Volkswagen’s new CC deserves a grade of ‘AA’
This time, it appears Volkswagen Group got it right.
When Volkswagen brought out the late and only somewhat lamented Phaeton, it shot for the automotive sky, figuring that all those loyal patrons from around the world were just waiting for an extremely expensive luxury car wearing the familiar “VW†emblem on its hood. The Phaeton was a great car, too, and that VW stood huge on the grille. Too huge, most figured. Turned out, luxury car buyers who were used to choosing Mercedes, BMW, Audi and sometimes Porsche for their luxury wheels, wanted their Volkswagens to be Germany’s trustworthy but inexpensive line.
Back when the calendar turned to 2008, VW showed off a sleek, new sedan on the auto show circuit, and some cynics reacted predictably about the company trying to go luxury again. But now it is new car production introduction time, and when the new Volkswagen CC was introduced to the automotive media, it was clearly a hit, because it is larger and more luxurious than the Passat on which it is based, but its price starts in the upper $20,000 range, even though its features go well beyond some of the competition.
VW has come a long way since all its cars were named for winds – Golf for the gulfstream, Jetta for the jetstream, Scirocco for desert winds, etc. — and the obvious question about the new CC is, “Why CC?Ââ€
“It means ‘Comfortable Coupe,’ not ‘Cool Car,’ †said Laura Soave, marketing manager for Volkswagen of America, although she had the bemused look of a marketing type who wouldn’t mind at all if we called it a cool car.
The trend, ever since Mercedes first brought out the CLS, is to make shapely, smoothly-silhouetted four-door sedans that are so sleek they resemble coupes. A few companies have made one, and the rest are trying to. Volkswagen has pulled it off with a flair. Worldwide, with the renewed emphasis on emerging auto markets in China and India, and with new plants in Russia and India, Volkswagen now has passed Ford to rank No. 3 in manufacturing size, behind Toyota and General Motors.
Styling will lead consumers to examine the CC, and once they look, the car has the substance to make new fans. VW anticipates 28,000 U.S. sales in its first year, and is positioning the CC to expand the company footprint.
The front end is simplified, losing the large grille that seemed to be swiped from Audi, VW’s upscale sibling, and is narrow and horizontal, with more airflow welcomed under the bumper. Foglights flank the lower opening, and well-styled headlights are enclosed behind plexiglass above the foglights. The standout shape, however, is the silhouette, because it is a four-door sedan, but it has a contantly curving roofline that clears the large interior and slopes quite steeply to the rear deck. Its form is stretched just over an inch longer than the Passat, at 189.5 inches, and its width is also over an inch greater, while its height is two inches lower.
That sloping roofline does not intrude on rear headroom, which is easily adequate for 6-footers, and it leaves a deceptively huge trunk. The rear exterior is less creative than the rest of the artful design; taillights resemble the established norm, with two lights encased in red plastic, only the lights themselves are oval instead of round, in an attempt to vary from Jettas, Malibus, Impalas, and numerous others. The overall exterior, however, is stunning, particularly from the side view, which retains the eye-catching lines of the auto show concept.
The idea is that the Passat, currently VW’s largest sedan, competes right well with the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, etc., but all of those midsize cars have grown larger. The more-compact Jetta will be aimed more at the enlarged compacts, where it will offer more room than the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, and Mazda3. The CC comes out as an upscale model that shares components with the Passat, and Jetta — and Audi A4 — and can challenge the entry-luxury flock. The CC is a roomy, four-passenger sedan, while the Passat serves the more family-oriented five-passenger arrangement, so the CC aims at the BMW 3-Series, Lexus ES and IS, Cadillac CTS, Infiniti G35, and Lincoln MKZ. Various Volvo sedans, Lincoln’s MKS, and various Acura models also are in the CC’s line of fire, but one vehicle conspicuously missing from that list of competitors is the new Audi A4.
Volkswagen officials insist they find very little cross-shopping between Audi and Volkswagen buyers, which seems curious, particularly because they share some components. When asked about whether the CC uses Audi’s A4 platform, VW officials said that there are many variations in componentry, and they prefer to say the CC, Passat and Jetta share components. In an election year, we shouldn’t be surprised at such question-avoidance. But the comparison to Audi components would seem to benefit Volkswagen, which, parent company or not, must be aware at how consistently successful recent Audi models have been.
The new Audi A4 – a competitor with the CC for 2009 North American Car of the Year – is one of the best all-encompassing sedans introduced this year, if not for several years. Its sticker price has risen to about $34,000, but its design, powertrain and features are outstanding. The CC offers some A4 attributes, while undercutting its Audi cousin by several thousand dollars.
The comparison is begged when you realize that the front-wheel-drive CC’s base “S†model comes equipped with Audi’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a turbocharged, dual-overhead-camshaft, variable-valve-timed gem that can be bought with a slick six-speed manual transmission in the CC for a base price of $26,790 – $1,000 more than a Passat. Go up to a six-speed Tiptronic automatic and it’s $27,890.
Moving up to the Luxury model boosts the price to $31,990, still with the 2.0, but still under the A4 sticker.
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Selecting the VR6 Sport means replacing the 2.0 with a 3.6-liter V6, VW’s own well-refined, narrow-angle, transverse-mounted V6 pulling the front wheels, which boosts the price to $38,300. The loaded VR6 4Motion all-wheel-drive model, also with the 3.6, is $39,300 for a base price. All those prices require a $650 destination charge, but nevertheless, if you buy the base CC at around $27,000, you are getting Audi A4 performance with that six-speed stick and saving $7,000 off the bottom line. Model for model, the CC ranges about $1,000 more than the Passat.
Power differs between the engines, of course. The V6 has 280 horsepower and 265 foot-pounds of torque, which makes the CC perform with the stability of a solidly-planted and impressive luxury sedan. EPA fuel figures estimate 27 miles per gallon.
Potent performance from the V6 is a given, but the turbocharger boosts the four to a perfect high-fuel-cost compromise. Its 200 horsepower is backed by 207 foot-pounds of torque, which operates over a wide band, reaching a peak at barely past idle speed and holding it up into the high-revving horsepower band. The result is adequate performance if you don’t get onto the throttle too hard, and over-30-mpg in the process. Get on it, meanwhile, and you get V6-like performance. If fuel economy dips from a heavier right foot application, the driver can make the choice, with both choices available.
The 2.0-Turbo feels distinctly different, although both cars are models of precise steering and handling, but the four feels lighter, undoubtedly because of an altered weight-distribution because of the lighter engine, and it remains the jewel. On our introductory test, we drove from Atlanta to Nashville, which is about a four-hour drive. Without advocating that anyone should drive beyond the speed limit, we zeroed the trip computer at one spot where the traffic flow on that interstate was well above the posted 70. Some intrepid auto writers will do anything in the name of science (wink-wink), and we found ourselves cruising at 80 with gusts to 85, just to be amid the flow. During that stretch that included the 80-85 pace, we averaged 30.9 miles per gallon with the 2.0-Turbo four and the six-speed manual.
All the expected safety features of German cars are built in, with airbags all around, and interior features include an enormous moonroof, an excellent navigation system with a back-up video monitor, and all the multimedia devices to interact with audio and satellite radio systems.
New seat designs add comfort and support, and the various interior color schemes are pleasant and easy to like, with brushed silver trim instead of glare-sucking bright silver, and the instruments and controls laid out with predictable German ergonomics. Rear seat room is spacious, and the trunk is large enough for a family-of-four trip.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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