Two years ago I travelled extensively in the UK on a business/holiday trip in a VW Golf station wagon with a five-speed manual gearbox. I’m just back from a similar trip, but this time decided to go in a bit of style by opting for a classy coupe, a Volkswagen Passat CC.

Not only did the Passat four-door coupe provide more luxury and space, but also used even less diesel than the thrifty VW Golf. This illustrates the remarkable rate of engineering improvement in vehicles in these times when low emissions and fuel usage are top priority with many buyers.

While I will be the first to admit that driving two cars two year apart is not exactly a precise exercise in measurement, both were driven in similar conditions over the same route. The Passat averaged 5.5 litres per hundred kilometres compared with the Golf’s 5.6 litres. Not a huge difference, but I had expected the bigger, heavier Passat to have used about ten per cent more fuel than a Golf, yet it used a smidgen less.

In British terms both Volkswagens covered about 50 miles per gallon. That was travelling on motorways at speeds of around 125 to 135 km/h for a fair bit of the trip, so the engines were running at the speeds for which they were designed.

This VW Passat CC was no economy special, rather it was the GT turbo-diesel with 125 kW of power and 350 Nm of torque, the latter being at its peak from 1750 to 2500 revs, so the big CC had plenty of midterm grunt that suited it nicely while cruising.

As I toured Scotland, the land of my birth, the Passat CC proved it has seating for four adults when it was asked to carry one of my schoolfriends and his wife. Access to the back two seats is, obviously, far better than average in a conventional two-door coupe.

The low roof means you have to stoop more than when you’re getting into a regular sedan. Leg space is very good for a coupe but if you’re much taller than average you may find headroom limited. But don’t forget this is a coupe, not a sedan.

The use of just two rear seats, with no attempt to provide a centre seat, makes sense. It not only gives this Passat the classier feel you expect in a grand tourer, but also makes space for a handy centre console, complete with drink holders. A big fold-up centre armrest completes the feeling of luxury in the back.

Having made all the foregoing comments about the inside of the Passat CC, I would recommend the regular Passat sedan (or station wagon) over the Passat CC if you want to use it as a full-on family machine.