Review: 2004 Volkswagen Passat W8

Those of us who were raised on air-cooled Beetles had a tough enough time adjusting to the idea of a water-cooled engine in a Volkswagen but after more than two decades we're finally adjusting. Now the gnomes of Wolfsburg have done it to us again. The Passat has been fitted with a V-8 engine, for goodness sake! Or to call it by its proper name, a W8. Our test driver, Colin Hefferon, explains the relevance of that little letter-twist in his review and in doing so made me aware of something I hadn't thought about. "W" is pronounced "Vee" in German. Get it? One thing's for sure, though. The Passat W8 goes like a rocket on rails. And with its 4Motion all-wheel-drive system, stays on the tracks, too.