This is how the new VW Passat drives with 240 hp in the test

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Is the new Passat really on a Mercedes level??

This is how the new VW Passat drives with 240 hp in the test-drives

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The new VW Passat has become wider and flatter, but no longer. Today it is a stately notchback sedan, while it …

Source: Volkswagen

This is how the new VW Passat drives with 240 hp in the test-Clubman This station wagon doesn

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… In 1973, when it was the first VW with front-engined and front-wheel drive to hit the market (before the Golf), it was a hatchback model – the basic version even had two doors.

Source: Volkswagen

This is how the new VW Passat drives with 240 hp in the test-Clubman This station wagon doesn

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The eighth generation Passat has grown to 4.77 meters and weighs at least 1387 kilograms (despite a diet of up to 85 kilograms compared to its predecessor). The generation…there was one thing against it …

Source: Volkswagen

This is how the new VW Passat drives with 240 hp in the test-test

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… downright petite. The car was just 4.20 meters in length and in its basic version with 54 hp weighed only 880 kilograms.

Source: Volkswagen

This is how the new VW Passat drives with 240 hp in the test-drives

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In Europe (and especially in Germany) the Variant is more important than the sedan: In its home market there are nine Variants for every sedan. The station wagon is just as long as …the sedan, but weighs 42 kilograms more.

Source: Volkswagen

This is how the new VW Passat drives with 240 hp in the test-Clubman This station wagon doesn

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As early as 1974, VW put the Variant on the side of the hatchback Passat. The 4.29 meter long car offered a load space of 750 to 1520 liters – which was measured differently at the time a…ls today.

Source: Volkswagen

This is how the new VW Passat drives with 240 hp in the test-passat

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Pay attention to the massive center console and the large infotainment screen in the new Passat. There were both …

Source: Volkswagen

This is how the new VW Passat drives with 240 hp in the test-Clubman This station wagon doesn

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… in 1973 not yet. Back then, they didn’t have any big ideas for the space between the seats: gear stick, a small shelf, that’s it.

Source: Volkswagen

The eighth generation of the VW Passat is preparing to break the boundaries of the middle class. Above all, the new top diesel with 240 hp and all-wheel drive is striving for higher things – of course also in terms of price.

E.t everyone knows that the managers in Wolfsburg are not lacking in self-confidence. But with the new VW Passat there is also a portion of cleverness.

Because they constantly give the impression that with the eighth edition of the mid-range sedan they have created an alternative to the Mercedes C-Class, BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 – they just never say it openly.

After all: the big three of the premium segment were present as comparison vehicles during development, and the technology offensive, especially in the area of ​​assistance systems, no longer has to shy away from any comparison with the noble competition.

Nevertheless, VW Chief Development Officer Heinz-Jakob Neuber said of the eighth generation Passat: “No, this is not the new luxury class from VW. It’s just a little more than we’ve had before. "

5.3 liters per 100 kilometers – officially

You notice that immediately when you get into Neusser’s favorite Passat, the TDI SCR 4Motion. What’s under the hood doesn’t just make Neusser, the long-time engine developer, beat faster.

Two-liter displacement, diesel, 240 hp, 500 Newton meters of torque. Coupled with a seven-speed dual clutch transmission and all-wheel drive as standard, this engine makes the Passat the secret dream of all sales travelers.

Because it not only jumps to 100 km / h in 6.1 seconds and reaches a top speed of 240 km / h. According to the prospectus, it hardly burdens the company’s budget while driving: The highly potent unit consumes 5.3 liters according to the standard, after an initial test drive of around 120 kilometers the on-board computer showed 7.5 liters – and that is 4.77 for such a person Meter-long wagon with a live weight of 1721 kilograms is not that much either.

The difference (at least around 40 percent) shows just once again how alien the norm is. And admittedly: where the “world” could drive the Passat, there were no motorways, especially none without a speed limit. But he had to start hard uphill on small, winding country roads and sometimes downshifts for that – the otherwise quite quiet engine was not overly spared.

Fairly high price

The problem with the future top Passat isn’t fuel consumption at all, it’s more the price. 44,625 euros – leaving the popular 150 PS TDI behind by almost 9,000 euros. And even if it has a few other details (for example LED headlights) as standard in addition to the all-wheel drive, that’s a price that – yes – looks towards Audi, BMW, Mercedes. Just very self-confident.

In terms of driving behavior and the new quality in design, this self-confidence is also justified. Following the trend, the Passat has become flatter and wider, no longer.

It is extremely sporty on the road, and the good quality impression at first glance (and when you step closer) comes from the extremely fine edges in the body. Not everyone can do that, they say at VW – they don’t mean the design, but its implementation in production.

The appearance in motion is also convincing, especially when, as in the test car, the progressive steering is installed. It costs only 330 euros extra for this top Passat and then no longer makes the cabbage fat.

The VW comes very close to the competition

Above all, however, it creates noticeably more maneuverability at low speeds, i.e. on country roads, as you have to turn the steering wheel less than normal: 2.1 turns of the steering wheel from the left to the right stop instead of 2.75 with normal steering – that really does a difference.

Another extra that you should treat yourself to is the adaptive chassis control, known in VW as DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control). The differences between normal, comfort and sport can be clearly experienced, which is an additional attraction for interested drivers. Everyone else gets along well with the standard chassis, which can, however, be a bit rougher on poorer roads.

In any case, the VW drives on par with the rather tight Audi – and it doesn’t really fall off the rear-wheel drive BMW and Mercedes. Which chassis configuration is the more harmonious can only be found out in a direct comparison of driving. That’s how close the VW comes to the more expensive competitors.

Where you can still see a difference is in the interior. The choice of materials and workmanship are at a high VW level, but the touch experience that an Audi offers is simply not available here. And the new C-Class is also clearly ahead of the VW – one should bear in mind, however, that the premium sedans are also significantly more expensive than a VW Passat.

The knee room is no longer good, but ample

While the base model of the VW Passat, currently a 2.0 TDI with 150 PS, is available for 30,250 euros, a comparable Mercedes C 200 Bluetec (136 PS) comes to 36,295 euros. A BMW 318 d (143 PS) costs 33,450 euros, an Audi A4 2.0 TDI (150 PS) costs 32,600 euros.

And the competitors are all smaller too. By switching to the new modular transverse matrix from VW, the Passat has got a 78 millimeter longer wheelbase, 33 millimeters of which is used for the interior.

The already traditionally good knee room on the back seat bench increases to a lavish level, and the trunk is just as impressive: the sedan has 586 liters, an increase of 21 liters; the Variant now offers 650 to 1780 instead of the previous 603 to 1731 liters.

All the assistance systems that are available for the Passat cost a total of 5760 euros and make the car really expensive. Even in the highest equipment, Highline, there is not much of the auxiliary electronics as standard: at least parking assistance and the automatic emergency brake for city speed are included, as well as the multi-collision brake, which stops the car after an accident if the driver can no longer do it.

The car maneuvers the caravan on its own

Everyone has to think for themselves whether they want things like adaptive cruise control or lane departure warning, but we can only warmly recommend one extra: Trailer Assist.

This is an extension of the parking assistant and allows the Passat to be maneuvered casually with a trailer. If you only do this once a year during the summer vacation, you usually have a lot of respect for this task, but with Trailer Assist it loses its horror.

The person sets the direction with the rotary switch for the mirror adjustment, and the Passat can then drive straight backwards with a trailer and maneuver it to the right or left into a gap.

All you have to do is decide when the combination should turn left or right – you have to practice that a few times to get a feel for the overall length, but the rest of the work on the steering wheel is done by the car. For 620 euros a real step forward – and so far only available from VW.

A Passat is finished every 29 seconds

VW has built 22 million Passats since 1973, and the visually inconspicuous car has become one of the “essential cornerstones of the company”, as CEO Neusser says. 1.1 million Passats were sold worldwide in 2013 alone – also because the Chinese are so fond of driving the corresponding Magotan model.

3,000 Passats roll out of the factories every day, says Neusser, “a car every 29 seconds. You also have to master that from logistics. "

Yes, these are the concerns of a company that strives for global market leadership. The American Passat customers are currently a bit off the flag for VW, the typical VW virtue of the perfect finish is not as important to them as a refresh in the design and a rather affordable price.

The iPhone will soon be able to be connected as well

It obviously looks different in Europe, where there is currently only one annoyance in terms of connectivity: the wonderful idea of ​​transferring the apps from your own smartphone that are suitable for driving into the car’s infotainment system and operating them on the car’s screen – you so far only works with cell phones that use the Android operating system. iPhones are therefore excluded.

This awkward situation will be a thing of the past from the 22nd calendar week of 2015, announced Heinz-Jakob Neuber. "Then we are linked to all cell phones in the world."

And then people in Wolfsburg will probably soon start thinking about what could be improved in the future with the ninth-generation Passat. Will be difficult.

The trip to the presentation of the Passat was supported by Volkswagen. You can find our standards of transparency and journalistic independence at www.axelspringer.de/unabhaengigkeit

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