Car blogs

What were the folks at Volkswagen thinking when they named their newest sedan the CC? Actually, its full name is the Passat CC. The reason being that the CC is built on the same wheelbase as the Passat, its smaller sibling. Yet, most Volkswagen literature and its own Web site simply shorten the name to the CC. The CC...


What were the folks at Volkswagen thinking when they named their newest sedan the CC?

Actually, its full name is the Passat CC. The reason being that the CC is built on the same wheelbase as the Passat, its smaller sibling. Yet, most Volkswagen literature and its own Web site simply shorten the name to the CC.

The CC stands for Comfort Coupé. I know what you’re thinking. Yes, coupé typically describes a two-door car with no B-pillar; and the CC is a four-door sedan. And, even though the doors are frameless, there’s still a B-pillar dividing the front and rear passenger areas.

According to VW, the reason for the unique name is because of the car’s sloping C-pillar. The sloping rear pillar creates a sports-car-like coupé look. The sloping roofline, rising belt line and wrap-around taillights give the illusion of movement even when the CC is parked in your driveway.

Personally, calling it a coupé is a long way to go to make a point. I always got a kick out of Volkswagen’s predilection for naming its cars after winds. I’d been happy if they’d just named the car after a reeaally fast wind and been done with it. (Even the cool Beetle is aptly named.) Maybe my obsession with the name comes from knowing the CC is so much more than just a “comfort coupé.”

The CC can be the perfect car for a single 30-something who wants a sporty vehicle that can also chauffeur the boss and a client to lunch. The CC would be perfect for a young couple with one or two children who aren’t ready to give up the tight, responsive driving of their European two-door. And, a retiree looking for an elegant sedan that gets great gas mileage, and comes fully loaded for a reasonable starting price, can’t do much better than a CC.

Mark Babin, sales manager at Walker Volkswagen in Metairie, said the typical CC buyer is not so typical. “We’ve had a good cross section of the population buying it,” said Babin. Most buyers opt for the turbo-charged in-line 4-cylinder engine because of its 200-horsepower rating combined with its 31 mpg on the highway (22 in the city).

Yet, what endeared me to the CC was its styling, both exterior and interior, as well as its road-gripping manners. I picked up the CC in a torrential downpour. I started off cautiously, but the more I drove the more I realized nothing was going to shake its tenacious grip on the pavement. The CC comes standard with electronic stability control – a feature the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will require on all vehicles starting in 2012.
 
The sports seats, available in black or a combination of black and “corn-silk beige,” have high bolsters for all four passengers. While the front-seat bolsters can be a little tricky to get out of, they’re well worth the inconvenience when you take a sharp turn – making sure you don’t slide across the car like a loose loaf of bread in the trunk.

And, yes, you read right. The CC seats four passengers, not five. In its earnest quest to be a sports sedan, the rear seats are separated by a center console, designed much like the one between the front passengers, but with a roll-down cover.

The side bolsters, rear center console and two-tone seats are not the only sporty details inside the CC. The seatbacks and seat pans are replete with double rows of horizontal stitching to ensure a supportive surface. Electric lumbar support and three levels of heating make the seats a mini spa treatment on the way home from work!

The CC comes with the option of a manual transmission, or an automatic transmission that allows for normal driving, sports mode or manual Tiptronic, where you call the shifts.

But, just becaus

Tags: VW

---

Volkswagen CC: Short name, long on comfort and performance was originally published by New Orleans Auto Reviews: VW. Read the full story by clicking here.