Video: 2016 Volkswagen CC R-Line

You don't see them on the roads to often, and it's somewhat strange that Volkswagen has two similarly sized sedans in their lineup. The CC though is almost entirely about style. It has coop like styling, in a sedan shape, and it doesn't really worry about silly things like fuel economy or cargo room. The CC, though, it has this very fast back rake shape, like a Mercedes CLS class, or an Audi A7, at the fraction of the price. The CC has a low wide and very aggressive stance. And it is low. If you're pulling up in a parking space and it's one of those concrete stoppers, you are going to hit it. We're here with R-Line, which has a little more aggressive front styling, but really that's about it. It's nothing high-performance or not a very special, it's pretty much a mid tier trim level package that in addition to the front styling gives you unique 18 inch wheels and some decoration on inside. The R-Line name, the racy looks, and even the standard turbocharged engine give the impression that this should be a wanting to drive sports sedan. But it's not really a, it's a very nice driving car. But even with this manual transmission, the six speed manual, it's not a car that I find especially engaging to drive. And part of that is because of the manual transmission. It feels like an economy, car transmission. Not really a sport experience. So I'd just do without this and get the automatic. Doesn't get any better fuel economy. The manual, it's the same 52 miles per gallon combined, both for the automatic and the manual. And then you don't have to worry about the manual transmission hitting your drink every time your shift, because the cup holders are just a really poor position for manual transmission. Not much has changed on the inside of the car since 2009. If you take this out of the equation, the multimedia screen, it's near identical to the way it looked when it launched, then it's looking a little dated. Now, the materials are nice though. All the dash pad and doors. And overall it's just very comfortable. The seats look really nice, but, you know, it's just got this dated old Volkswagen design and it's in need for an update. Brand spanking new for 2016, is the all-new multimedia system that now has Apple Car Play and Android audio-compatibility. That's the most seamless way that you're going to integrate your phone functions, like streaming music and various music apps with your car. And that includes text and phone functions. Most importantly, there's finally a USB port in a Volkswagen. That may not seem like a significant achievement, but for the longest time we just haven't had one. They've had their proprietary cables and one of our longterm cars, we had five various cables for different phones and different connectors. And that'll set you back around 50 to 60 bucks per cable, but not anymore. You have a USB port, you use your own cable. Your good to go. The price you pay for this very aggressive shape, that braked windshield and the sloped rear roof line and an interior that's just a little claustrophobic. I have to sit high off the ground just to get a good view of the road. And there's no moon roof available on this R-Line trim level. So you can't get a little extra light in that way either. The CC is all about styling and you make sacrifice to get there. Otherwise though, it's just not that different than a ordinary midsize sedan. (upbeat music)