Volkswagen CC

Reinventing oneself seems to be a favourite pastime of entertainers. Take Sean Combs for example (a.k.a Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Diddy) or for that matter, Prince (a.k.a Symbol or The Artist Formerly Known As Prince). This phenomenon has also crept into the motoring industry with Exhibit A being the Volkswagen CC (The Car Formerly Known As Passat). In truth, it’s still called the Passat in other regions, such as France…

CC stands for “comfort coupé” and the VW delivers on this promise. It’s very spacious – given the sloping roof – with ample legroom in the front and back. The boot is a massive 532 litres. FHM drove the 3,6-litre V6 FSI with Sportline DSG box, and were suitably impressed with the interior cabin swathed in leather, walnut burr and metal finishes. The CC has two singe seats in the rear, as opposed to the usual bench-like arrangement. Our car had other refinements such as a privacy screen for the rear window, cooling fans built into the front seats, heated side mirrors, cruise control, a multimedia interface with SatNav, active headlights that turn when taking a corner and even a parallel parking system. While we didn’t try the latter out ourselves, the theory is that sensors on the side of the car recognize a gap between two other stationary vehicles, and steers the car into the space. All one need do is operate the accelerator pedal.

Our CC was very comfortable to drive and had a Sport mode for added responsiveness. We did however feel that the car would have benefitted from having flappy paddles which were strangely absent. Road holding was excellent, and the VW held the line no matter what. The brakes were phenomenal and almost sent us through the windscreen the first time we depressed them a bit too firmly. Unfortunately, fuel consumption in town was pretty hectic while on the highway, it was superb. This car then is better suited to long-distance travelling as it can guzzle its way through the 70-litre tank pretty quickly. Our car was fitted with R45 000 worth of extras, including the SatNav (R28 000) and panoramic sunroof (R9 100). The Volkswagen CC is expensive enough already, but these additions pushed the price up to almost R500 000! At this price point, one could rather get an Audi A5, S3 or A6, not to mention all the other options available! While the Volkswagen CC is a great car, we think the price will scare off a lot of potential buyers.

Engine              V6 petrol

Power               220kW, 350Nm

0-100km/h        5,6 seconds

Top speed        250km/h

Price                 R451 000 (standard)

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Words: Peter Piegl

Photographs: www.NetCarShow.com