| Golf courses to restaurants, the quaintness | | | | open roads of Interstate 5 to the winding, |
| of the small towns to the Pacific Ocean, | | | | more subtle state routes of approaching the |
| there's nothing quite like a visit to the | | | | peninsula.With the exception of the |
| Monterey Peninsula. But the 200-mile drive | | | | wheelbase, which is the same as the 1998-2005 |
| from Sacramento is also an ideal route for | | | | sedans, Volkswagen redesigned its midsize car |
| testing cars. The high-speed interstate to | | | | for '06. The body has been extended three |
| narrow city streets, there's no place to hide | | | | inches in length and it's wider, too.For the |
| a car's faults and there are plenty of | | | | first time, a navigation system, |
| opportunities for a vehicle to showcase its | | | | steering-linked, bi-xenon headlamps and |
| best attributes.My weekly test drive on a | | | | either manual or automatic six-speed |
| recent visit to the Monterey Peninsula was | | | | transmissions, instead of five, are all |
| the 2006 Volkswagen Passat. It's available in | | | | standard. Front-wheel and VW's 4-Motion |
| three versions, the 4-cylinder Value Edition | | | | all-wheel drive are also both available, with |
| and 2.0T (turbocharged) models and the higher | | | | my tester including the front-wheel drive |
| performance V6 marketed as the sports model.I | | | | option.The V6 Passat with its various options |
| drove the 2.0T, which was plenty sporty and | | | | can exceed $35,000. But my Passat for the |
| responsive on the high-speed, often crowd | | | | week was more than $10,000 less. |