As of: March 24, 2024, 1:00 p.m
By: Rudolf Bögel
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With the new Passat Variant, VW is challenging the premium competition.
But is the station wagon up to the task?
Shortly before it is retired as a combustion engine, the new VW Passat revs up again.
It's 50 years old, eight generations have rolled off the assembly line so far - and with 34 million copies sold, you can rightly say that it has grown up.
Nobody could have guessed when the original Passat saw the light of day in 1973.
The midwife was the Italian star designer Giorgio Giugiaro, who quickly gave the successful Audi 80 a hatchback.
The station wagon only came onto the market later.
Today it is exactly the other way around.
The sedan is gone, but the variant that rolls and rolls and rolls.
With one exception: In China, the notchback lives on as the Magotan.
The new variant: No VW Passat has ever been this big
The Passat has grown up - and now it's growing beyond itself.
It is 14.5 centimeters longer in length.
Makes 4.92 meters in total.
The wheelbase increases by 4.5 centimeters to 2.84 meters and the trunk volume increases to 690 or 1,920 liters with the rear seat folded down.
No Passat has ever been larger and more spacious.
If you compare it with the competition, the Passat is now closer in length to the BMW 5 Series Touring than to the 3 Series station wagon.
When it comes to charging capabilities, it beats both models and also the Mercedes C-Class.
The new Passat is aimed at exactly these competitors.
At least Volkswagen has this claim.
At around five meters, the VW Passat Variant is longer than any of its predecessors.
Up to 1,920 liters fit in the trunk.
© VW
When it comes to engines, VW is setting off one last combustion fireworks display.
The two-liter diesel is available with either 122, 150 (front-wheel drive) or 193 hp (all-wheel drive).
According to Volkswagen market research, every second Passat Variant sold will be a diesel engine.
One in five customers will warm to the two-liter petrol engine (204 hp front-wheel drive / 272 hp all-wheel drive).
That's 70 percent pure combustion engine content.
The rest goes to the hybrid models.
There is a mild hybrid variant, the 1.5 eTSI with 150 hp.
The plug-in Passat (204 or 272 hp) could be particularly interesting here.
Thanks to a larger battery (19.7 kWh net), it wants to cover at least 100 kilometers purely electrically and, according to VW statistics, cover 99 percent of all everyday journeys.
And the eHybrid is also suitable for long distances: it should cover 800 kilometers in one go.
Plug-in hybrid in the first short test: How economical is it really?
We were able to test the weaker of the two PHEVs during a short trip on country roads and were convinced of the performance in hybrid mode.
The electric motor (115 hp, 330 Nm torque) and four-cylinder combustion engine (150 hp) give the station wagon, which weighs around 1.8 tons, a real punch.
That doesn't feel quite as powerful as in the thoroughbred electric VW ID.7, but it's pretty decent.
The collaboration between the two worlds ran harmoniously and calmly.
No reliable conclusion can be drawn from the consumption, which was 20.8 kWh of electricity and 3.9 liters of gasoline.
The route was too short for that.
However, the data suggests that you can drive reasonably economically with the PHEV.
We have doubts about whether it can cover the 100 kilometers electrically.
At best in summer temperatures and on flat terrain.
However, we like to be surprised during a longer practical test.
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Competes with the premium class.
The new VW Passat Variant convinced our author Rudolf Bögel.
© Jan Dada/VW
The two top engines are a real bank.
Both the all-wheel drive petrol engine with 272 hp and the 4-WD diesel with 193 hp are solid fun machines that don't turn out to be quarterly drunks when you're thirsty for fuel.
It was 7.3 liters for the TSI and 6.9 liters for the TDI.
Both units run pleasantly quietly, so the “insulation” department has done a good job.
The double glazing goes well with this – actually also a feature from the upper class.
Overall, the new Passat is very harmonious to drive.
The progressive steering, which is subject to a surcharge, reacts harmoniously, the lane keeping assistant is sensitive and reserved - and we also liked the suspension behavior.
For the first time, VW is using one-chamber, two-valve dampers with separate rebound and compression stages in the Passat and is also tapping into the premium competition here.
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Parking 50 meters independently - no problem for the new Passat
In the same vein, features that require a surcharge include the LED matrix headlights, the ten-chamber massage seats with heating and cooling, and the Parking Assistant Pro, which parks independently - whether with the driver in the car or via smartphone and app from outside. if the parking space is very small.
The memory function even remembers up to five complicated parking maneuvers, which you can then recall at the push of a button.
To do this, the driver must record the last 50 meters of the process.
For example, a narrow courtyard entrance with a parking space that can only be approached at an acute angle.
Next time the Passat will do everything by itself.
With the new DCC Pro suspension, the VW Passat Variant drives precisely, sportily and, if desired, very comfortably.
© Martin Meiners/VW
The display landscape also meets high standards: the 13-inch infotainment screen is already included in the standard equipment, and the 15-inch model can also be ordered as an option.
The touchscreen reacts quickly when implementing commands - and is also relatively easy to use after a short training period.
The two fixed bars are helpful.
You can use the upper one yourself, the lower one permanently shows the most important climate functions.
“Allow me, my name is Ida!” Volkswagen’s new voice assistant is now also on board.
She will soon get help from ChatGPT - because the Wolfsburg-based company also relies on artificial intelligence.
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Our conclusion about the new VW Passat Variant
The B9 series actually puts the crown on the Passat.
More spacious than ever, smoother than ever, luxurious than ever.
They fought for a long time at VW about the price, but in the end they stayed a fiver below the magical 40,000 euro limit.
The competition is much more expensive.
The BMW 3 Series Touring costs 46,300 euros, the T-model of the C-Class starts at 46,987 euros.
It cannot be ruled out that the VW Passat can woo away one or two customers here.
(
Rudolf Bögel)
Technical data Passat Business 2.0 TDI SCR
Engine: 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel
Drive: front/7-speed DSG
Power: 110 kW (150 HP)
Torque: 360 Nm (1,600 – 2,750 rpm)
0 – 100 km/h: 9.0 s
Top speed: 223 km/h
Consumption: 4.9l/100 km
Length/width/height: 4.92/1.85/1.50
Wheelbase: 2.84 m
Turning circle: 12.0 m
Curb weight/payload: 1,678/562 kg
Trailer load/support load: 2,000/90 kg
Trunk: 690 – 1,920 l
Price: 48,495 euros (base: 39,995)