http://www.autoweek.com/article/2014010 ... dailydrive#
The car drives well enough to make me wonder why no other automakers are offering diesels in the affordable midsize market. Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are all hybrids.
I prefer this car to those, though the only way I'd get a Passat is with the diesel engine.
The effort that Volkswagen has made over the past several years to de-content and dumb down its cars is really obvious in the Passat. In the early to mid-aughts, Volkswagen was a leader in interior quality, building a sort of downmarket Audi. Then, Volkswagen saw what Toyota customers were willing to accept as far as fit and finish and material choices, and saw that Toyota was selling all the Corollas they could make and must have thought, “Hey, vee can do zat. Americans vahnt crap, ve can give zem crap.”
So basically it's large, bland, and gets good fuel economy. Normally that would sound like a recipe for success but:
...Volkswagen's timing was off because now Kia, Hyundai and the Americans are offering midsized sedans that look, feel and drive special. And that makes it hard to recommend the Passat -- even a Passat with that efficient, torquey and tractable TDI motor.