41 years and 23 million units sold worldwide . That is the balance of seven generations of the Volkswagen Passat, which has thus become one of the best-selling cars of the German brand ever. In order for the sedan (or station wagon) of the middle class to keep up with the competition, Volkswagen is preparing the premiere of the eighth generation Passat for the summer.
Of course, it will be based on the MQB modular platform , which will make it slightly shorter, but also 85 kg lighter . By using high-strength steel and aluminum in production, Volkswagen saved 33 kg on the body itself, 9 kg on the chassis, 40 kg on the engine and transmission or 3 kg on the electrics. As I already mentioned, the novelty will be 2 mm shorter than its predecessor , but it will still have a 33 mm longer wheelbase thanks to shorter body overhangs. The front seats are located 10 mm lower, the rear passengers received 26 mm for their heads. The luggage compartment of the station wagon version has increased by 47 liters to 650 liters and, in addition to the larger volume, it will also offer a double bottom and, when the rear seats are folded down, the possibility of transporting an object up to 2.85 meters long.
The design follows on from the latest models of the car manufacturer , i.e. the new Golf, Golf Sportsvan or the modernized Polo, but at the same time it will retain the representativeness and certain conservatism of the current model. LED rear lights will become standard, the front ones will be halogen for the lower versions, but the higher versions will also get LEDs. Front LED lights with automatic light flow control so that you don't dazzle oncoming drivers will also be available for an extra charge.
The cabin will offer a MIB II multimedia system with a 5.8-8 inch color screen and touch control. Instead of classic alarm clocks, a 12.3-inch color display , which was first shown in the new generation Audi TT, will take the place for an additional fee. From assistance systems , the eighth generation Passat will get everything you can think of, starting with parking assistant, cameras monitoring 360 degrees around the car, assistant for driving with a trailer, a system that warns of a frontal collision, an assistant that monitors the space behind the car, a blind spot monitor and ends with autonomous braking.
Under the hood we find a diverse range of engines, including both petrol and diesel units. The highlight of the offer will be the new two-liter TDI diesel with double turbocharging , 240 horsepower and 500 Nm of torque at 1,750 rpm. This unit gets 4Motion all-wheel drive and a newly developed seven-speed DSG automatic. Other diesel options will be 1.6 TDI engines with 120 hp and 2.0 TDI in 150, 191 and 240 hp versions. Petrol engines will be represented by TSI units with a volume of 1.4 liters (125 and 150 hp), 1.8 liters (180 hp) and 2.0 liters (220 and 280 hp). The novelty will be a plug-in hybrid version with a drive unit from the Golf GTE, which combines a 1.4 TSI petrol engine with a capacity of 156 hp and an electric motor with a capacity of 109 hp. The result is a power of 211 horsepower and a torque of 400 Nm. The stated range in the combined drive is 966 km, then up to 50 km purely on electricity.
The first official images will be released by Volkswagen at the beginning of this July . The exhibition premiere will then take place in October in Paris, and the first customers will receive the sedan and station wagon already in November of this year . In addition to them, VW is also counting on the production of the off-road station wagon Alltrack, the four-door CC coupe and possibly also a stylish shooting hatch based on the CC model.
Source: Volkswagen, autoexpress.co.uk
