A few weeks after turning the old American Passat into a brand new model, Volkswagen Europe also came out with a fresh one. Only it's called the 2019 Passat B8 Facelift, is based on the MQB and comes in several flavors.
The Passat is primarily a company car, with about 80% of sales going in that direction, but it's also Europe's most popular mid-sized sedan/wagon by a long margin. So, what have VW done to stay ahead of Ford, Opel, and Peugeot? We've already covered the B8 facelift extensively but figured a detailed walkaround video from the launch event in Germany would be nice.
Three versions of the car are shown, the R-Line in blue, the Alltrack with a sport of metallic racing green color and the GTE. In Europe, the wagon is the most popular body style, and it dominates the presentation as well.
We'd like to focus on the interior first because it's what Passat drivers care about the most. There, we see a brand new steering wheel design, something we expect will be added immediately to other models. Also, the Passat gets a bigger digital dash and the MIB3 infotainment system. After hearing a lot of complaints, they finally got rid of the analog clock as well.
The tech package has been upgraded as well. The car is always on, always connected to the internet. It can create digital keys, so it's prepped for Amazon deliveries to your trunk and allowing remote access.
There's not much to talk about in the engine department, but that doesn't mean VW was lazy. Everything has been re-engineered to meet Euro 6D Temp regulations, and they say the 2.0 TDI feels different. A 1.5 TSI takes the place of the 1.4, and the GTE's new 13 kWh battery allows for between 55km and 70km of pure electric range. At the top of the spectrum, we still have the 240 HP BiTDI and the 272 HP 2.0 TSI. No R version is planned, but the Arteon R has been confirmed by a VW official for summer 2020.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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