Volkswagen Passat completely new and bigger than ever

• 690 liters of luggage space
• 100 kilometers electric with PHEVs
• Twin brother of new Skoda Superb

Yes, the new Volkswagen Passat will only be available as a station wagon. That decision was undoubtedly made with a look at the sales figures of the current sedan. With the Skoda Superb, the non-station wagon, which is a liftback there, is still considered successful enough, so the Czech brother will soon appear again in two forms. If you don’t want a station per se, you can turn to Volkswagen for an electric Volkswagen ID7 for a car in this segment. How much the Passat Variant is related to the new Superb Combi can hardly be exaggerated. Even more than the very first Superb, which had a complicated twin relationship with the Chinese Passat Lingyu, this new Passat is a Superb with a slightly different nose and ass. This is also evident from the fact that the Passat is full of handy features that we normally only find at Skoda, such as an umbrella in the door and a built-in funnel for the windscreen washer fluid reservoir. Yet the Passat does look like a real Volkswagen. It is a bit more rounded than the current model and clearly looks new, but with its subdued and businesslike appearance it is also a real Passat at the same time. A very large Passat, at 4.92 meters it is 15 centimeters longer than before, with a wheelbase that grows by 5 centimeters. The result: a luggage compartment that is 690 to 1,920 liters at best. That’s a record for a station wagon as far as we know, matched only by the large MPVs of yesteryear and a handful of really large SUVs. With 5 centimeters of extra legroom compared to the already not cramped predecessor, rear passengers also have no lack of space.

100 kilometers electric

Like the exterior, the Passat’s interior is a bit more traditional and business-like than that of the more futuristic and minimalist ID7. That is of course a conscious choice and certainly does not mean that the Passat interior looks boring or old-fashioned. We see many parts from existing models, certainly also electric ID cars, but in a new or adapted form. For example, the screen is larger than we are used to at 12.9 or 15 inches, the ‘sliders’ for volume and temperature are now illuminated and the infotainment itself has been made considerably faster and more user-friendly. Ambient lighting plays a major role, not only in the usual places but also in the form of a glowing pattern in the piano lacquer panels on the dashboard and door panels. The control of the ever-present automatic transmission is on the steering column, which frees up space between the seats for storage compartments and telephone chargers. That machine is a seven- or six-speed DSG. The extra resistance is for the 1.5 eTSI mild hybrid with 150 hp, the entry-level engine and the only non-plugin available in the Netherlands. The other two versions are plug-in hybrid eHybrids, with 204 or 272 hp. The latter is considerably more powerful than the outgoing Passat GTE (that label will not return), but the profit is also elsewhere. The 1.4 TSI petrol engine is replaced by a 1.5, the battery pack almost doubles in capacity to 19.7 kWh. With this you should be able to drive about 100 kilometers electrically, an as yet unofficial statement that, if we are to believe Volkswagen, could turn out even higher. In addition, the PHEVs benefit from a three-phase 11 kW on-board charger and the ability to fast charge at up to 50 kW, both of which are not common for a plug-in hybrid. Despite the increased capacity, the battery pack does not grow in size, so the disadvantage in terms of space is not too bad. The plug-ins only have less space under the loading floor than the mild hybrid. That means that the total number of liters will be lower than the 690, but also that above the floor at least a lot of stuff can still be used. ‘Stauraum’, the Germans call it. Nice.

No Elegance, but R-Line

The chic, chrome-covered Elegance version will unfortunately not be available in the Netherlands, but the sportier-looking Passat R-Line will of course be. He makes his intentions very clear from now on, because the huge black double chin with coarse ‘fake gauze’ (the addition ‘fake’ and quotation marks, because it cannot be clear enough) cannot be missed. The rear bumper is also equipped with a huge piece of high-gloss shiny stuff in a coarse diamond pattern. The interior is also a bit sportier in an R Line, including an Alcantara-like material on the headliner and the dashboard. For those who, like the undersigned, are happy about it: the optional panoramic roof of the Passat can still be opened. Other nice features on the option list include more advanced HD Matrix headlights and new DCC shock absorbers, with no less than fifteen different settings to choose between comfort and firmness. What all that beauty – and the Passat itself – costs exactly, we will learn somewhere in the coming months. The new Volkswagen Passat is expected to appear in the showroom in February 2024 and around that time we can also take it on the road for the first time.