Volkswagen Passat News

The Volkswagon Passat 132 TSI was one of the 11 finalists chosen to compete for the 2015 CarsGuide Car of the Year crown.

Kia's family seven-seater stands out, setting a precedent in a singular field.

There are few bad cars on the road these days, which made it tougher than ever to pick a field for CarsGuide's 2015 Car of the Year award.The process started in December last year. A week after we awarded the Mercedes-Benz C-Class our gong, we were on the launch of the new Subaru Outback.It was the first of more than 300 new cars we pored over before arriving at 11 finalists. In between there were head-to-head battles and three-way shootouts between the most impressive of the newcomers and the existing benchmarks.Comparison tests are vital because it's easy to come away from a new car launch impressed by Brand X's latest and greatest. But it takes back-to-back testing — on the same stretch of bitumen, same potholes, same freeway — to sort the winners from the also-rans.This year's COTY judging threw up a few surprises. The first was the CX-3. It felt good to drive on the launch and when we tested it against the best in its class, it also came out on top. Up against our other finalists, it felt underdone and overpriced. The conclusion? The mini-SUV may be the new "must-have" automotive accessory but none of the new breed — there have been six all-new arrivals this year — is as practical or fun to drive as a humble hatchback.Next was the BMW X1, which fellow judge Joshua Dowling called "the most un-BMW BMW I've driven". An SUV from a German luxury brand for a tad over $60,000 sounds like a good deal, especially when a Toyota Kluger can cost similar money.While much improved over its predecessors in some areas, the X1 was underdone in others. The seats, usually a BMW highlight, were flat and unsupportive, while the front suspension crashed rudely over bumps.To a much lesser extent the same criticism could be levelled at our runner-up, the Mercedes-Benz GLC. It is still an impressive vehicle but not as well sorted as the C-Class. In their quest for new buyers, are the luxury brands losing their luxuriousness?The surprises weren't all bad, though. The fact that the Ford Ranger made our final five is testimony to the huge advances made in one-tonne utes in recent years. The Ranger didn't feel a million miles off the rest of the field on our road loop.A decade ago, jumping out of a Volvo into a Ford ute would have been like trading the Merc for a Massey Ferguson. Not now.Which brings us to the last — and most pleasant — COTY surprise: the winner, Kia's Sorento. Ever since the Koreans pinched Audi's head designer, Kia cabins have looked a cut above their competitors. Local suspension tuning has made them ride better, while their diesel engines are on par with some of the best for refinement. Add an industry leading seven-year warranty and there's plenty to like.If you're put off by the badge on the nose, it's your loss. 

This year's line-up is a dream team of pace machines, heavy-hitters and all-rounders.

US owners of VW cars with diesel engines that can cheat emissions tests have already been given $500, but local owners still have no compensation.

Three weeks after the global scandal broke, Australian owners of VW diesel cars finally know if their car is affected or not.

The VW diesel scandal has now reached Australian showrooms, with 10 models now banned from sale effectively immediately.

As the Volkswagen diesel crisis reaches its fifth day, lawyers are lining up to find out if cars sold locally are affected.Related: Is BMW about to join VW diesel scandal?More: ACCC lasunches investigation into VW diesel scandalAlso: Does the VW diesel scandal affect you

There are now more than 11 million Volkswagen diesel cars -- and possibly 50,000 in Australia -- caught up in the software cheat that secretly tricked emissions testing equipment.

The British pair just set their 93rd Guinness record for fuel economy and, during a round-Australia run backed by Caltex, dropped in on Whincup in Brisbane to give him a few tips on getting the best from the tank in his V8 Supercars Commodore."We hope we helped him," John Taylor said.If anyone can help it's the Taylors, as they make their living from travelling the world in search of fuel-economy records.On their most recent trip in a Volkswagen Passat, the pair covered a total of 18,830km in 38 days on a figure-of-eight route around Australia, averaging 5.36L/100km using 98-octane premium fuel. Their result was 25.5 per cent better than VW's official fuel economy figure of 7.2L/100km — significantly better than their own target of a 15 per cent improvement.The result meant they managed to eke more than 300km extra on each tankful."We do it because we really want to make a difference in people's lives," John said. "We're trying to educate people to do things moderately, not to put the airconditioning on full blast or stamp on the accelerator."Their technique is all about maintaining momentum, doing things gently and looking ahead to anticipate any challenges. "It's not about crawling along. On the open road we set a target of driving no more than five per cent under the speed limit, so we'd be sitting at 95 to 100."The pair promises to be back in Australia this year."Over the next couple of years we'll be doing some diesel drives. Before the end of the year we'll be definitely doing some caravan drives, with diesel and petrol, so we can give the right advice to that group of people."