Details and images of the the seventh-generation Volkswagen Passat’s interior have been revealed ahead of its global debut in August.
The new wagon-only Passat will start arriving in European driveways during the first quarter of 2024, but it’s unclear if the car will be sold in Australia with Volkswagen’s local arm confirming yesterday the current Passat is no longer available to order Down Under, and that it’s also axing the Golf Wagon range locally.
Based on the MQB Evo front- and all-wheel drive architecture for cars with transverse engines, the new Passat promises to be the largest ever to grace European roads.
Said to 140mm longer than today’s wagon, the new Passat Variant will be about 4920mm from nose to tail.
The lengthened wheelbase is said to increase leg room by 50mm, while the longer body improves boot space by 40L to 690L when the rear seats are in use, and 1920L (up 140L) with the rear pews folded down.
The German automaker has revealed the new Passat’s interior this week, and according to the company the user interface addresses some of the criticisms directed at recent Volkswagen models.
For example, the capacitive sliders under the infotainment screen now have backlighting so they can be seen at night. Although Volkswagen says “the multifunction steering wheel has buttons again”, they still resemble the capacitive buttons used on other cars, like the Golf.
A 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment display is standard, while a larger 15.0-inch unit is available, as is a head-up display. Also on the options list are front ergoActive seats with 14-way electric adjustment, as well as improved cooling and massaging functions.
The new Passat will be available with four types of drivetrain: turbo-diesel (TDI), turbo petrol (TSI), mild-hybrid turbo petrol (eTSI), and plug-in hybrid (eHybrid).
Volkswagen hasn’t provided any details about the diesel and petrol engines, but the plug-in hybrid version is capable of up to 100km of EV driving – almost certainly using the latest 1.5 TSI evo2 PHEV drivetrain in the new VW Tiguan and Skoda Kodiaq. In addition to higher AC charging speeds, the Passat PHEV now supports DC charging for the first time.
Other changes includes retuned suspension, an updated active chassis control with two-valve shocks, and a standard Vehicle Dynamics Manager to automatically control the electronic differential locks, shock absorbers, and braking force per wheel.
Cars fitted with Matrix LED headlights can see up to 500m down the road when the high beams are on. A red LED light bar across the tailgate is standard on all models, while the cars pictured here also feature a light bar across the top of the upper grille.
Unlike earlier Passat generations sold in Europe there will be no sedan body style. It’s likely this Passat will also be last generation of the nameplate to be offered with internal combustion engines as VW pushes towards an all-electric future.
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