Volkswagen Passat is doing the business

THERE are cars out there that make you just want to drive, drive some more, and drive again.

The new eighth generation Volkswagen Passat is one of those models – even if it isn’t perhaps the one you would pick on an automotive version of Take Me Out.

Like all VW products, it is beautifully engineered, to the point that the German brand has risen the bar for dynamics and quality yet again.

It’s knocking on 42 years since the original Passat rolled off the production line and in that time 22 million of the family-sized model have been sold, 442,000 of them in Britain.

The latest arrived in January and for the first time doesn’t include a petrol verson, though a hybrid combining a petrol engine and electric motor will join the party this autumn.

The Volkswagen Passat SE Business edition

Lighter and appreciably more fuel efficient than before, the new engine line-up ranges from a 1.6-litre 120bhp model to a 240bhp 2.0-litre bi-turbo GT with four-wheel-drive.

Also up for grabs are the top-selling 150bhp models, like the tested SE Business edition, plus 190bhp variants and prices are from £22,215. You pay a £1,530 premium for the estate.

As for styling, well car designers never call time on their quest to claim extra space for passengers – losing millimetres here, gaining fractions there.

So the Passat is slung lower than its predecessor and while it may even appear from the outside like there’s less cabin space, there’s actually more.

Ample space up front – even for a 6ft 5ins driver – plus room to stretch your legs out in the back, though if you’re in that centre rear position the transmission tunnel gets in the way.

Inside job – Cabin of the new Volkswagen Passat SE Business edition

Luggage space is better too, saloon versions boasting an extra 21 litres, while the estate benefits from more again – now capable of stashing 650 litres.

The SE Business edition, as its title suggests, is aimed at fleet drivers so fuel economy is among the priorities.

Official stats have the 2.0-litre turbodiesel as returning 70.6 miles per gallon. When the needle was exactly touching the half-full mark I had completed 307 miles of mixed motoring, a decent return in anyone’s book.

There’s plenty of punch when you need it too, along with a smooth ride and positive steering – in short it’s a really sweet and enjoyable car to drive.

The five trim grades all offer plenty of standard kit, including the likes of a post-collision braking system and mis-fuelling prevention, while SE Business models get stuff like adaptive cruise control, Ergo Comfort seats, parking sensors and Discover Navigation.

Rear view of the Volkswagen Passat SE Business edition