Eight months ago I ditched my mind numbingly boring Toyota SUV for a Made-in-the-Fatherland VW Passat. This is my first ever German car, and if cars are supposed to be an extension of one's personality, I have been practising adopting a more serious Teutonic demeanor and smiling less, drinking more Blue Nun, and trying to score some very lucky goals on the soccer pitch...LOL.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand - 'Amadeus' is fast, very fast. This is the first car that actually makes me grin like a Cheshire Cat just by flooring the pedal. The turbo engine makes light work of accelerating during my daily commutes on the autobahn and feels rock steady. My only regret is not getting the manual transmission, but that said, the 6 speed automatic with the Drive, Sport and semi-manual Tiptronic mode is very responsive with zero turbo lag. For me, the big difference between this and other Japanese vehicles I've driven is how solid and well built it feels. The power steering feels heavier but that's not a bad thing compared to the feather light steering-with-one-finger feel of Japanese autos.
I just love taking the 'dog' out for it's daily exercise.... :))
