Volkswagen Passat B2 – Facelift Friday

The first generation of the Volkswagen Passat, the B1, immediately received a major facelift. This also applied to edition 3, which was so heavily modified that Volkswagen considered it justified to speak of a generation change. The edition that followed was therefore called B5 instead of B4 and in turn also received a complete makeover.

You can already see what is missing: the second generation, or the Passat B2. That car appeared on the market in 1980. Although clearly more modern, this edition of the Passat still strongly resembles the original model. That starts with the body styles. For example, the Passat was again a ‘liftback’ with a fairly flat rear window – as a five-door and three-door! – and he also returned as a station wagon. There was no sedan, but only on paper. In practice, there was indeed a Passat with a separate trunk, only it was still known as Santana in the early years of this generation.

That Volkswagen Santana is a story in itself, because this same model was produced in China until 2021. In Europe it will be over much sooner with the Volkswagen that is reminiscent of ‘the ideal snack‘. From 1985, the Santana here simply gets the name ‘Passat’. There is more news in the body variant area, because the three-door is no longer available.

Old (top) and ‘new’ (bottom)

These changes are not isolated in ’85, but coincide with a facelift for the entire Passat range. The update is fully in line with expectations for a model from the eighties. Volkswagen installs larger shield bumpers in the newer version, provides the Passat with more black plastic all around and, in most cases, also sprays the B and C-pillars black. The side window section thus becomes more visually one whole.

However, the big news is not reserved for the new four-door Passat and not even for the Variant. The five-door liftback is gripped much more firmly at the rear in ’85 and gets completely new rear light units. Instead of small, standing ones on either side of the lid, the newer model has horizontal, higher placed and larger ones. They are considerably wider than before and continue into the lid, where they connect to the newly designed recess for the license plate. If you look closely, you can see that ‘fillers’ have been placed under the new taillights to fill the gap left by the original taillights. Is this more modern butt an improvement? The floor is up to you!