Meet Volkswagen's All New CC

This is the wide-track Passat, Volkswagen's Bonneville to its everyday Chevy Belair of a Passat sedan. If you're too young to know what that means, all you need to know is that the Passat CC that made its debut at the Detroit show is VW's latest move upmarket, a sporty four-door coupe that bridges the gap between the Passat and the Europe-only Phaeton sedan and takes on the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class (which is V-8-only in the U.S.). It will come with all kinds of sport/luxury features, but not the Phaeton's V-8 or W-12. Standard engine for the U.S. will be the GTI's 197-horsepower, 2.0-liter TSI turbo four, with front drive and six-speed manual or automatic. The 3.6-liter FSI V-6, rated 295 horsepower and with 4Motion all-wheel drive only, will come with a six-speed Tiptronic automatic (a DSG is available with this engine in Europe). The TSI four will do 0-to-62 mph in 7.6 seconds; the V-6 will do it in 6.6, VW says.
Like the CLS, the Passat CC comes with frameless doors. It has a subtle, integrated rear spoiler and a claimed 0.29 coefficient of drag. Wheels are 17-inch standard, 18-inch optional. As for longer, lower, wider, the 188.8-inch-long CC has 1.2 inches on the Passat sedan, and it's two-inches lower, with a 0.4-inch-wider front- and 0.6-inch-wider rear track. We'd be tempted to call it a "poor man's CLS," except that its appointments seem to counter VW's latest move toward cheaper cars in the U.S. To wit:

New Dynamic Drive Control (DDC) with electrically adjustable suspension offers the driver three settings: normal, sport, and comfort.

Optional Lane Assist steering, which uses the electro-mechanical system to counter-steer your steering forces if it detects a lane-change without signaling. VW says the driver can "override" Lane Assist with "very little force."

ACC Automatic Distance Control, VW's version of Distronic cruise control.

Optional Panorama vent sunroof, covering the top back to the B-pillar.

2+2 seating, with ergonomically designed sport seats and optional heating and cooling front and rear, standard six-way power or optional 12-way power driver's seat, three different leather sport steering wheels available, a new-generation radio and navigation system with a hard drive, and rear-assist parking camera based in the VW emblem.

Standard air-conditioned center armrest compartment, rear seat pass-through from the trunk and electric rear window screen.
- MotorTrend.com