Should you buy one?

If you’re in the market for a large, possibly premium, estate car the new Volkswagen Passat is definitely worth considering. It is luxurious and capable and quietly gets on with the job. It is outstandingly refined, has acres of room inside and is an excellent long-distance cruiser.

Is it the best estate car you can buy at this price point? That’s a tough call with cars like the Audi A4 Avant and BMW 3 Series Touring being offered with some knockout finance deals, but the Passat’s deadliest rival will be the closely-related Skoda Superb Estate, which offers a very similar blend, but also a better-resolved interior.

What we like

The refinement and seat comfort really are from the top drawer, while the practicality knocks all of its rivals (Skoda aside) into a knocked hat.

What we don’t like

We don’t get the diesel version in the UK, and the plug-in hybrid model will be following later. And although styling is a purely subjective matter, it’s hard not to conclude that its looks are deeply conservative in a market filling up with many adventurous and progressive designs.