Volkswagen CC V6 2012 review

The VW Passat CC, the first four-door coupe in its market segment, has been replaced by a new model, this time simply called the Volkswagen CC. Volkswagen wants the CC to have its own separate identity in the automotive world.

VALUE

The Volkswagen CC is priced to go up against the likes of the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The CC 125 TDI starts at $54,990, the V6 FSI $64,990. And with a long list of options, buyers are invited to add their own touches of exclusivity.

The classy car only goes to add a further dimension to the ever expanding luxury sedan market. These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local Volkswagen dealer for drive-away prices.

Standard features are comprehensive and include driver fatigue detection, satellite navigation, rear-view camera and front comfort head restraints with added front-rear adjustment.

There is more help for the driver with an assistance package that includes Side Assist and Lane Assist, which warn of vehicles in blind spots if you haven’t set the mirrors correctly, and prevents unintentional wandering between lanes by intervening in steering. There’s even Adaptive Cruise Control with Front Assist, and City Emergency Brake function.

Optional features include active climate control and ventilated front seats with black Nappa leather upholstery that now incorporate a massage function. There’s room for three people in the back.

TECHNOLOGY

The car comes with the choice of two engines – a 3.6-litre V6 FSI petrol putting out 220 kW of power at 6600 rpm and a 2.0-litre TDI common-rail turbo-diesel delivering 125 kW. Both engines produce 350 Nm of torque, the petrol between 2400 and 5300 rpm, the diesel from a low 1750 revs.

The V6 power is put to the ground via VW’s 4Motion all-wheel drive system. Both engines are mated with a six-speed DSG double-clutch automatic with semi-manual mode using the gear lever or steering wheel-mounted shift paddles.

Volkswagen’s tests show petrol power can have the CC travelling at 100 km/h from rest in a nippy 5.6 seconds after takeoff. The diesel will hit the same target in 8.6 seconds. Countering this, fuel consumption is put at 9.7 litres per 100 kilometres (petrol) and 5.7 litres/100 km (diesel) in combined city and highway driving. Emissions are 215 grams per kilometre of carbon dioxide, for the petrol, and 150 g/km, the diesel.

DESIGN

Naturally, the all-new CC follows the trend of the latest Volkswagen design DNA. From the side it offers sleek and uncluttered lines, starting with the redesigned bonnet and bumper which add a powerful profile. While frameless doors have been left alone in their shape, the sills connecting the wheel arches are more sculpted and bring focus to the car’s squat silhouette.

The radiator grille and bonnet have been revised, with the addition of bi-xenon headlamps incorporating a cornering function and with LED daytime running lights completing the picture. Out the back there are more straight-line surfaces and horizontal lines than on the previous model, while the large VW logo acts as the boot handle and houses the rear-view camera.

New LED lights are distinctive, clearly visible and fast acting. The petrol powered model is distinguishable from the diesel by the tailpipe set-up, the petrol having chrome tips and being divided on the left and right of the vehicle, the diesel outlets being twinned on the left.

Despite the coupe-like sleek exterior, cabin headroom has not been compromised – 955 mm (949 mm with panoramic glass roof) in the front and 922 mm in the rear.

The Volkswagen CC offers keyless access to the cabin. The boot can be opened by the holder of the fob performing a kicking movement close to the rear of the car so they can open it even when both hands are carrying stuff. It brings a whole new meaning to ‘boot scoot’.

Soft touch cabin surroundings and leather upholstered front seats confirm the continuation of the exterior quality of the car, while an optional ambient lighting system is designed to provide a relaxing lounge-like atmosphere at night.

DRIVING

With the watery winter Tassie sun fighting to burn off the low lying morning mist and remnants of overnight ice on the roads, members of the Australian motoring media set off on a drive from Hobart up the east coast of the island. It was four degrees Celsius outside; inside the cosy yet spacious cabin that fact was hardly noticeable.

The petrol powered sedan served up fuel consumption of a tad over 10 litres per 100 kilometres in spite of some spirited driving, while the diesel weighed in with around six litres per 100 kilometres under similar conditions.

In both cases the cars came up with what can only be described as a pleasant drive thanks to extremely good manners in not the easiest of conditions – damp surfaces on narrow, twisty country roads shared at times with slow moving trucks and agricultural equipment, plus the downtown drag of other road users wending their way, seemingly with much reluctance, to work.