Engine Review: 2017 Volkswagen Passat Highline V6 BEST CAR

This is a review of the 2017 Volkswagen Passat V6. 

That's right: it's not a diesel (obviously), not an artificially aspirated inline-four, not a hybrid. This sixth-generation Passat, delivered to GCBC Towers by Volkswagen Canada, is equipped with a six-cylinder powerplant breathing on its own: no turbos, no superchargers, no battery-electric whizbang. 

A vee-shaped six. Six cylinders, arranged in the shape of a V, or as close as Volkswagen wants the six cylinders to resemble a V in its narrow-angle VR6 tradition. 

3.6 liters of displacement in a 2.0-liter world. 

THE GOOD + Mega motor + Massive rear seat + Quick shifting DSG + Big car mannerisms + Outside the box

THE BAD – High price of entry – Anonymous design – Some fiddly controls – Big car mannerisms – Bizarrely dim-witted steering

The V6 engine is certainly no longer normal, not in a class of midsize cars where the overwhelming majority of buyers choose a four-cylinder model and roughly half of all competitors don't even offer a V6 as an upgrade.

Economics, regulations, marketplace trends, and technological advancement have conspired against six largeish cylinders. A torquey turbo inline-four like the 2017 Volkswagen Passat's own 1.8T will cost less, pollute less, satisfy the demands of most buyers, and surprise many with its real-world grunt. 

And yet the six-cylinder lives, not only here in the 2017 Volkswagen Passat Highline, but also in the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy, discontinued Chrysler 200, and in a new turbocharged Sport version of the Ford Fusion.

Those nameplates accounted for seven out of every ten midsize car sales in Canada last year. 

But we know only a fraction of those sales were produced by cars with V6 powerplants. For good reason.

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We've reviewed the Volkswagen Passat before. That diesel-powered car is no longer available, and some members of the competition have moved the midsize game on. Indeed, the Passat has been refreshed since then, as well. Nevertheless, unlike a typically thorough GCBC Driven review, this review focuses on the V6 engine option, rather than discussing the Passat as a whole. 

You can, however, summarize the car this way. Bland styling masks a composed chassis that exhibits some of the tendencies of a hefty, traditional, American full-sized car: dead steering on the straightahead that's slow to react, just a hint of float when you want the car to button down during a mid-corner rise, too much body roll to properly battle the athleticism of the Mazda 6 or Honda Accord Sport. Torque steer, fortunately, is largely curtailed – 280 horsepower makes its way to the pavement fairly easily. The back seat is huge. The non-CarPlay tech interface is old but straightforward. From the typically comfortable Germanic seat, thick bolsters and firm cushions, visibility is excellent. Some of the newer safety tech added to this older design causes the Passat to feel older – they're not easily altered through strange instrument cluster sub-menus.