I suppose that if I needed any further proof as to how good the Passat is then I just had to take the word of the judges from the European Car of Year. The Passat won by 92 votes – the largest margin in years.

Dragging along in second place was the Citroen Cactus (reviewed elsewhere on Car Couture), with the Ford Mondeo way back in fourth (we’d love to test Fords but unlike 40 other manufacturers who load us cars they don’t appear to know what a motoring blog is!).

It was the biggest victory margin in years, with the voting team giving VW’s sensible family car all round praise. Notable that British judges opting for the Citroen Cactus instead. Weird.

The biggest accolade I can give the Passat is that it is really a Golf with a boot but in larger form. And perhaps that’s all you need to know because there’s no better hatchback out there than the Golf…