I have been both lauded and laughed at for lampooning the Volkswagen brand; most of all for raving about a brand range that excites as much as bad breath on a cold dreary day in some rain driven country, wearing slate grey slacks.

There are no prizes on offer here for which looks more appealing - a sink full of dirty dishes, or something flash with a frighteningly fresh boot spoiler - but there are prizes on offer for picking the best car of the two. And bi-winged, low-slung, glitzed-up saloons from Japan are not really the best way to go, just because the other option is dull and dry, to the naked eye!

This is why I like Volkswagen. Because under the old-lady looks you have the choice of a honed chassis, cracking performance and the ability to sneak attack the Banzai brigade if and when the mood suits.

And what better model for such duties than the latest Passat V6 4MOTION. Visually, all you really get is some slick alloys, but beyond what the eye cannot immediately see is 247bhp from a 3.2-litre V6, a twin-clutch DSG sequential transmission and VW’s well-developed four-wheel drive system, seen to good effect on the Golf R32. And furthermore, the latest incarnation is better to drive than the previous model, which wasn’t too shabby to begin with. Not that our test gave us many opportunities to really test the traction of the Passat, but what little in the way of sand-strewn passes we could find the Passat handle flawlessly. And once the road opens this V6 lets out its next surprise, its speed. For a sumptuous and discreet saloon the 3.2 V6 Passat is rapid, with 100kph dashed in 6.9 seconds.

But don’t be fooled into thinking this an R32 Golf with a big boot, because it is not. The Passat is great at what it is, a competent option to the Audi A4 quattro and Jaguar’s X-Type V6 I guess, but softish suspension, numbed steering and a refined engine note points this car at a different market of buyer than the Golf.

If you spend more time churning over the motorway miles at a constant speed, rather than switching up and down the gears through a mountain pass, the Passat is well worth considering.  All of this can be achieved in the height of comfort too, surrounded by the latest technology.  The build quality is improved over the older model, with an enormous boot, but rear legroom is surprisingly cramped for such a large car.

The only problem I foresee though, is that the latest V6 Passat sits on the consumer fence too much; half premium brand cruiser, half real driver’s car?  Volkswagen may now be in a position to take the fight to Infiniti, Mercedes and BMW (all a little higher up the brand scale due to build quality and ingredients) but I’m still intrigued as to who this car really will truly appeal toÉand if you really can prize a buyer out of Merc or a Beemer for the same amount of cash, unless of course you add a big wing, some more plastic, louder exhaust and stiffen up the suspension.