The Passat wasn’t exactly a sport sedan, but it drove creamily and predictably and, in gethe Passat quickly became the darling of the young, the hip, the discerning. neral, came off as a bargain luxury car, like a first-growth bordeaux for the price of a supermarket cabernet.

For a very long time, the Passat sat on the sidelines of the American family-sedan playing field. It was seemingly content, in mid-1990s fourth-generation guise, to dangle its optional, gutsy VR6 engine in front of Volkswagen devotees and to snag a few four-cylinder buyers who got lost on the way to the Honda showroom.

The new Passat’s standard 2.0-liter, direct-injection turbocharged four has more horsepower and torque than the old Passat’s optional 2.8-liter V-6. So, for our Four Seasons test, we chose a 2.0T model over one of the pricier V-6 trims, kept options to a minimum, and ended up with a modestly priced car just shy of $25,000.