In 2002, Volkswagen launched its luxury flagship sedan, the Phaeton. While it's a supremely capable car, the VW badge doesn't quite match the allure and cache of a BMW roundel or Mercedes Benz star on the bonnet – especially at the price of a 7 series BMW or S-Class Mercedes.

Needless to say, the Phaeton didn't exactly set the sales charts ablaze. What it did achieve, however, was show the world that Volkswagen has the ability to challenge even the most prolific luxury car brands – if only on merit. And if the Phaeton still left you a little unsure about the tremendous engineering skills within the VW Group, you need only look at the most outlandish supercar on the market today, the 1 million Euro, 1000+bhp Bugatti Veyron – the rights to the legendary Bugatti name were bought by VW in 1998. From an engineering point of view, it's very likely that the Veyron will always remain at the absolute summit of achievement for an automobile powered by the internal combustion engine.

The car that we're previewing here, unfortunately not a Veyron, is the Passat – it's an automobile that'll keep its owners happy in far greater numbers, and in doing so spawn many more brand loyalists for its maker than its more illustrious stablemate. The Passat first debuted in 1973 and has been improving steadily ever since. This is the 6th generation, and it's decidedly larger, more luxurious and has more road presence than ever before.

In fact, the family resemblance between the Passat and its elder brother, the Phaeton, is extremely striking. Such is the similarity that it could almost appear as if the Phaeton was simply a design exercise for the new Passat.