PHAETON JUNIOR; Upcoming Passat reveals it's ready to step up to the bigs.(News)

Byline: GREG KABLE Volkswagen has made little secret it wants the sixth-generation Passat to leapfrog its usual mid-class rivals such as the Nissan Maxima and take on upscale cars like the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. That's one hell of a task. Only five minutes into our first drive of the European model, though, and it seems VW may have succeeded.

Wolfsburg replaced the old Passat with a car that is more agile, more rewarding to drive hard and yet better isolated from the outside world. The upmarket aspirations are reflected in the Passat's styling. With that bold ...

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