Volkswagen Passat R36 Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Volkswagen Passat R36
Prices: £30,990-£32,150 - on the road
Insurance Group: 18 [est]
Emissions: 255-258g/km [est]
Performance: [Saloon] 0-60mph 5.6 / Max Speed 155mph
Fuel Consumption: [Saloon] (combined) 26.4mpg [est]
Safety: ABS with BAS and EBD, traction and stability control, twin front and side airbags
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height mm, 4770/1820/1450

R-MAGEDDON

Our Rating: 6.6 / 10

You probably don’t think of the Passat as a performance car. Volkswagen is out to change that perception with the R36 model. Andy Enright reports

Talking about a Nissan Skyline might seem an odd way of kicking off a review of a Volkswagen Passat but bear with me here. Cast your mind back to the introduction of the Skyline GTR R34. It was launched in 1999 and featured four wheel drive, a six cylinder turbocharged engine, room for four on board and cranked out 286bhp. Although it cost £54,000, it was seen as a bargain, capable of knocking spots off far pricier performance cars. The Volkswagen Passat R36 shows quite how far we’ve come in such little time.

For a fraction over half the Nissan’s cost back in ’99, this Passat offers an extra pair of doors, a transmission of awe-inspiring effectiveness, twenty more horsepower and identical performance. Against the clock, it’ll exactly match the Skyline, notching 5.6 seconds to 60mph and a 155mph electronically limited top speed. Make no mistake, this Passat wields a formidable haymaker.

The R36’s interior might come as a surprise to those expecting a scaled down Phaeton fascia. The rather functional look and feel of the standard Passat dash has been lifted with the addition of ‘Engine Spin’ metallic panels, sports dials, an ‘R’ polished pedal set and multifunction sports steering wheel, integrated into which are paddles for the DSG auto gearbox (there’s no manual option). The seats feature alcantara bolsters that contrast with Monte Carlo flat-weave facings and door linings.

Equipment levels are very generous, as would befit the standard bearer for the Passat range and customers can expect to find anti lock brakes, electronic stability control, xenon headlights, 2Zone electronic climate control, a heated windscreen and seats, six airbags and a CD stereo. Fast needn’t always mean furious.

The rather low-key Passat exterior has been jazzed up to give the car some attitude, although it has to be said that it still doesn’t look wholly terrifying. It’s a bit like the moment on the ill-fated Celebrity Wrestling show when James ‘Gentleman Jim’ Hewitt tried to put the frighteners on his opponent. It’s too well-mannered to really get your adrenaline pumping. The 18-inch Omanyt alloy wheels are handsome things and the sports suspension has been dropped to help the 235/40 tyres fill the arches convincingly. A bespoke body kit is fitted, the highlight of which is the fluted front air dam that apes the style of the Golf R32. Deep side skirts and chrome detailing on the doors is augmented by a deep rear underbumper assembly that houses the two tail pipes, one on each side of the car. The estate version also gets a small spoiler on the trailing edge of the rear screen.

The engine is an interesting piece of technology, utilising FSI (fuel stratified injection) to develop 296bhp. A variant of this unit has been developed in a lower state of tune for the Touareg and Phaeton models. FSI Uses a high-pressure fuel line mounted on the side of the cylinder head, often dubbed ‘common rail’, which then injects fuel straight into the combustion chamber. The shape of the pistons and the clever working of a set of valves make the air ‘tumble’, thus creating more efficient combustion. Where FSI engines really impress is their behaviour under part throttle loads. Whereas before, part throttle meant just that, partially strangulating the output by closing a butterfly valve the FSI system can be run with the throttles in a more efficient open position by creating a rich fuel mix directly next to the spark plug and a leaner mix in other parts of the combustion chamber. This is not only more efficient in terms of how much fuel enters the chamber in the first place but it also means that less energy is wasted as heat to the cylinder block. In effect a blanket of air shields the igni