Volkswagen Passat - Pictures

An Auto Hold function takes the sting out of hill starts, as it applies the electric handbrake until you’re ready to pull away

While Passat’s cabin is smaller than rivals, build quality is faultless and it’s easy to get comfortable behind the wheel

The rear seats fold totally flat, but only because the bases flip up – which in turn restricts overall load length

The £165 sliding divider works well, and is ideal when you have fragile or loose items to move

The wide transmission tunnel and lack of legroom mean centre seat is only suitable for children