Volkswagen Passat (05-) 2.0 TDI (138bhp) SE 4dr S

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Volkswagen Passat (05-) 2.0 TDI (138bhp) SE 4dr S

Test date 05 July 2005 Price as tested £19,155

For Engine, gearbox, economy, painless ownership

AgainstFirm ride in town, trim quality not as good as old model's

Remember what family cars were like before the previous-generation Passat? Straightforward workhorses with a model line-up that consisted of basic models for company rep types, mid-range motors with electric windows and a better stereo and the range topper for the few willing to stump up the cash for cheap leather and an electric sunroof. You had to make a pretty big jump before you sat behind the wheel of a BMW 3-series, and that car’s image grew and grew as a result.

But then came the Passat Mk5 in 1996 and what had been a sequence of niche-appeal, dull-but-bombproof German saloons suddenly turned family cars on their heads. Here was a car that brought new levels of build quality and integrity to the class, famously exact shut lines and slick styling inside and out. A sensation in the suburbs, it coincided with the moment when BMW decided the 3-series’ future was in volume, not exclusivity. And so the Passat nibbled into the filling that lay between the prestigious and the everyday, and the BMW became an ever more frequent sight. Now VW wants some of the 3-series’ market, and it is this car that the company hopes can take it there.