Volkswagen Passat 2.0 Turbo FSI Review: Trading Gale-Force Winds This Time

I love the steering though. The electrohydraulic, rack-and-pinion unit feels as stiff as it needs to be, while being nice and meaty to hold. Calibration is razor sharp, although it gets a little numb at low speeds and engine revs until you gas it a little.

Despite the watchful gaze of the ESP, there was lots of torque steer and wheel spin to be had as and when we felt like it, which is really good because I hate intrusive ESPs.

The brakes work really well, but they can be over zealous at times, requiring a gentle right foot to stop. Mash them hard and you will be dragged down from whatever illegal speed you are carrying in a jiffy, with minimal drama.

Acceleration wise, putting the pedal to the metal feels like a two movement symphony – a sedate march to 2500 rpm, then a turbocharged scherzo to 4000, afterwhich everything feels like one of those fast, Russian dances to the redline.

If you’re lucky, you’ll hear the tyres screaming and clawing for grip. You see 100km/h in about 7.5 seconds. Perhaps what might be good for the economically minded, the turbo never shows its fangs when driven sedately around town.

To sum it up, we like this car for the same reasons that we like the other, naturally aspirated 2 litre Passat tested earlier this year. Like what the Cooper S was to the Cooper, the Passat Turbo manages to be the faster, more aggressive Passat.

While the fellow GTi enthusiast will frown upon the padded nature of the Passat, it is a no holds barred cocoon rapid enough for the high flying executive to appreciate when he ends his rough day at work.

Credits: Text and Photos by Kaiser Wilhelm