2015 VW Passat TDI SE

The 2015 VW Passat is Volkswagen’s premier North American passenger car, designed for the U.S. market and assembled in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It differs from the European version of the same name in size (Volkswagen calls it “the largest Passat ever”), styling, suspension tuning, and, most important, in price, making it more competitive in the American mid-size sedan market. There are three engines, all of which drive the front wheels only: a 1.8-liter turbocharged gasoline four-cylinder, new to the powertrain inventory in 2014; VW’s unique 3.6-liter narrow-angle “VR6” V-6; and a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel four, redesigned for 2015 and powering the version we drove for this review.