Passat GLS offers quick acceleration. There's a surprising amount of low-rpm power given its 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. This double overhead-cam engine is turbocharged and uses five valves per cylinder. It generates a healthy 150 horsepower and, more important, it delivers 155 foot-pounds of torque at just 1750 rpm that continues past 4600 rpm. That allows the Passat to pull briskly away from intersections and accelerate athletically up hills. It also gives it lots of power for driving around town. The 1.8-liter turbocharged engine delivers the performance of most V6 engines with better fuel economy.

If that's not enough, you can order the Passat with a V6 that delivers 190 horsepower. With five valves per cylinder, variable intake valve timing and a variable-geometry composite intake manifold, this engine produces 206 foot-pounds of torque at just 3,200 rpm. It's a smooth engine that provides progressive pulling power at all engine speeds.

The five-speed manual gearbox is smooth and precise, making it easy to change gears.

Buyers who choose the optional automatic transmission instead of the excellent five-speed manual will be in for a treat. The five-speed automatic can be left alone to change gears automatically. In this mode, it's a smart transmission that uses adaptive electronics to control shifting based on whether the driver is being gentle or is seeking maximum acceleration performance. Those seeking greater control can shift the transmission into the Tiptronic mode, a design licensed from Porsche. Sliding the shift lever into a separate area to the right of the normal shift gate permits manual shifting. A forward push on the lever causes upward gear changes, with a light pull back for downshifts. To protect the engine, it won't downshift when speeds are too high, and it won't start from rest in fifth gear if you forgot to downshift while waiting for the light to change. The Tiptronic is a fine dual-purpose transmission, sporting or unobtrusive as the driver wishes. It provides some entertainment value in heavy traffic and is useful for holding the transmission in a particular gear when driving on twisty roads.

New for 2000, is the addition of Anti-Slip Regulation, or ASR, to the Electronic Differential Lock or EDL system. EDL is a low-speed traction control system that detects wheel slippage and applies braking force to that particular wheel. ASR uses sophisticated electronics to control throttle response to maximize traction and minimize slipping. It sounds like alphabet soup, but these two traction control systems work very well, making it easier to control the car when the front tires lose traction. It makes this car easy to drive in rainy conditions. ASR can be turned off by pressing a switch on the dash.

A better way to control slippery conditions is Volkswagen's 4MOTION system that has been added as a Passat option for model year 2000. This full-time all-wheel-drive system continuously distributes power to all four wheels all the time at all speeds. An automatic-locking Torsen center differential distributes engine torque to the front and rear axles. Torque is normally split 50/50 front to rear, but the wheels with the best traction receive more power on low grip surfaces where two-thirds of the torque can be sent to either the front or rear wheels. The 4MOTION system comes with the aforementioned EDL system, which redistributes torque from side to side. This gives the Passat propulsion when only one tire has traction.