesel motors or even fettled by an electric motor. A simple recipe with ingredients polished by the largest automaker in the world proves that petrol cars can triumph in this relentless pursuit for eco perfection. And indeed, the 1.2 TSI Golf’s main rival might very possibly still be the 1.4 TSI armed with a very neat trick up its sleeve. Nevertheless, both appeal to a different set of consumers. It is astonishing to see how Volkswagen manages to bring forth two similar offers (at least in the local market) without overlaps in the product range – a flexibility that indicates a strong sign of automotive domination. Well played, Volkswagen.

“The appeal of a Golf lies in the manner in which it delivers maximum efficiency with minimal fuss”

“With this encouragement from the driver’s seat you can chuck it in at a tempo you would not expect to achieve from a five-seater, 104bhp hatchback”

“The stability at freeway speed is superb, and more remarkable is the fact that the motor feels relaxed, belying the pint-sized unit resting beneath the hood”

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