E ver wonder why you drive a "sedan" while the neighbour has a "coupé" or perhaps a "cabriolet?"
By and large, the nomenclature of automotive body styling comes from the terminology of horse-drawn carriages - cabriolet, for instance, comes from the French cabrioler (to prance or caper) and describes a lightweight two-seater with a folding roof.
Over the years, these horsey traditions transformed into the traditions of horsepower, adding in specific terms like roadster and speedster, and a rare favourite, the "shooting-brake." While grey areas and overlap exist, for the most part, these descriptors are absolutes: a coupe has two doors, a sedan has four.
However, with auto manufacturers always striving to entice the buying dollar with something fresh, something new, something avant-garde, all the rules have gone out the window. Mercedes now makes a four-door shooting-brake that's really a cramped wagon. BMW builds a "Gran Coupe" that's a low-roofed four-door - with six-series pricing.
The purist recoils, but then so must those long-lost horse-and-carriage types have been horrified at the noisy, loud and dangerous contraptions that came speeding along the formerly quiet and leafy lanes.
How, then, to properly react to this, the Passat's sleeker cousin?
Volkswagen has dubbed it the CC for "Comfort Coupe." The question: is it a handsome (sic) cab, or merely a hackney cash grab?
DESIGN
Cast your eye along VW's current lineup of sedans, and don't be alarmed if you come away feeling less than inspired. Taking a page from the early BMW playbook, Volkswagen has kept their three-box offerings Teutoni-cally plain, squared-off and conservative to a fault.
Into this off-the-peg environment, the CC sashays up like a tailored Italian suit. It still speaks the same corporate language, but the shape now flows like higher-cost German pseudo-coupes.
While the CC shares a wheelbase with the Passat, it's longer, lower and wider by just an inch or so. As an update for 2013, it now also shares its more conservative cousin's three-row, broadened grille treatment, flanked by bi-xenon headlights with standard LED running lights - a feature stolen from Audi.
There's a smoothing out of the front bumper and hood, a re-sculpting of the side-skirts and a slightly less rounded treatment for the rear taillights.
VW nuts might notice the differences, everybody else will simply ask, "Are you sure that's a Volkswagen?"
ENVIRONMENT
Popping open the frameless-windowed door (roll down the windows and the front doors at least are coupe-like), the inside of the CC is quite clearly differentiated from the North American market Passat. Remember, VW recently pumped up the volume for Canadian and American consumers, making their mid-size sedan bigger than its European counterpart.
The interior of the CC, on the other hand, is a more direct link to the high-precision Germanic build quality VW enthusiasts know and love. The cabin is very well put-together, Audi-esque in build quality and in materials.
The two-tone seats are particularly nice (with deep side-bolsters, which may not be everyone's cup of tea), as is the effort made to employ plenty of aluminium-style trim.
Naturally, shaving inches off the roofline results in somewhat lowered headroom, but not that you'd notice up front. In back there's enough space for those up to the five-foot-ten mark (and not much beyond), but not if you have to sit in the middle seat.
One minor irritation: the chunky key, which must be slotted into the dash to start the car. At this price point, where is the dratted pushbutton starter?
