WHY SOME MARQUES label their estate cars as sports wagons, beats me. When I drive a car loaded with passengers and their belongings to the airport, I drive slowly, as if I'm trying to impress a driving instructor. After all, I'm usually carrying three passengers in the back who are probably packed to the straining doors.
Then there's the risk of all their luggage, banging about. Go too fast to Chek Lap Kok and those cases might dent the car's interior, or if they're not stowed properly, hit the back of someone's head when I brake. So, if you're constantly moving people and stuff, you might agree that station wagon drivers consider stashability and safety as much as sportscar fans desire speed.
My eyes water when I first see the Passat Variant, the station-wagon version of the Passat saloon. In the station-wagon world, the boot of the Passat Variant is cavernous, with its bump at the back - and that's good news for mums who do school runs or have a constant flow of house guests. The wagon's lid opens high and wide to reveal 603 litres of storage (38 litres more than you get in the saloon). And when you fold all the seats down, you get a whopping 1,731 litres inside, enough for all my friends and their luggage.
Volkswagen dealers Harmony Motors showed how the Passat Variant can accommodate a set of Rimowa luggage or ice boxes for boat trips, a cricket team's tea and kit, and assorted household appliances. The boot's floor is flat and carpeted and the sills are straight, so you get maximum use of the rear's space, instead of having to fill those spots around the wheel arches of a saloon.
There's a 'luggage-management package', comprising a pair of telescopic bars plus a lashing strap that can partition the boot. Then there are the foldable back seats, retractable curtain and cover, and a vital luggage net.
The boots of all station wagons nowadays are well designed, but the Passat Variant's is spacious and practical. The estate version is taller than the saloon's, even though it's as wide, with a 2.709m wheelbase. Volkswagen likes you to think of the Passat Variant as stylish instead of sporty, which is fair because it doesn't have the fast look of the Audi A4 Avant or A3 Sportback.
