The centre console that lays beneath isn't exactly what I'd call organized, mind you. In fact, I'd
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| Complex centre console has too many buttons. Note the mirror-finish on the ashtray liners. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
stretch out on a limb to say it's disorganized, with too many buttons doing too many different things, and at speed, there's no real way of distinguishing one from the next without taking your eyes off the road. This said, after committing such an outrageous sum of money, it would be worth it to keep the Phaeton around for a while in order to familiarize yourself with what every button does. Thankfully, for those who only have it for a one-week sampling, like me, and couldn't be bothered to read the War and Peace-sized manual that comes with the car, there's a big one with "Help" written on it, should you get overwhelmed. You can also just fiddle around with the controls without using the manual, as most of them are self-explanatory. Just pull over before you do so, as the process requires all of your attention.
While
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| With an 18-way adjustable driver's seat and an electronic tilt and telescope steering wheel, it's impossible not to find the perfect driving position. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
the Phaeton is a high-tech vehicle, Volkswagen's disinterest in sustaining it has let its precedence as a leader fade. There are a few little things that struck me as slightly backwards. It has a manual foot brake, compared to competitors' electronic parking brakes, and xenon headlamps that don't point around corners. The Passat, which starts at a quarter of the Phaeton's price, has an electrical parking brake, a self-holding automatic, and you can option it with headlamps that look around corners. The Phaeton also has the same kind of keyless entry you might get on an A6 or an A8, where you don't need to take the keys out of your pocket. But it doesn't have a keyless start function, so, regardless, you have to fumble around in your pockets anyway. Why bother?
As for the back seat, the Phaeton isn't so much a lounge as it is
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| Those who ride in back are treated to the same first-class luxury as those in front. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
spacious; there's a difference you know. Plunk down on the seats and voila, the head rests rise to the occasion; your feet are looked after too with deep carpeting and a pop-up ottoman that rises out of the floor. My test car featured a full rear bench, which means that the gazillion-way adjustable rear buckets weren't fitted, but they were heated, and the two main seating positions had a massage function and adjustable lumbar support. Attention to detail is excellent; it's even got tiny little roller blinds to cover up the little rear quarter windows. Mind you, even without the blinds in place, the Phaeton's cabin is dark, like a traditional sitting room, and unlike its brother, the Audi A8, it does without any sort of mood lighting.
Another
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| Phaeton uses the same brakes as Ferrari, same suspension as Maserati and the same drivetrain as the Audi S4, but this is no sports machine. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
thing that caught my eye on this particular car was the license plate frame, which read 'Drivers Wanted', but in what context? Mechanically, the Phaeton is a brilliant example of engineering. It features a great big 4.2-litre V8 that's also offered in half the Audi range, along with a silky six-speed automatic gearbox and all-wheel drive, which makes it infallible to any climate. Additionally it has one of the world's most rigid chassis bar at over 37,000 nm/degree flex resistance, and it comes with six-piston Brembo calipers up front to haul you down from the high end of the speedometer, where it feels right at home. The Phaeton also has an adjustable 'Airhook' air suspension that makes driver and passengers feel like they're riding on a magic carpet, no matter how bad the road gets, and does its part to eliminate body roll when the road starts to snake.
