Upholding the successful tradition of all its predecessor generations, the new Passat again takes the honours as winner of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper’s “Goldenes Lenkrad” (golden steering wheel) award.

Highly regarded internationally, the prestigious prize this year celebrates its 30th anniversary. A jury comprising 25 experts, celebrities and sporting figures from the world of motor sports reviewed the attributes of a total of 25 automobiles in the five categories “Small Vehicles”, “Compact and Mid-Size Vehicles”, “Premium-Class Vehicles”, “Off-Road Vehicles” and “Super Sports Cars”. The jury found the Passat’s qualities so compelling that it chose this vehicle above a field of renowned contenders for the prize in the category.

On the occasion of the award ceremony in Berlin, Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, CEO for the Volkswagen brand, said, “The new Passat impressively shows that it has the stuff of a winner. I am particularly happy that this sixth-generation Passat, like its predecessors, should once more receive the award, proving, not least, the success of our strategy to series-fit the Passat with comfort and safety features otherwise only found in the premium class.”

The awarding of “Goldenes Lenkrad 2005” to Passat reflects the recognition which this model currently enjoys on the German market. Indeed, the latest figures released by the Federal Office for Motor Traffic for the month of September 2005 reveal 7,903 new registrations for the Passat and a market share of 16.6 percent, making it the top seller in the segment for mid-class cars.

Volkswagen models have traditionally always been successful when it came to the “Goldenes Lenkrad” award. Previous winners of this coveted prize have also included the Polo, Golf, Touran and Touareg. The Passat first received the award in 1977.

The new Passat – equipped to win:
The new Passat has been available in Europe as a saloon since March of this year and as a wagon since 19th August. The Passat comes with a choice of four fittings packages: Trendline, Comfortline, Sportline and Highline. Even the basic package, Trendline, includes features such as the electric stabilisation programme, the Climatic system, six airbags, an electronic parking brake, electromechanical power steering, the “Press&Drive” ignition system, LED indicator lights and tail light plus automatic emergency-brake blinkers, and an asymmetrically separable and fold-down rear bench. An extensive array of extras is also available, among them climate control with an indirect-ventilation function (Climatronic), a DVD-navigation system, the “Kessy” system (keyless entry start and exit), bi-xenon headlamps with around-the-curve and cornering functions, a tyre-inflation-pressure system, newly integrated child seats with side panels and extra headrest mountings, automatic distance control, a sun roof, a 250-Watt Volkswagen sound system or a 600-Watt 10-channel Dynaudio sound system, and a 230-volt Euro-socket.

The new Passat is expected to be released in Australia in early 2006.

2006 Volkswagen Passat wagon

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