If you were perfectly honest with yourself, you wouldn’t buy a Passat CC with performance as the first priority. Moving from A to B in style is probably more of a concern, in which case it’s fair to admit first and foremost that the CC is quite a handsome thing. Both exterior and interior details are done with taste, in a sleek and ‘flowing’ design - the step up in quality from the Passat is noticeable.

With the same 2-litre TSI engine you’d find in the Scirocco (updated, with a shorter stroke), it also goes well, pulling its 1441kg weight in strong and smooth linear fashion. Doesn’t sound too bad either, which is quite a welcome surprise in this ‘comfort coupe’.

Mechanically speaking, it also has the same three-setting Adaptive Chassis Control. It might sound strange talking performance technicalities about an uprated Passat, but it’s worth a mention. Don’t bother with the Comfort mode, which gives far too much in the way of steering assistance, or the Sport mode, which artificially weights up the steering; Normal gives the best mix of comfort and handling. Cornering (if you’re willing to test it) is neutral with the obvious front-wheel-drive understeer tending to creep in, but it takes little input to correct any mistakes where you might’ve overestimated a corner.

It’s also surprisingly agile and level on almost any surface. Relative to the size of the car, this engine is ideally suited - it has just the right amount of power without being too heavy on the nose.

Somehow though, it still feels a little uninspiring. You can’t quite feel the road underneath you and it doesn’t engage. That, however, doesn’t make it a bad car. And one that’s quite good value.