Is he redundant? We will find out in the test of the brand new Volkswagen Passat built in 2024.
How circumstances can change? Ask your local Volkswagen dealer. In 2015 you were allowed to register with a fairly brief A4 sheet. The price was not yet known, the equipment was not yet known, but enough people signed for a chance to win a Passat GTE with a low additional tax.
Those times are gone. There is hardly any additional tax benefit with electric cars anymore, let alone that the government still stimulates the PHEV with the help of low additional tax. In the meantime, most station buyers have switched to an SUV, so why is Volkswagen even bothering to develop a new Passat? By the way, the Passat limousine has quietly disappeared from the scene, so Volkswagen itself also sees these developments.
The ninth generation
It is now the ninth generation of Passat and Volkswagen has been building them for more than 50 years. VW has sold more than 30 million units worldwide. In the Netherlands, Pon importer sold 16,578 copies of the Passat in 1999, in 2015 this was 10,854 (many of which were GTEs). In 2022, sales dipped and only 663 Passats were sold.
If you remember, the 8th Passat used the MQB platform. To keep up with today’s demands, including many demands from the European Union, the new Passat uses a renewed platform. The MQB Evo platform contains many high-tech features, has more options for electrification and once again meets cybersecurity requirements. Indeed, the EU is also setting requirements there these days, you wouldn’t have thought that they would stop banning plastic straws, would you?
Longer, roomier and more aerodynamic
Compared to its predecessor, the new Passat offers significantly more space. The wheelbase grew by 5 cm, which means there is a lot more legroom on the back seat. You couldn’t complain about the luggage space, but 40 liters were added for a total score of 690 liters. That is the size of a class larger. The Passat is a really big boy, its length is 4,917 mm.
A longer car is also easier to make more aerodynamic and Volkswagen paid much more attention to air resistance. We see air curtains in the bumper, a flat bottom, roof spoiler and streamlined wheels more often. On the Passat, for example, there are also sharper edges in the rear bumper and taillights that reduce air resistance. The result counts: the cW value drops from 0.31 to 0.25.
Three plug-in and mild hybrids, no TDIs
Outside the Netherlands there is a lot more choice of engines. The 2.0 TSI engines with 204 and 265 hp are quite nice. Traditionally, the Passat TDI also did quite well, but the 2.0 TDI with 122, 150 and 193 hp are passing us by. Belgian buyers are still allowed to choose diesels, so moving is an option. The Passats with 193 hp and 265 hp always have 4Motion all-wheel drive.
For the Netherlands we get the choice of two PHEVs and a 1.5 eTSI mild hybrid. The 1.5 eTSI may seem a bit cowardly, but it delivers 150 hp. Not so long ago, that was almost the top engine in the Passat. As I write that, I can’t help but think of the quirky Passat W8. That is now truly something from a bygone era.
PHEVs with a wide range
The criticism of the older plug-in hybrids is that you can barely cover kilometers electrically with them. Thanks to stricter regulations regarding CO2 emissions, the electric range of PHEVs is finally starting to look like something.
The two versions of the plug-in hybrid Passat have a 19.7 kWh battery pack. You can charge it at a regular charging point with a maximum of 11 kWh charging. What is also possible is 50 kWh DC fast charging, which makes electric driving more often a serious option. In theory the electric range is about 100 km, in practice 60-70 km should be possible.
The electric motor delivers 115 hp and 330 Nm e-motor and is linked to a 6-speed DSG (DQ400e EVO). And a TSI engine, because a fully electric Passat is not available and will not happen. Volkswagen does have the fully electric ID.7, which also has some similarities with the Passat.
There are two variants of the Passat PHEV: the entry-level has a not too generous 204 hp (you also have to carry the batteries), the top version has 272 hp.
Comfort in a “classic” interior
You don’t buy the Passat as a driver’s car. You really buy this for the space and comfort, for those long strokes at a solid average speed on the autobahn. The traditional representative who drives to all corners of Germany.
Fortunately, Volkswagen has not been too modern and has taken the criticism of the recent course to heart. They had gone a step too far with the touchscreens and sliders that never did exactly what you hoped. In the new Passat there are the normal buttons on the steering wheel again. It’s old-fashioned, but it works better, much better in fact.
Fortunately, the infotainment system is not old-fashioned and there are plenty of screens in the interior of the Passat. The driver display is 10.25 inches and there is an optional heads-up display. This way you feel like a fighter pilot in the Passat.
The infotainment system has also been extensively updated, the Passat runs the fourth generation of the MIB infotainment system (MIB4). The central screen is 12.9” (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), but there is also the larger, optional 15-inch screen with a resolution of 2,240 x 1,260 pixels. More importantly, the software is much better and the operation is much more intuitive. There is a Top Bar (top) and a Bottom Bar (bottom) that contain all kinds of functions that you want to be able to access quickly. To top it all off, you can also add your own favorites there.
Conclusion and price
Nice car, but just take the Tiguan. At least that is the conclusion most buyers will draw. It doesn’t help that the Passat is two grand more expensive than a Tiguan. VW asks a cool € 48,990 for the entry-level car. Before you start mutinying about the amount of that amount: welcome to the Netherlands with BPM and a relatively high VAT.
The comparison with the Tiguan is also somewhat complicated: the Passat actually does everything better. More space, better performance, more economical, better handling. But yes, those looks and that high entry level are even more important for the average car buyer. Yet you should actually have a Passat.
Comments
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Johanneke say
That last paragraph hits the nail on the head. It doesn’t matter how good a car is, as long as the average obese/inactive person can get into a higher car more easily, it will sell better. People hate themselves. Don’t exercise, get fat, buy worse cars for the inactive lifestyle. I know people over 60 who still run and are as fit as a fiddle. They do not need the increase, but they are in a significant minority.
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rwdftw say
You forget the people who have reproduced and want to go on holiday with the little ones. The entire nursery has to come along. Discussion with your little one about that point is impossible. The answer is “then daddy should buy a bigger car”. When I told that colleague with that dilemma that my son should hand over his pocket money, that was also the wrong suggestion.
People have to learn to deal with less. We just can’t do that anymore. It all has to be bigger, nicer, better and faster. The refomobile (quote from a car blogger) is going to become the norm. 3 tons of car, 3 rows of seats, USB-C in every row and screens everywhere. Because we have a child.
The result is that you are left at school every morning with a bite of Brinta on your neck. Because all that staring at those screens makes you carsick.
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racerx say
At sometime. My father is almost 70 and still drives a coupe (Mercedes W205). Gradually that higher entry level becomes necessary with 1 artificial knee and a second one in the planning, but that is no shame at that age. He still wants to continue with his Mercedes for another year or two.
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Jansen say
In terms of appearance, it reminds me of a combination between a Passat and a 508. I prefer the 508.
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Roadster1976 say
Does anyone still buy a car like this?
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Battery licker say
Laguna and Vectra? No, Talisman and Insignia. A little preparation is fine.
Great car, but more Superb than VW.
