I know this is going to be a tough sell, a Volkswagen that costs north of $30,000. But trust me on this, the 2000 VW Passat GLX Wagon is worth it.
Just think of it as an Audi (its first cousin), BMW or Mercedes-Benz and the price suddenly makes sense. Remove the VW badge from the nose and substitute a blue and white propeller logo or a three-pointed star and we'd be dithering about what a bargain this vehicle represents.
But you have to make that leap of faith. You can no longer think of Volkswagen in terms of the old Beetle of the '60s or the Rabbit of the '70s. That was a different company; one that marketed itself as cheap transportation for college kids — alternatives to their fathers' Oldsmobiles.
The new Volkswagen is a different breed of People's Car; one that can run with the best of the European and Japanese imports.
I know the leap is hard to make, so deeply ingrained is our image of what Volkswagen represents. I've driven every VW model at least twice in recent years, and each time I'm surprised all over again at the transformation. Like so many of you, I owned a couple of Beetles and a Rabbit a few decades ago, and I still think of them as "alternative" transportation.
But there's nothing alternative about Passats, Jettas, New Beetles and Golfs. The new VW has gone mainstream, in an upscale, German "sports sedan" kind of way.
For proof, one need look no further than "Consumer Reports," that publication so beloved by people who drive Volvos and munch granola at the movies instead of popcorn. The magazine has for some time ranked the Passat as its favorite family sedan, giving it top marks for reliability, depreciation and all-around performance.
Car buffs don't like to cite Consumer Reports as a reason to buy a car. It's like getting a thumbs-up from your Aunt Henrietta. If she likes it, how cool can it be?
Very cool, in the case of the Passat Wagon. Compared to the bulky look of most SUVs, the Passat Wagon is sleek as a bullet, and a lot more fun to drive than any sport-ute. In top-line GLX trim with the 190-horsepower, 2.8-liter V6 and VW's new "4Motion" four-wheel-drive system, the GLX had me grinning from the moment I accelerated up the I-15 onramp.
During my week behind the Passat's leather-trimmed wheel, I found myself thinking that this could be the perfect car for a family of four. It's comfortable, supportive seats are among the best available, the ride quality is comparable to any luxury import, even those that cost thousands more, and it offers the versatility that station wagons have always had but without the drawbacks of SUVs.
I know, what I think of as drawbacks are the things that have made SUVs and minivans so popular: high seating position, lots of mass, oversize tires, high road clearance and such. But those things also create a high center of gravity, the enemy of good cornering, quick maneuvers, brisk acceleration, quick stopping, stability in the wind and good fuel economy.
All those describe the Passat and they are the essence of what car reviewers mean when they say a vehicle is fun to drive. Yes, even in highway-challenged Utah, tooling around in a Passat can bring back the joys of motoring.
I hope I've made it clear that you can buy a Passat for a lot less than $30k. Prices begin at $21,200 and you can get a pretty nicely equipped four-banger for about $23,000.
But it's the V6-powered GLX with all the bells and whistles of a top-line luxury import that lifts my tester into the ranks of its more prestigious German brethren.
Base price of the GLX is $28,455, and that includes every option that makes any sense at all, including four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock; front and side airbags; power windows, locks and mirrors; real wood interior trim, leather seats and an eight-speaker sound system; heated front seats, tilt/telescope steering wheel, power glass sunroof, auto climate control and a roof rack.
My tester also had the Tiptronic automatic transmission (Tiptronic adds the clutchless manual shift feature) for $1,075 (a five-speed manual is the standard tranny) and the 4Motion all-wheel-drive system added $1,650. A $525 delivery charge brought the bottom line to $31,705.
Fuel mileage is rated at 17 mpg in city driving and 24 mpg on the highway.
E-mail (max@desnews.com) or fax 801-236-7605. Max Knudson's car column runs each Friday.