Volkswagen Passat 2015: price, release date, and specs
Volkswagen has taken the wraps off the fresh Volkswagen Passat at the Paris Motor Showcase. The company demonstrated the standard car as an estate in classy R-Line trim, plus saloon and estate versions of the super-efficient Passat GTE petrol-electric hybrid.
The fresh model is lower and broader than the car it substitutes and has a stylish, coupe-like profile. We know that the most basic fresh Passat, a 1.6-litre turbodiesel with a manual gearbox in S trim, will cost £22,215.
By providing the car an imposing grille and classier overall look, VW is going after upmarket rivals such as the BMW three Series and Mercedes C-Class. The fresh Passat is also set to feature slew of fresh technology to help it contest with the established premium cars in its class.
Fresh Volkswagen Passat design
The fresh Volkswagen Passat is based on some of the same components as the Volkswagen Golf to save money on development costs. These modern parts trim 85kg from the weight of the Passat, to improve fuel economy and make it more joy to drive.
The front grille of the car incorporates the latest VW grille seen on other fresh models, such as the most latest Volkswagen Golf and Volkswagen Polo, while the rear of the car fairly clearly takes inspiration from the luxurious Volkswagen Phaeton.
The premium feel of the fresh car resumes inwards, where the interior has been designed to challenge the upmarket BMW three Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class.
Fresh Volkswagen Passat interior & practicality
The revised Passat is 2mm shorter than the current car, but passenger space increases by 33mm thanks to a longer wheelbase (the space inbetween the front and rear wheels). Headroom has also enhanced and boot space is up by twenty one litres to five hundred eighty six litres.
The car will be available in five trim levels; S will be the most basic, then there’s SE, SE Business, GT and ultimately R-Line.
Boot space in the estate is up to six hundred fifty litres, which is fifty litres more than in a Skoda Octavia, one hundred thirteen litres more than in a Ford Mondeo and – impressively – seventeen litres more than in a Skoda Superb. The Passat is also able to gulp items up Two.85m long, while rear seats that fold down add extra practicality. The estate’s bootlid can be closed by sweeping your foot under the rear bumper.
Fresh Passat engines
One of the most significant additions to the fresh Passat range is a powerful twin-turbo diesel engine. The Two.0-litre TDI BiTurbo produces 237bhp – 62bhp more than the current most powerful diesel. This engine will power the top-of-the-range model and will only be available with Volkswagen’s 4MOTION four-wheel-drive system and a DSG automatic gearbox. Despite the car’s power, VW claims it can still achieve 53mpg fuel economy.
A BlueMotion model capable of 78mpg and CO2 emissions of 95g/km will join the range in summer of next year.
A total of five petrol engines will be suggested in the Passat worldwide, but Volkswagen has confirmed that none of them will be suggested here, because request for diesel models vastly outstrips the request for petrols in the UK.
Volkswagen Passat GTE
From October 2015, the fresh VW Passat will also be available as a hybrid, using the same engine as the VW Golf GTE petrol-electric plug-in hybrid. This produces 208bhp in total and can cover up to thirty one miles using electrical power alone. If you have a brief commute, you could conceivably travel to and from work without ever using any fuel. In the Golf, the hybrid engine can comeback 188mpg and emits 35g/km of CO2 (meaning free road tax and London Congestion Charge exemption) and the Passat should be capable of similar figures.
Fresh Volkswagen Passat technical specs
Lots of fresh equipment will be available in the fresh Passat, including powerful LED headlights. They’ll be capable of remaining on total plank without dazzling oncoming traffic by turning off individual bulbs.
Safety is a priority as the car pursues the all-important five-star Euro NCAP rating. That means it has slew of cutting-edge technology available, including autonomous braking that prevents low-speed collisions (a five-star Euro NCAP requirement from 2015), emergency assistance that stops the car if it detects the driver has fallen asleep and trailer assistance that makes it lighter to switch sides park when the car is hooked up to a trailer.
From late 2015, Passat buyers will be able to order the car with Active Info Display, a 12.3-inch TFT screen that will substitute the traditional instrument dials. A head-up display (HUD) will also be added to the options list. This projects information such as speed and sat-nav directions onto the windscreen in front of the driver.
Fresh Volkswagen Passat price & release date
The fresh Volkswagen Passat was shown in public at the Paris Motor Demonstrate and the car will be available to order in the UK from seven October. Prices for saloon models are listed below, with equivalent estates costing around £1,500 more. Very first deliveries will be made in January 2015.