VW Passat CC

Down to the Passat CCs low roofline, it was something that might have been enough to put me off the car for good.

That it didn't is testament to what I thought of VW's Merc chaser.

Designed to rival the likes of the C-Class or BMW's 3-Series, the CC, which stands for Comfort Coupe and not Coupe Convertible if you were wondering, offers a little taste of luxury for a little less than luxury price tag.

It is very easy on the eye, and more than one friend of mine, when viewing it side on, enquired what it was and were a little taken aback when directed to the VW insignia on the bonnet.

The cars lines sweep effortlessly from front to back, and there's great attention to detail, be it the car's elegantly sculpted headlights or its imposing alloy wheels.

The doors of this four-seater are frameless and aim to give the illusion of the glass and steel flowing into each other. That might seem a little pretentious, but the effect works, nevertheless.

The Passat's rear is not bad to look at either. Quite often car manufacturers don't appear to give as much thought to their product's behinds as they do the other aspects of its appearance and, as a result, the overall effect suffers.

Not VW, not on this model at least, its flanks blending with its posterior in a way that's almost seamless.

The boot looks relatively dainty from the outside, but this belies the space within, a full 532 litres to be exact, reaching deep beneath the rear seats.

Inside, the car lives up to its Comfort billing. The interior is of the usual VW build quality, but there are touches here and there - such as the telephone keypad hidden away in the fascia and which pops up effortlessly on demand - that take it a step above.

The dash and centre console has brushed aluminium inserts in it, which while commonplace in models of this ilk these days, are effective nonetheless.

The leather seats afford a good degree of comfort and are positioned lower than in the regular Passat in an effort to give the car a sporty feel.

The steep rake of the windscreen can make you feel like you are sat right in front of the glass, but I found it gave me a better sense of the cars proportions.

As mentioned earlier, there is only room for four and due to the design of the roof, the taller among you might struggle to get comfortable in the rear without leaning forward.

If you're like me, though, and of average height you should have no problems at all and there's plenty of leg room to compensate.

If you can stretch to it, the panoramic sunroof, an extra £778 over the list price, gives the car a very light and airy feel to it.

The CC comes with a choice of engines, three petrol and two diesel ranging from 1.8 litre to 3.0 litres in size. Our test car featured the 2.0 litre diesel, and is the one I would recommend if asked.

Allied to a six-speed gearbox it provided more than enough power in each gear, was excellent at cruising speed, emitted little in the way of noise and proved to be a more than frugal unit.

You also have the choice of three settings for the suspension, though, as with most cars I have tested that have this option, I tended to leave it in the default setting. Only the most anal of car buffs would actually notice any significant difference between the three after all.

If you're not seduced by badges, the CC is a serious alternative to the more established German barges I could mention.

In fact, there is little if anything I can find to fault it - the only headache it gave me during our time together being completely self-inflicted.