Last week, we brought you a test of Volkswagen's new diesel equipped 2004 Jetta sedan. This week, we take a look at its bigger sibling, the 2004 Volkswagen Passat TDI station wagon, an elegant, midsize model that is perfect for families who have a sporting flair to their lifestyle.

The Passat has always been at the upper end of the luxury family car market, and this one is no exception. Lustrous paint, beautifully done interior, generous equipment packages and other features continue to put the Passat at the top of the list for most affluent families.

	Volkswagen AG 2005 Volkswagen Passat station wagon. Click photo for larger image.

But surprisingly enough, you can order a diesel equipped Passat wagon for less than $25,000. A Passat GL TDI wagon with a five-speed automatic Tiptronic transmission has a base price of $24,060, making it a Wallet Watcher for this week.

Even a slightly more luxurious GLS TDI wagon with Tiptronic has a list price of $25,660, only a bit over our Wallet Watcher limit. The price includes all the things most of us look for, such as power-assisted equipment, cruise control, height adjustable steering wheel, sunroof and alloy road wheels.

The heart of this car is its 134 horsepower, 2-liter four-cylinder diesel engine with a turbo pump system that Volkswagen says improves performance, mileage and reduces emissions by more thoroughly mixing air with fuel.

In my experience, Passats always have been at the sporty end of the family car market, with terrific handling and peppy acceleration. I'm happy to say that none of that changes when you get the diesel model. I found myself zipping in and out of traffic and passing with ease on the highway.

The Passat wagon, as I said, has a lot of elegance to it, and it fits quite well in what is the growing sport wagon class. These are station wagons that are designed for people who really like to drive enthusiastically, and don't want to give up good handling for utility.

Volkswagen AG Interior of Passat wagon. Click photo for larger image.

Inside, I noticed that this Passat was not equipped with a power seat arrangement. But that was no problem. There's a handy pump handle on the left that, with a few quick moves, had me positioned just the way I like. And there's a handy lever built into the bottom seat cushion that makes it easy to move the seat back and forth without groping underneath the seat to reach a hidden lever. An added plus: These seats held me firmly in place as I cornered, a clear sign that VW knew what it was doing when designing the Passat's sports-oriented seat.

The 2004 model year brought a number of changes for the Passat, including a terrific-sounding Monsoon Sound System, side rear view mirrors with turn signals, OnStar and optional all-wheel drive system on more models than in the past.

But the Passat's most impressive feature, its stiff body structure, has little to do with performance or sport. Doors close like a vault, there is nary a squeak or rattle and heavy gauge steel is used everywhere. VW says the body stiffness is enhanced by advanced reinforcement measures that include strategic laser-welding techniques, and there are tight-fitting exterior panel gaps and other things that make this car a model of structural strength.

The biggest problem I had with the Passat is a rather familiar one with Volkswagen products: a lack of interior room. I felt more cramped with this model than with its competitors, and the fact that the Passat hasn't been redesigned for some time now suggests to me that a new model planned for 2006 can't come too soon.

But other than that, the Volkswagen Passat TDI wagon acquitted itself well.