New Volkswagen Passat: First Review

Eight generations of the Passat have now seen the light of day with the car you see in these pictures. They have, for Volkswagen, built its premium image among brands a step lower than the luxury marques (read Audi, BMW, Mercedes and JLR) and been one of the prime carriers of Volkswagen’s crème de la crème on the quality, engines, equipment and technology front. Its last iteration came to India with a 2.0-litre diesel and all the kit you can think of but failed to make a mark. Volkswagen tried breaching the Rs 30 lakh mark with this car and for that price, the ‘people’s car’ didn’t cut it for our brand conscious market. Will this new Passat break the mould and more importantly, can it distance itself from the mass-produced car image? We try to find that answer with a first review of the stylish new Passat.

Design

Stylish, as we mentioned above is the first impression this new Passat makes with its design. The outgoing model was well designed with its squared up lines but it failed to stir up any excitement. It was smart and sophisticated at a price point where a growing number of car buyers are young high-achieving individuals who want to own an attractive car that makes a statement. This new car has a lot more flair in its design as a result. The sloping bonnet, angular headlamps and wide grille running from end to end with prominent chrome slats give it a sense of richness. The strong waistline going all the way to the rear looks much better than the slab-sided 7th generation car. The rear in not as attractive as the rest of the car though, almost too simple in comparison to the overall design.

The Passat will also come with all-LED headlights in Highline trim. It completely replaces xenon headlamps and comes with projection technology with active cornering lamps. These headlights also come with dynamic light assist that automatically controls the high beam to avoid inconvenience to oncoming vehicles.

Interior and space

Volkswagen wants the Passat to be a clear alternative to more mainstream luxury offerings and the only way of winning a discerning buyer’s cheque is by offering the kind of luxury, comfort and equipment that they wouldn’t get elsewhere. So space on the inside looks seriously impressive on paper. This Passat is built on Volkswagen’s Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform. Despite the car being marginally shorter than its predecessor, wheelbase has gone up by 79mm (2,791mm now) by pushing the wheels further to the corners. It is also lower and wider.  Boot space has also gone up to a massive 586 litres.

Interior design in Volkswagens has always been about straightforward quality and ergonomics dominating outright flair in the past. Knowing this, it’s nice to see new Passat getting its artistic touches. A unique element is a seemingly end-to-end air conditioning vent running across the dashboard. The vents have actually been integrated into this design element that’s sure to stand out. The flat-bottomed steering wheel is the same unit from the new Polo but besides that, the Passat looks its premium best. 

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There’s a large touchscreen centre console and also a crisp 12.3 inch digital instrument cluster. The screen provides active information and coupled with the heads up display, keeps driver focus on the road ahead. The Passat also has application mirroring software that will display your smartphone on the screen upfront. The new Passat comes with a 360 degree camera, park assist, lane assist and adaptive cruise control among other features.

Powertrain

The new Volkswagen Passat comes with a range of diesel engines. The base Passat has a 1.6-litre 120PS engine under its hood. There is no likelihood of this engine making it to India with the Passat’s positioning in our market. The second one is a 2.0-litre diesel in two states of tune – 150PS and 190PS. We believe the latter should be the engine of choice for India as the former is low on power even to its predecessor on sale here. Volkswagen also has a 240PS bi-turbo 2.0-litre diesel sending power to all fours. This version could make it here at a later date if the Passat does well this time round. 

Another interesting variant of the Passat is the GTE plug-in hybrid. Toyota’s Camry hybrid has been well accepted so Volkswagen could introduce the hybrid as their halo car. It has a 1.4-litre TSI petrol, that’s borrowed from the Jetta, working in unison with an electric motor. The engine though is uprated to 156PS and with 115PS of electric power, the combined output is a staggering 271PS. A six-speed dual clutch gearbox will be the popular choice but there will also be a six speed manual gearbox as the entry spec variant. 

Expect the new Volkswagen Passat to be priced around the same lines as its predecessor because it comes well kitted and looks expensive as well. The range topping Passat will cost upwards of Rs 30-32 lakh when it comes to India in 2015. On the face of it, the Passat feels pricey, but keep in mind that it punches above its weight. It’s larger than entry luxury executive sedans like the A4, 3-series and C-Class and comes with a lot of features and equipment as standard. It also looks quite good inside and out. The Passat will not be as involving to drive and it doesn’t have a snob-worthy badge on its nose, but it compensates with more in every other department.