March 21, 2009The 2009 Volkswagen CC
A “Car for the People” (With High-End Tastes but Not-So-High Incomes)
The Volkswagen CC (via: www.theautochannel.com)
Though my opinion is not shared by all (I know this because I have met with dissent on the matter more times than I can count), I happen to think that the Mercedes CLS class is the the most attractive of the luxury-market four-door sedans. Part of this is owed to the fact that the CLS is not really a traditional sedan. ”Sedan” implies stuffy, boring, boxy. The four-door CLS possesses none of these traits. Sleek and seductive, the four-door CLS manages to look more like an oversized sports car than a four-door sedan. One can practically run one’s hand over the entire surface of the car and not find a single hard edge. It’s smooth, round lines create an interior cabin that provides the kind of sanctuary that I imagine to be afforded by an inflatable, insulated igloo (such as that shown in Tomorrow Never Dies (007)): intimate and cocoon-like. The CLS has a magnificent interior with plush details and a well-appointed dash and console. The front and rear bucket seats, however, further contribute to the car’s sports car-like quality, as do the clipped door windows and sloping windshield. Some find these features bewitching, others consider the four-door CLS a “squish mobile” (the name my sister not-so-fondly assigned to it). As we’ve already established, I am more of the former category than the latter.
That said, when I stumbled upon a New York Times article a couple of days ago that compared the Volkswagen CC to the Mercedes CLS four-door, I had to stop to read. Volkswagen, in my admittedly very biased opinion, offers the most impressive combination of architecture, interior cabin feel, cutting-edge technology, and overall performance of any value-conscious automaker. Some Volkswagens actually feel like Audis, and some souped-up Volkswagen models actually offer a lot more than base BMWs, Mercedes, or Audis that cost the same amount. The Volkswagen CC, which really does evoke the Mercedes CLS class, is one such Volkswagen that packs an awful lot of punch.
The CC (which, evidently, stands for “Comfort Coupe”) is, what I would call, one pretty attractive vehicle. The CC also looks very expensive and is available with many high-end features (like a navigation system with a rearview camera, heated seats, dual-zone climate control, a tire pressure-monitoring system, 4-wheel drive, and bi-xenon headlamps). While aesthetically reminiscent of the four-door Mercedes CLS, the VW CC is literally a FRACTION of the price. I mean, obviously it’s a Volkswagen and not a Mercedes, but nevertheless, in these tough times a car that costs between $27K and $40K but looks like and boasts many features similar to a car that starts at $70K is certainly welcome.
To read more about the Volkswagen CC, I’d recommend starting here: The New York Times.
Volkswagen CC Interior (via edmunds.com)
Volkswagen CC (via edmunds.com)
