Ever wonder why you drive a "sedan" while the neighbour has a "coupé" or perhaps a "cabriolet"?
By and large, the nomenclature of automotive body-styling comes from the terminology of horse-drawn carriages - cabriolet, for instance, comes from the French cabrioler (to prance or caper), and describes a lightweight two-seater with a folding roof.
Over the years, these horsey traditions transformed into the traditions of horsepower, adding in specific terms like roadster and speedster, and a rare favourite, the "shooting-brake".
While grey areas and overlap exist, for the most part, these descriptors are absolutes: a coupe has two doors; a sedan has four.
However, with auto manu-acturers always striving to entice the buying dollar with something fresh, something new, something avant-garde, all the rules have gone out the window. Mercedes now makes a four-door shooting-brake that's really a cramped wagon.
BMW builds a "Gran Coupe" that's a low-roofed four-door - with six-series pricing.
The purist recoils, but then so must those long-lost horse-and-carriage types have been horrified at the noisy, loud and dangerous contraptions came speeding along the formerly quiet and leafy lanes.
How then, to properly react to this, the Passat's sleeker cousin?
Volkswagen has dubbed it the CC for "Comfort Coupe." The question: is it a handsome cab, or merely a hackney cash-grab?
DESIGN
Cast your eye along VW's current lineup of sedans, and don't be alarmed if you come away feeling less than inspired.
Taking a page from the early BMW playbook, Volkswagen has kept their three-box offerings Teutonically plain, squared-off and conservative to a fault.
Into this off-the-peg environment, the CC sashays up like a tailored Italian suit.
It still speaks the same corporate language, but the shape now flows like higher-cost German pseudo-coupes.
While the CC shares a wheelbase with the Passat, it's longer, lower and wider by a just an inch or so.
As an update for 2013, it now also shares its more conservative cousin's three-row, broadened grille treatment, flanked by bi-xenon headlights with standard LED running lights - a feature stolen from Audi.
There's a smoothing out of the front bumper and hood, a re-sculpting of the side-skirts and a slightly less rounded treatment for the rear tail-lights.
VW nuts might notice the differences, everybody else will simply ask, "Are you sure that's a Volkswagen?"
ENVIRONMENT
Popping open the frame-less-window'd door (roll down the windows and the front doors at least are coupe-like), the inside of the CC is quite clearly differentiated from the North American market Passat.
Remember, VW recently pumped up the volume for Canadian and American consumers, making their mid-size sedan bigger than its European couterpart.
The interior of the CC on the other hand, is a more direct link to the high-precision Germanic build quality VW-enthusiasts know and love. The cabin is very well put-together, Audi-esque in build quality and in materials. The two-tone seats are particularly nice (with deep side-bolsters, which may not be everyone's cup of tea), as is the aluminium-style trim.
Naturally, shaving inches off the roofline results in somewhat lowered headroom, but not that you'd notice up front.
In back, there's enough space for those up to the 5'10" mark (and not much beyond), but not if you have to plum yourself in the middle seat. Incidentally, it's a change for the CC this year: previous models were four-seater only, the new '13 model will be all five-seater for the Canadian market.
Trunk space is also excellent - really, there's not much to find fault with over the larger Passat. It might be cosier inside the CC due to its smaller footprint, but a more cockpit-like feel is surely desirable in a sports sedan.
One minor irritation: the chunky key which must be slotted into the dash to start the car - at this price-point, where is the dratted pushbutton starter?
Actually, two minor irritations: I can't say I'm a fan of the new VW group craze for the electric parking brake.
PERFORMANCE
Underneath my tester's tweaked hood lies the ubiquitous four-cylinder two-litre turbocharged engine that VW crams in everything from the GTi to the Tiguan to the coffee machine in the Wolfsburg factory breakroom. If you've experienced one, you've experienced them all: gutsy, grumbly, charming if not particularly smooth.
Stuffing a 200hp four-pot underneath the nose of an admittedly swoopy mid-size sedan doesn't seem like a recipe for thrills in these heady days of 270+hp Toyota Camrys. However, the numbers only tell half the story.
Like the Jetta GLi, the CC drives like a much smaller car than it actually is. Slot the quick-shifting DSG gearbox into sport, and the car wakes up and grips through the corners with a surprising amount of zip.
If you're wondering, the more-powerful V6 model isn't half as much fun - the joy here is in the perfect pairing of lightweight four-cylinder turbo and snappy transmission.
Of course, there are limits to the fun. Despite feeling very well-sorted indeed, the CC is no GTi nor GLi. Even so, it drives well enough to justify the price premium over the regular Passat, think of it as getting the more stylish interior and exterior thrown in for free.
FEATURES
Both the $35,125 Sportline and next-step-up-the-rung $39,975 Highline are available with the 2.0T engine. Standard features include Bluetooth handsfree, bi-xenon headlamps with adaptive curve-following, iPod connectivity, and a rear-view backup camera.
The Highline alone can be specc'd up with the 280hp V6 engine, though you lose the dual-clutch DSG in favour of a regular automatic transmission which is serviceable but not as quick-witted.
Bumping up to the Highline also adds attractive turbine-style 18" alloys, proper leather seat insets, and has a Panoramic sunroof as standard (this is a $1400 option on the Sportline).
A $2,200 Technology package incorporates touch-screen navigation and a 10speaker, 600-watt Dynaudio premium sound-system.
The top-of-the-range V6 Highline hits the scales at $48,475 and includes all previous options as standard, along with that 3.6L powerhouse. Fuel economy is officially 10.2L/100kms city and 6.4L/100kms on the highway.
