Growing up is a tricky business – especially for girls. Boys aren’t too bothered about many things so long as you keep them satisfied – which they are with basically nothing; only allow them to be outdoors for as long as they want. Girls on the other hand have a lot of hang-ups. Imagine a party scenario here – something which is quite frequent if you’re a teenager, or a college goer. There are always a couple of girls who’re the subjects of pure attraction and fascination for every boy. His eyes and knees go weak as everything in between just melts out of boyish emotions. But then comes along an absolute tomboy of a girl – one whom you don’t much lust for, but who takes away all the attention, and the eye candy girls die of envy, and surprise.

The Passat is that girl here, while the eye candy girls are the refreshed Mercedes C-Class and the BMW 3 Series. Everyone in the office agreed that it’ll make for a great comparison – the C-Class finally gets some aggression splashed on its otherwise emotionless face while the 3 remains one of the most subtle and elegant examples of ferocity. The Passat, on the other hand, looks unassuming and almost dead in comparison, but – and I must accept this with a lot of reluctance – is very comfy and powerful.

Being stylish in today’s time means you should be wearing a lot of bling and the three cars don’t quite disappoint, courtesy of their daytime running LEDs – but the BMW is the most subtle of the lot, and Passat the loudest. On the inside, the Merc takes the cake with the most ‘trendy’ interior while the Passat is the dullest – BMW is somewhere in between.

The refreshed C 250 Avantgarde gets a redesigned dash with a square shaped cluster extending from the driver’s side all the way up to the centre. This is something that did not exist in the previous C-class. During night time, the cabin lights brought out the kid inside me – I felt like I was the commander of a space ship with a million buttons at my disposal for all the weapons and lasers to destroy the enemy with! The BMW, in contrast, made me feel like a suit-wearing charted accountant. The smart interior had a no nonsense look about it and the few buttons here-and-there was the perfectly stylish yet functional layout. I was growing in age with the cars I drove. Merc made me feel like, as I said, a child. BMW made me feel all grown up and responsible corporate guy. The Passat made me feel like I was already in my 50s. It was just plain boring – but hugely functional nonetheless.

Now, I am a short guy and accommodation never seems to be a problem for me. Jared however is rather big for a human being and always complains about the space inside. So you would win no prizes in guessing that the Mercedes and BMW didn’t quite manage to please him much – especially because he was at the back, sitting pretty as a passenger. The Passat gained brownie points because of the space it offers and also the beautiful seats that cosset you in supreme comfort.

But at the end, it all boils down to how well the car performs when you are behind the wheel. I was expecting the BMW to come out on top given its past record and its celebrity status for being an outright driver’s car. But to my astonishment the 250 CDI felt peppier in comparison to the 320d, or for that matter, even the Volkswagen Passat. I’m not kidding, the Merc felt more powerful than its over 200 odd power figure suggests. The 3 has a 1995cc diesel unit that produces 181bhp – but it’s not about outright power with it – it’s all about handling. The Volkswagen here is the least powerful – but really doesn’t feel so. A 1968cc engine churning around 168bhp is sufficient to keep the grin on your face plastered.

When doing the pedal-to-the-metal stuff, the Passat surprised everyone. Shahwar actually was highly appreciative of the effort from VW as he felt that the engine was consistently strong across the mid and high revs. The only grouch was the low-end poke that could’ve been a tad better. The Merc was a complete bullet from the word go. But it was the BMW that felt a class apart, and very special. It’s just so much fun to swing the 3 around tight corners. Where the C and Passat would flounder, the Bimmer would dismiss the tarmac without much of a fuss. We went in with absolutely no expectations from the Passat for its dynamic capabilities – especially since it was pitched against cars that have history of handling and performance glory behind them, but were pleasantly surprised. VW have made the Passat soft and comfy – but it was fun throwing it around and seeing it roll and dive beyond our capacities to laugh. The biggest disappointment was the C-Class though – it just did not seem to understand that roads here also have curves and turns. The C just kept understeering whenever we decided to wear our Joker hats and attack a corner with a stick.

I am in a fix here, really. The Mercedes has brilliant power delivery and goes like stink – in straight line. The Passat was the wonderkid that we didn’t expect to perform as well as it did – sufficient power, huge amount of space and a near perfect automatic gearbox earned it huge respect from all-and-sundry. But the BMW 320d was the most exciting – it’s got crisp acceleration, intuitive handling and great road manners. No matter if that girl in cargo shorts in a party is my best buddy and catches my attention the moment she enters, I’d still take one of the two dressed-up girls out on a date. For this time, it’ll be the BMW.