VW Passat eHybrid Estate is Economical, Enjoyable and Perfectly Practical.

Volkswagen’s Passat model has existed for fifty years, and the latest version is only available as an estate option. The car's extra length enables it to be used for many functions and proves practical and economical.

An estate car must carry a family's luggage, sports kit, shopping or camping gear. Then, when required, it must be practical and converted into a removal vehicle. These scenarios are why estate owners chose the vehicle body type to accommodate their life choices.

The entry-level Volkswagen Passat engine is a 148bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol with a mild hybrid to increase efficiency and performance. I drove the cheaper of the two plug-in hybrids, the 1.5 TSI eHybrid, which has 201bhp. Importantly, it has a 19.7kWh battery, which gives the Volkswagen Passat an official electric-only range of up to 81 miles.

The Volkswagen Passat has the DSG Auto gearbox, with the PHEV having six speeds and the other versions having seven. The suspension you get as standard means the ride is lumpy in urban settings but smoother when on faster roads. Opting for the top-spec trim version gives you DCC Pro advanced suspension, which you can add to other trim levels, allowing you to choose from 15 firmness levels. Potholes and other unpleasant road surfaces are suppressed brilliantly on the softest setting. There's a preset Comfort mode, which trades a little control for extra suppleness, and a Sport mode, which does the opposite. In Sport, body lean is reduced and the steering weights up to give the driver a greater sense of connection to the front wheels.

The VW Passat is at its best as a long-distance cruiser thanks to its well-suppressed wind and road noise. You get laminated side windows from mid-spec Elegance trim up, making things quieter.

All versions of the VW Passat offer plenty of seat and steering wheel adjustment, so you should have no trouble finding a comfortable driving position. All trims even have an electric backrest adjustment and a massage function.

The large windows impress with driving visibility, and front and rear sensors and a rear-view camera aid parking.

The simplistic dashboard means controlling functions using the VW voice control system or the 12.9-inch touchscreen infotainment display. You have buttons on the steering wheel, which are backlit, so you can see them at night. A digital driver’s display can be configured to show various information in different layouts. The excellent head-up display projects information onto the windscreen in your line of sight.

The Volkswagen Passat estate is long and wide, with a greater distance between its front and rear wheels. It provides lots of interior space and more storage space between the front seats. Rear occupants have plenty of room to spread out and good visibility to the front.

The Passat's wide rear door openings make access easy, and rear storage space includes map and phone pockets on the rear of the front seats. The fold-down centre armrest has two cupholders and a tray holding a smartphone upright so you can watch a video.

The Volkswagen Passat's boot is cavernous, essential when buying an estate. The mild-hybrid petrol model has 690 litres of luggage space beneath the load cover. If you choose a Plug-in Passat, luggage space shrinks to 510 litres to accommodate the drive battery beneath the boot floor.

The PHEV Volkswagen Passat can run on electric power for a significant period, which could mean low fuel consumption and electric bills for the owner if they can take advantage of a cheap overnight tariff for charging. The Volkswagen Passat can use public 50kW DC chargers, speeding things up considerably and making life and long journeys easier. The entry-level mild hybrid petrol Passat averages more than 50mpg, proving economical.

Volkswagen has an array of standard equipment, including entry-level Life trim, ambient interior lighting, adaptive cruise control, and three-zone climate control. Mid-level Elegance adds additional ambient lighting colour options, heated front seats and extra massage settings. Top-spec R-Line models feature sporty styling upgrades. Every Passat has lane-keeping assistance, automatic emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, and a driver monitoring system for driver fatigue.

When you buy an estate car, you consciously decide to own a vehicle that can carry loads and offers practicality. The Volkswagen Passat provides a gigantic cargo area, especially when the rear seats are folded. The performance is respectable, and you will find it economical, particularly when running on electric in town. The car has plenty of functionality and adaptability, so you can have it as your accommodation for camping or as a passenger carrier hauling children to school, large amounts of shopping, or European tours. The perfect utilitarian vehicle.

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Isaac’s voice

The new VW Passat is an elegant-looking saloon that will keep the Passat as Volkswagen's second-highest-selling car.

During my week with the Passat, during busy times, I drove it on various roads from country to motorway and around small towns. It handled all these terrains incredibly, which is no surprise due to its features, including front wheel drive, steering responsiveness, and acceleration. It made taking corners on country roads a blast! Its extended chassis and DCC Pro adaptive suspension made the difference in making the long motorway journeys a pleasure instead of a chore. The last features that helped it shine in driving around town/cities were its accurate 360-degree camera and sensors. Some cars will have you hearing beeping from a mile away from any curb or car; however, this is not the case in the newest Passat. It also gives you complete control when reversing. It doesn’t give too much power when feathering the throttle like some automatic cars do. This combination made me comfortable manoeuvring the vehicle, which usually takes more than a week. Still, it felt like I was just as comfortable in my car.

Other than the features listed above, the exterior also made me want to keep finding reasons to drive. I found myself admiring the car countless times, as it’s got great curves on the bonnet, which are also seen on the bottom of each side of the vehicle, and quite a mean-looking grill. The bumper and boot, however, don’t seem to fit the car as they appear chunky. This may be the case as the boot space is very generous, fitting 690 litres.

Interior-wise, what can I say other than it’s Volkswagen? They rarely miss the mark in this aspect, and they haven’t. The leather interior suits the car and caters to its target audience. The physical buttons in the car are a big yes from me! You can focus more on driving than fiddling with touch-responsive buttons. However, VW has added a gigantic touch screen system, which is not needed in my eyes and is not very smooth in its operation.