A silver-painted PHEV serves as the 30 millionth Passat ever made. No other mid-size car comes close to that figure, and looking at the bigger picture, production of the Volkswagen Passat overshadows that of the Beetle (both air-cooled and water-cooled).
The station wagon-bodied Passat GTE in the following clip rolled off the assembly line in Emden, Germany on April 3rd, 2019. A different affair from what the Americans know as Passat, the European model shares most of its underpinnings with the Arteon. Being based on the MQB vehicle architecture, the Golf and Atlas are also related to the ever-popular nameplate.
“Passat has become one of the world’s greats,” said Ralf Brandstätter, Chief Operating Officer of the German automaker. “At Volkswagen, we are proud of this successful model, which is still the benchmark within its class today.”
To be used “as a press and test vehicle for the international media over the coming months,” the Passat GTE Variant starts at more than €45,000 in Germany. The closest competitor in the segment, also a mid-size wagon, is the Ford Mondeo Turnier Hybrid that costs in the ballpark of €41,000.
Being a plug-in hybrid, the Passat GTE Variant has the edge thanks to a larger battery. Under the WLTP cycle, the all-electric range levels up to 55 kilometers following the mid-cycle refresh of the eco-friendly model. In addition to being green, the combined output (218 PS) isn’t too shabby at all when compared to the 2.0 TSI and 2.0 TDI four-cylinder turbocharged powertrains.
The eighth generation of the European model, the facelifted Passat now features Travel Assist, IQ.Drive, semi-autonomous driving technologies ranging from zero to 210 km/h, IQ.LIGHT – LED matrix headlamps, and the MIB3 touchscreen infotainment system. Volkswagen revealed the B8 in November 2014, and the engineers refer to this generation as the Typ 3G.
Turning our attention back to May 14th in 1973, that’s when Volkswagen produced the first-ever Passat at the Wolfsburg plant. The Passat replaced the Volkswagen 1600, and only the Golf (35 million) has been produced in greater numbers. Coincidence or not, the Golf also traces its roots back to the 1970s.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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