If Volkswagen's latest Passat is a bit bland for your tastes, then the more stylish CC might be more to your liking and it isn't far from showrooms. The four-door coupe has been spotted out and about before its official unveiling next year, and our images showing how the cut-price Mercedes CLS will look.
Despite the disguise on the prototype our spy photographers saw testing, it's clear that the Passat's straight-laced design is to become considerably curvier in Passat CC form. As expected, the exterior appears to be heavily based on the Sport Coupe Concept GTE shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 2015. The front-end is much more rounded than the Passat, thanks to a clamshell bonnet, while the windscreen is steeply raked.
Side-on, the taller shoulderline of the CC is evident, as is the coupe-like roofline and sloping rear window. The rear of this mule also looks very different from the saloon and is expected to use the large LED tail-lights of the concept. It's difficult to tell if the elaborate LED headlight designs from the Sport Coupe concept will make it to production, however.
We haven't seen the interior of the VW Passat CC yet, but we can expect there to be more similarities between the normal Passat and the coupe version inside. Most of the dash design is likely to be carried over, with one or two sporty flourishes to mark it out and a lower driving position. It's not clear yet whether the new CC will offer five seats (with a cramped middle chair in the back) like its predecessor, or move to a four-seat layout with a central console.
The platform and chassis will be carried over from the Passat, but a wider track and suspension tuning will ensure a sportier driving experience. The four cylinder turbo petrol and diesel engines from launch will be familiar VW fare, but the concept debuted a 374bhp 3.0-litre petrol-electric plug-in hybrid powertrain which could eventually make it into showrooms as the CC GTE. That promised an impressive 118mpg and CO2 emissions of 46g/km, too.
What do you think of the Volkswagen CC? Let us know in the comments...