Mercedes caused quite a stir four years ago when it introduced the CLS. Essentially an E-Class sedan with a low, arching roofline, frameless door glass, and shapely fenders, the CLS was successfully pitched as a "four-door coupe." It didn't seem to matter that the CLS drove much like an E-Class. The sexy sheetmetal initially attracted over 2,000 buyers a month, very healthy for a car in its price range.

Mercedes wasn't the first to offer such a "coupe." GM made a similar play with the Oldsmobile Aurora over a decade earlier. But the CLS has been far more successful.

VW clearly took one look at the CLS and responded, "We can do that." The 2009 CC is essentially a Passat sedan rebodied to resemble the Mercedes CLS.

So, does the CLS formula work at half the price?

Volkswagen CC Styling

The styling part of the formula certain works. Many people have asked me about the Volkswagen CC after being smitten by its curves. My personal problem with it: too much has been "borrowed" from the CLS. But I cannot deny that the CC looks great. The dealer had installed 19-inch alloys and a body kit on the car I drove. They further improve the CC's appearance, but also added thousands to the price--more on that later.

Inside, the CC much more closely resembles the Passat. So the interior styling is fairly attractive, but not nearly as sexy as the exterior. The main difference: the leather is available in a high-contrast two-tone that seems more Italian than German. Mercedes did much more to differentiate the CLS's interior from that of the E-Class.

More of a concern are interior materials. The current Passat's interior seems more plasticky than that of the previous generation sedan's, and the CC shares the same off-putting plastic bits. The consoles (center and overhead) feel especially cut-rate.

These materials are competitive at the CC 2.0T's $27,500 base price. But the CC VR6 model like I drove listed for $39,450 even without any options. Add all-wheel-drive (recommended with the VR6), navigation, or (like the car I drove) dealer-installed 19-inch wheels and body kit, and the price goes well over $40,000. I drove a similarly-priced Hyundai Genesis V8 the same day, and the interior is far nicer in the Korean flagship. The CC's interior simply isn't that of a premium car, which becomes a problem when it's equipped to sell at a premium price.

Volkswagen CC Accommodations

The Mercedes CLS is much tighter inside than an E-Class, especially in the back seat Getting in and out of the car is also a challenge because of the low roofline, again especially for those in the back seat.

Given the Volkswagen CC's similar styling, I expected the same functional shortcomings. Getting in and out of the back seat is more of a challenge than with the Passat, but not nearly to the same extent as with the Mercedes. And once in the car there's nearly as much room as in the Passat. 

Up front, the CC borrows a pair of firm, solidly-bolstered buckets from the Passat. Unlike in the Mercedes CLS, the interior is designed to feel expansive rather than encapsulating, with straight lines rather than organic curves, so even large drivers won't feel closed-in.

And in the back seat, there's much more room and comfort than I expected. The main limitation back there: a rudimentary console built into the seat, so three people can't sit back there even in a pinch.

The trunk is just a cubic foot smaller than the Passat's, so here as well function isn't overly compromised for the sake of styling. As in the Passat, the rear seat folds to expand the trunk.

Volkswagen CC Performance

The US-market Volkswagen CC borrows two engines from the Passat, a 200-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo four and a 280-horsepower narrow angle V6 (VR6 in VW parlance). For 2009 the the turbo four was available with both two six-speed transmissions, a manual and a manually-shiftable "Tiptronic" automatic. For 2010 the four's automatic has been replaced by a "DSG" automated manual. The VR6 has only been offered with the automatic. Front-wheel-drive is standard, while all-wheel-drive is optional with the VR6 only. I drove a front-wheel-drive VR6.

The VR6 sounds appropriately sporty and moves the car well without revving it. With front-wheel-drive, torque steer is evident under hard acceleration--the front end pulls to the side. The optional all-wheel-drive, very reasonably priced at $1,100, would fix this.

The handling is less impressive. At low speeds the steering is far too light, and although it finally firms up and provides decent feedback over 40 miles-per-hour, the car never feels nearly as sporty or special as the exterior suggests it should. The optional 19-inch wheels might deserve some of the blame.  The CC might at least feel more stable and composed with the standard 18s.

The optional wheels might also harm ride quality. Though overall ride quality is acceptable, the car I drove reactly sharply to some road imperfections, and generally felt skittish and unsettled, sometimes even crude. I received the distinct impression that the suspension was not tuned to pair well with the accessory wheels. Even if the CC rides better with the standard wheels, though, it simply lacks the polish and refinement of a car with a price over $40,000.

Volkswagen CC Prices and Price Comparisons

Back in the 1990s 280 horsepower would have been a huge deal in a mainstream brand midsize sedan, but in recent years it has become almost commonplace.

Unfortunately, VW prices the VR6 as if its power output remains something special. It lists for about $6,000 more than the 2.0T, and adjusting for its extra features (xenon headlights, power sunshade) only reduce the price premium to about $5,000. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the great majority of Volkswagen CC's are sold with the turbo four.

Nissan offers a similarly powerful sport-oriented front-drive sedan with the Maxima. When the two cars are comparably equipped, the Maxima lists for about $2,000 less, even before including the substantial extra cost of the wheels and body kit on the car I drove.

The new 2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS also pairs shapely sheetmetal with a 280-horsepower V6 and front-wheel drive. It lists for about $4,000 less than the CC VR6, and the prices are about $3,000 apart when comparing invoices. Adjusting for remaining feature differences widens this gap by about $1,600.

So in VR6 form at least the VW CC is not competitively priced. This might explain why the dealer has had so much trouble selling the car I drove. It's been a few months, but they appear to still have the car.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, TrueDelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the CC:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/CC.php

Last Words

The Volkswagen CC's exterior is certainly easy on the eyes, and its interior is roomier than I expected given the car's superficial similarity to the Mercedes CLS. But the unpolished chassis and high price make me wary of recommending this car to anyone not infatuated with the styling and in need of maximum horsepower. Even for them the "4Motion" all-wheel-drive variant would be the way to go. Most people should find the 2.0T's performance more than sufficient, and it's price is much more reasonable.

A Note on Volkswagen CC Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've been collecting my own data. Results are posted to TrueDelta.com, with updates every three months. Unlike other sources, TrueDelta clearly identifies what difference it will make if you buy a Volkswagen CC rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" stats.

To report results, TrueDelta needs reliability data on all cars--not just the CC--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants pay an access fee.
Details here:
http://www.truedelta.com/reliability.php
Alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.
Amount Paid (US$): 43,000
Model and Options: CC VR6 with accessory 19s and body kit