I only have one minor complaint: I had some difficulty finding an ideal driving position despite the multiple power adjustments. And once everything was set, I realized that outward visibility was far from exceptional. The mirrors and rear window certainly don't help. Clearly, styling matters more here.

Upgraded engines
The 2009 Volkswagen Passat CC, which shares with the regular Passat only the name (by the way, the sedan will leave North America in 2011 while the CC is here to stay), is available in two trim levels only. The base Sportline model with 17-inch wheels uses an upgraded variant of the 2.0-liter TSI engine. It develops 200 horsepower through a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission.

Meanwhile, the Passat CC Highline with 18-inch alloys offers a long list of features, a 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system along with an available 280-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 which delivers surprisingly smooth performance. The lone transmission choice is a 6-speed automatic.

The base Sportline model uses a 2.0-liter TSI engine of 200 horsepower.

My tester was an automatic Highline model powered by the 2.0L engine. Equipment level was impressive with a premium sound system and exclusive wheels, among other things.

In either trim, the Passat CC's fun-to-drive personality lives up to the reputation of Volkswagen. The steering is lively and precise, the brakes are very aggressive and progressive, and accelerations are stronger than they probably need to be. That's because peak torque is available over a wide range, from 1,500 to 5,000 rpm.

Road trip
Journalists rarely get the chance to put a car to the test as extensively as we did. Taking no short-cuts, Volkswagen invited a small group of Canadian scribes to drive the new Passat CC from Nashville, Tennessee, to Atlanta, Georgia. We even stopped by Chattanooga, a city that became famous for its trains... and the future site of Volkswagen's next American plant. A coincidence? I guess not.

This road trip, which covered hundreds of kilometers, allowed me to appreciate the Passat CC in its natural element. On the small winding roads of rural Tennessee, it attacked corners with surgical precision, chewing their apex to pieces and never looking back.

The closely-spaced gear ratios of the Tiptronic autobox made it easy to control the car's surges. I never felt any hesitations. However, some steeper climbs made me find out the limits of the base engine.

The Passat CC proved to be docile even though it felt a bit nose-heavy in sharp turns. In the city, where heads kept turning in its direction, this Passat truly felt like a luxury midsize car, always remaining cool and comfortable under the hot sun of southern Tennessee.

If it were not for my cameraman Jerome, who still has problems reading maps, which forced us to make a detour of a few kilometers, the trip would have been a true success across the line.

Come to think of it, thank you Jerome: I spent more time behind the wheel of the Passat CC as a result.


Photo Credit : Marc Bouchard, Volkswagen