The dashboard design is broken into upper and lower layers, avoiding the monolithic, crowded look of many contemporary control centers. The upper panel houses the air outlets and a deep cowl shading the gauges; the lower handles various accessory functions, including the button for the electronic parking brake, a rotary control for the headlamps and, to the right of the steering wheel, the engine start/stop slot.
Instead of fitting a key into a column-mounted ignition switch, the entire key fob is pushed into a dash-mounted slot. To stop the car and eject the fob, simply push it again. What might seem a gimmick is in reality a boon to safety and reliability: A dangling keychain can prematurely wear an expensive ignition switch or cause leg injury during a crash. However, we found VW's space-age ignition switch hung up sometimes when we tried to exit the car in a hurry, and was hard to pull out, which was annoying.
The center console flows rearward from the dash, housing the navigation screen, climate controls and shift lever. Flanking the shifter are buttons for ESP deactivation, an Auto Hold function to keep the car from rolling backward on hills, and optional Park Distance Control. Two large cupholders fit between the seats just forward of the folding armrest. The furry material around the cupholders looks like it could be a haven for crumbs, not good for people who eat in their car. Storage is available in a number of bins, including a sunglasses holder.
The Passat wagon can carry a large amount of cargo, even without folding the back seats down. Pulling out the cargo cover hides whatever you may be carrying from prying eyes. Fold the back seats down simply by flopping the seatbacks forward. This expands the cargo area, though the rear seats do not fold perfectly flat. Next Page