19. Volkswagen Passat W8
With the restyling of the then-current B5 generation of the mid-size sedan, Volkswagen introduced a special edition with top of the line technology. It had an advanced 4.0-liter W8 gasoline engine and a four-motion all-wheel-drive system. Customers got a selection of manual and automatic transmissions. Also, this top of the line model had all luxury features and creature comforts as standard.
The result was a perfect sleeper performance car in an unassuming Passat body. The compact, yet powerful W8 engine delivered 270 HP and 270 lb-ft of torque. And that was enough to propel the somewhat heavy Passat to just over six-second 0 to 60 mph times.