It’s taken me a long time to learn to trust sat navs. The trouble is, you see, I’ve always been convinced that my body’s own compass is largely infallible and that I could always rely on my own sense of direction – and helpful road signs – to guide me to my destination.

Over time, of course, I’ve learned that my internal compass is, in fact, absolutely rubbish and that I should cast aside my doubts and have faith in my digital companion’s ability to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Those doubts, however, resurfaced last week when I climbed into my new Passat. It wasn’t my synthesised assistant’s geography that let her down but the fact that she seemed to have what I can only describe as a speech impediment.

It was fine as long as there wasn’t a two or a seven in the road number. Unfortunately I live adjacent to the A2 and M2, and if I need to get onto the M25 southbound I have to use the A249, M20 and M26...

The all-new Passat is bigger, lighter and more efficient than the car it replaces. Like all VW’s it is beautifully built and presents a challenge not only to established rivals from Ford, Vauxhall and Mazda, but also premium models like the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4.

The styling is an evolution of the previous model and the differences, of which there are many, only really become apparent when you place the two models side by side. Only then can you really appreciate the sleeker, more modern lines of the eighth generation car.

The new car is fractionally shorter (2mm) than its predecessor but the wheelbase has been lengthened by 79mm. The engine is mounted lower which, in turn, meant the bonnet could be lowered and the windscreen given a more rakish profile.

There are still more visually striking cars on the road but, combined, these changes give the new Passat a sportier, more dynamically fluid appearance while the strong, four-bar chrome grille lends the front end a sense of purpose and increased presence.

The interior closely follows the exterior’s design cues where curves are conspicuous by their absence and, while the layers of horizontal straight lines might imply a lack of creativity and flair, the truth couldn’t be more different.

Everything you can touch or see oozes quality. There’s a premium feel to the cabin that the Passat’s rivals struggle to match. It’s within the dashboard’s carefully constructed elegance that you’ll discover the real creativity and the beautiful way that all the controls are perfectly within reach and exactly where you expect to find them is homage to the incredible attention to detail that permeates every aspect of the passenger space.

The centre of the dash is dominated by a six-and-a-half inch colour touchscreen with sat nav, Bluetooth handsfree and audio streaming. The display is crisp and easy to read while I found the user interface to be intuitive while the sat nav proved a doddle to program.

The seats are wonderfully supportive and very comfortable. There’s plenty of adjustment in both the seats and steering wheel (reach and rake) to ensure that you’ll find the perfect driving position.

There’s an extra 33mm of legroom in the back and, while that doesn’t sound like a great improvement, it makes a very real difference. The average adult is no longer faced with the choice with sitting with knees pressing into the backs of the front seats or with legs akimbo. As is usually the case, anyone sitting in the middle will find themselves straddling the transmission tunnel but head and shoulder room is impressive.

The Passat is available as an estate, rugged Alltrack and saloon, which is what I found myself in. Under the (lowered) bonnet of the GT model is a 2.0-litre TDI producing 187bhp.

Start the engine and you’ll immediately be (pleasantly) surprised by how little noise there is filtering into the cabin from under the bonnet. In fact, so well insulated is the passenger space from unwanted external sound that you’ll barely notice the difference in volume levels between idle and cruising at motorway speeds.

That superb refinement hasn’t compromised the ride or handling, however, and the beautifully weighted controls provide the driver with an accurate picture of exactly what’s going on under the wheels.

The suspension isolates the occupants from bumps and undulations superbly but still offers excellent body control through corners allowing the driver to exploit the progressive, linear steering and strong grip on turn-in.

VW’s dual-clutch six-speed gearbox encourages serene progress, shifting smoothly and, for the most part, imperceptibly. Attempts to move off quickly from standstill can induce some wheelspin and, consequently, unwelcome activation of the traction control, but that can be easily avoided with a marginally more judicious right foot.

As ever, the new Passat is a studied evolution of the last model. Each incremental upgrade is carefully considered and immaculately implemented. The net result is a car that is a significant improvement over the old model and, more importantly for VW, those same upgrades have reduced the gap between the Passat and premium rivals from BMW, Audi and Mercedes while putting more distance between it and opposition from Ford, Vauxhall and Skoda.

Passat GT 2.0 TDI 190PS DSG saloon

Price: £26,840

Engine: 2.0-litre TDI 4-cylinder

Transmission: 6-speed DSG

Power: 148bhp @ 3,500rpm

Torque: 251lbft @1,750rpm

Maximum speed: 135mph

Acceleration (0-62mph): 8.7sec

Urban: 54.3mpg

Extra urban: 70.6mpg

Combined: 64.2mpg

Emissions (CO2): 116g/km

For more details about Volkswagen cars visit www.volkswagen.co.uk