The Porsche is for a guy going through a mid-life crisis? The Volkswagen CC is for a family going through it. You suddenly want to move into a sports car but there’s a whole family looking up like lost sheep. Well, that’s why there is the CC.
SPECS: 3.6L V6, 300 hp, 17/18/19 inch wheels, Dual Shift Gearbox, 4 motion all wheel drive, Intelligent information prioritising, bi-xenon headlights with cornering lamps, Transverse differential lock for better curve control, Fatigue detection, Napa leather trims, 6.5 inch colour touch screen, 6 airbags standard, Easy open boot
UPSIDE: Sharp handling and steady power, Kick-activated boot, never before value, Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist
FLIPSIDE: No overhead grips, hard to access for some
THE PRICE: 2.0L AED 121,000 onwards – Tested 3.6 L V6 from AED 169,210 onwards
The Drive
The CC is is quite the stunner in the Volkswagen family, without doubt. However, the young and the yuppie would rather go for the Golf GTI, the equations permitting. The CC is more for the ones whose pens are more impressive than their hasty signature. Parked amidst the everyday, the CC too stands out as impressive.
As I pointed out in my drive of the 2L Turbo CC with butterfly rear lamps, there is no dearth of adrenaline rush in that 210 hp engine. Yet, the one I’m driving now, the one driven by a 3.6L V6 engine is surely and steadily more appealing than the other. Especially with that absolutely enjoyable V6 burble, though played down for most part. I touched 100 kmph from 0 in 7.0 seconds without having to push too hard. Interestingly, that also happens to be the fuel efficiency figure in kilometers per litre.
The CC even lets you adjust the suspension setting from comfort to normal to sport. Mind you, it starts with ‘firm’ and gets worse progressively. There is a tire pressure monitor amidst other trip monitoring meters.
How sporty is it anyway?
Well, you can’t drink from a half-litre water bottle with your neck up – that’s how sporty the cabin is.
Though fairly blunt and not menacing, if you have toddlers, you need to watch out for those frameless glass windows that make a meshing noise adjusting themselves, every time you open and shut the door. That’s how sporty the styling is.
And then you have the snarl and the stretch of the sport mode, with an almost wasteful expenditure of power as the rpm needle climbs up. That’s how sporty the character is.
Long drives are totally comfortable; yet the seat is firm and adjusting the lumbar support could push it hard against your back. That’s how sporty the appointments are.
The CC may not be a car you could take to the Nurburgring but it is one that can keep you feeling good and excited – even on the dreary straights you cross every day on your way to office and back. You can actually wind down bends without cutting the throttle or fumbling with the brakes or skipping a heartbeat – now, that’s how sporty the car is.
Cabin and Controls
In its dual tone beige and black leather, my test CC looks really gorgeous. Even the lower trims have fabric and material that stands out with pure Volkswagen standards. The aluminium-chrome finish looks absolutely fantastic. But if you find the hard plastic inside slightly out of sync with an absolute stunner of a car, please remember, something’s got to give and the CC does that where it hurts the least.
Calling the CC a fast car is somewhat justified, but not its touchscreen. Whether it is the reversing camera or the media display the response has remained rather slow all through the generation. Only the top end CC comes with navigation but Bluetooth is standard with all controls on the steering. There’s no blind spot monitor, collision warning or the stuff that count as elements of luxury these days. However, it does come with an automatic parking set-up, which would come in handy if you ever had to sell the idea to the lady of the house.
Talking about sensors, blind spot sensors would be a recommended addition. Not that I have any compaint about the outward vision of the Volkswagen CC, despite its coupe styling; but the driver’s side mirror does leave a minor gap, especially when it comes to smaller vehicles.
Family Drive
There is so much sense in buying the CC (for a family man with the midlife crisis, remember?) that I couldn’t think about it without automatic sensors under the boot. Wouldn’t that be such a help after a Friday at Ikea? So I intuitively extended my knee and there, the bootlid swung open slowly! The boot was of CC proportions – quite big and deep though slightly low in height.
What I am unable to come to grips with in the Passat CC is the matter of the grip itself. This car doesn’t suffer from much body roll but that is no excuse for having nothing to hold on to above the door! Likewise, if you wish to rest your left elbow or right, you’ll find the window sill out of reach and the console armrest too far for comfort.
The essential 2015 Volkswagen CC
That brings up the end of my vacation, a third time with the CC. It’s become almost a routine to spend family time with the CC – like pursuing my share of sporty thrills on a family holiday.
The Volkswagen CC comes at a price that is temptingly close to the Passat sedan; especially with a recent ‘rightsizing’ of prices that might signal an approaching model change. Those double tick marks that light up in the rear is still eye-catchy, but now that the eight generation Passat has been revealed to the region at the Dubai Motor Show, we may expect the new CC in a few change of seasons. In the meanwhile, here is a rendering by RM Design based on the new sedan.
At this price, the CC becomes hard for young couples to ignore, but those with babies could have a hard time getting in and out. Those who are not particularly fit might also grumble a bit but hey, it’s like a nice workout and you’ll find enough motivation in the drive, if you’ll pardon the pun!
