• Huge improvement over recent VWs
• Excellent infotainment system
• Solid build quality

How is the quality and layout?

Quality is great. Granted, the Passat won’t ever rival the Audi A6 Avant or BMW 5 Series Touring for luxury, but there’s a reassuring solidity to the way Volkswagen has nailed it together. Subjectively speaking, we prefer the Skoda Superb’s interior for its material choices and its clever multi-functional dials. But the Passat is a close second.

You can tell that Volkswagen has worked hard to make the Passat more user friendly than the original version of the Mk8 Golf, too. The company’s woeful touch-sensitive steering wheel controls have been banished in favour of proper buttons (rejoice!), and there’s now a fixed climate hot bar at the bottom of the infotainment screen.

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We just wish Volkswagen had pinched the physical dials from the Passat’s sister car. You still get the same silly touch-sensitive sliders as the Golf, although they are at least now backlit which means you can see where they are at night. However, this rather daft ergonomic oversight is balanced out by some truly intelligent interior details (which you can thank Skoda for).

For example, the cupholder in the Passat’s centre console has little bobbles on its base that lock into the divots on the bottom of a Coke bottle, which means you can open it one handed! There’s also a flip-out mount on the rear arm rest that’s designed to hold a smartphone so those in the back can watch videos without clinging to their device.

Infotainment and technology

Volkswagen has made enormous strides with its latest generation infotainment system. Our R-Line test car was fitted with the same vast 15.0-inch touchscreen you get in the all-electric ID.7 hatchback – and the firm’s software engineers have worked tirelessly to banish the bugs and gripes we suffered in the screens fitted to the ID.3 and Golf.

The Passat’s user interface has been properly pared back – and Volkswagen has ditched the rather archaic Windows smartphone-esque menu design and muted palette. Now, you get a simple shortcut bar at the top of the screen for items like the safety tech and drive modes, a fixed climate menu at the bottom of the screen that allows constant access to the heated seat controls and a high contrast colour scheme. It’s great.

You also get wireless support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. And because the Passat’s screen is a little squarer than the slimline units you’ll find in the latest Citroens, Peugeots and even BMWs, the content you’re mirroring has more breathing space.

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In Android Auto’s split-screen mode, for example, you have a lot more headroom for your navigation app, which means you can see more of your route without needing to zoom uncomfortably far out. As an added benefit, even the most basic Passat Life comes with a wireless smartphone charger as standard.

That means, once you’ve connected your phone to the car’s dashboard, your experience is utterly seamless. You simply jump in the car, chuck your phone on the charging pad and watch as your content appears on the screen. Plus, the Passat’s wireless charger is powerful enough to penetrate even the bulkiest shock absorbing cases, which is more than can be said for the latest Stellantis and Toyota products.

Comfort

• Excellent driving position
• Surprisingly well refined
• Fabulous massaging seats

Volkswagen knows its audience. It knew its Passat buyers are going to cover big miles in their cars, so it gave the estate a great driving position. You get ample adjustment in the steering column (including a generous amount of telescoping) and plenty of settings for the driver’s seat.

We’ve only experienced the sporty Passat R-Line so far, but its figure-hugging seats balance comfort and support admirably well. They’re tight enough to hold you in place on a twisty B-road, but not so pinchy that your kidneys get bruised when you’re cruising. Refinement is good, too. It’s a little boomy when you’re driving around with nothing in the boot – but it isn’t offensive.

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If you’re prepared to splash a little more cash on your Passat, you can even have massaging seats. Elegance and R-Line cars come with a three-chamber massage function as standard, although you can upgrade those to Volkswagen’s 10-chamber pressure point massaging seats as an optional extra.

If you’re the sort who spends more time on the motorway than you do at home, we strongly recommend you treat yourself to the upgraded seats because they’re the best massaging seats fitted to any car this side of a Mercedes S-Class. They have a variety of settings designed to stretch your lower back and shoulders – and they really help ease fatigue on a long drive.