Brand agnostic is a fancy term for when manufacturers bank on your lousy short-term memory and the pliability of your long-term memory too.

For instance, the 2013 Volkswagen Passat is counting on your favorable memory of any car coming out of Germany (remember: pliable) and forgetting that Passats used to expensive like they were made from the future. In 2011, Volkswagen wisely recognized that selling a lot of cars was more profitable than selling only a few and redesigned the Passat to compete in the mid-size sedan market it was missing. The result was a car built in America, for Americans and presumably for American budgets by starting at just over $20,000. That’s a clever marketing tool: “Here’s a car you can actually afford.”

The Passat is the second piece of what’s effectively now Volkswagen 2.0. Starting with the smaller Jetta, VW’s business model shifted from the 1980s and 1990s idea of “Smart money owns a Volkswagen” to today “We’ll just take your money any way we can.” In a press for world dominance and to become the planet’s largest automaker, Volkswagen’s mid-size sedan that could compete with the likes of Toyota, Honda and Hyundai became brutally important. Volkswagen analyzed how its then-customer base felt about the brand, aspects of their cars and what “driving a Volkswagen” meant to loyal customers, and then ignored all of it. After all, you don’t conquest new customers by paying too much attention to old ones.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’ve owned one of the old Passats, and as an owner I can say that car felt fantastically confused. Part Audi and part bubble, those Passats were nice on the inside, interesting on the outside, and over-engineered in all the wrong places. For the new Passat, four-wheel independent suspension and a spacious rear seat were among the few holdovers from the previous generation that appealed to buyers like me — thankfully the rest feels completely different. Our 2013 Passat S model, a fairly base version that sells for $23,975, ironed out bumpy highways and didn’t have the same heavy steering older models suffered from. Nearly all-new Passats have hydraulic-assisted steering, which continues the mid-size tradition of being simultaneously comfortable and vague in the wheel, and the diesel-powered Passat TDI models have electrically assisted steering.

Lets dig deeper into details. The model range goes from base S, to SE, SEL and SEL Premium, which are all available with either gasoline- or diesel-powered engines. For 2013, three engine options are available: a 2.5-liter five cylinder, a 3.6-liter V6 or a 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel. What’s not included this year, or perhaps for any year soon, is all-wheel drive, which Volkswagen calls 4Motion. Presumably that could happen, as VW already has a European spec Passat 4Motion, but they’re tight-lipped in Chattanooga as to whether we’ll ever see it on our shores here.

That’s a shame the 3.6-liter V6 and 2.0-liter diesel feel like they both have power to burn — the V6 feels like it has more horsepower than it needs, and the diesel has torque for days. The 2.5-liter inline five cylinder has always been a bit of a curiosity for me. Not only because of the odd number of cylinders, but also because that powerplant is the same used to move a much lighter Beetle, so how would it handle a much larger sedan? Thankfully, the 170 horsepower coming from that mill is adequate but not overpowering. I don’t get the feeling the 2.5 was built for the autobahn (one of my favorite expressions from new car buyers) this thing is the queen of stop-and-go traffic on I-24.

Speaking of: Collectively, Americans spent 5.5 billion hours stuck in traffic in 2011, according to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. That’s almost 628,000 years behind the wheel, of which approximately zero hours were spent looking at the analog clock. I’m not joking; I looked at the Passat’s analog clock, which resembles a miniature version of the exact one used at the nearby Greyhound station and immediately thought: “Why am I looking at this?”

Thankfully the rest of the interior isn’t of the same bus station ilk. Despite catching flack from yours truly for the decision to simplify (read: make cheaper) the Jetta, the Passat manages the feat a little better. Yes, there are hard plastics in places, and in the base model S we’ve been given, the features list includes decadent amenities such as “Chrome tipped window switches,” “Illuminated, sliding sun visors” and “Rear armrest,” which were only options back in 1985. Overall, the Passat is nice, fairly quiet and comfortable, which is job No. 1 through No. 3 in my book. Bluetooth audio and dual-climate controls are nice, but if the rest of the interior looked like that clock then God help us all.

We managed 25 mpg in combined driving in our base S, which was on target with the EPA estimates for that model. The TDI, which carries a $2,500 price premium can hit the vaunted 40 mpg mark, but you’ll pay for it. But that’s really my pick here. While the volume seller like this one is a very good option, it makes sense to get the Passat if you’re looking for what the Camrys and Accords can’t offer: diesel and a massive 700-mile range on a single tank. But that’s assuming you can remember where you’re going after you start. I have a terrible memory, don’t you know?

Aaron Cole is managing editor of the Aurora Sentinel. He appreciates hearing from readers. Reach him at acole@aurorasentinel.com