The estate version of the Volkswagen Passat has just celebrated its 50th anniversary, and to mark the occasion, it has become the sole body style available in the Passat range. You read that correctly – the latest Passat is available only as an estate car. Volkswagen hopes that if you’re in the market for an executive saloon, you’ll consider the fully electric VW ID.7 instead.
Though the “Estate” in its name has been dropped, the Passat continues to offer space and practicality, making it an attractive choice for family buyers. It’s larger than before and shares the same suspension, engines, and gearboxes as the new Skoda Superb Estate. VW and Skoda are not the only car manufacturers offering spacious family transporters, so potential buyers might also consider, for example, the BMW 3 Series Touring and the Citroën C5 X.
Performance and Driving
The new VW Passat is initially offered with a 1.5-liter mild hybrid petrol engine. It produces 148 ch and has plenty of poke for everyday driving, with a 0 to 100 km/h time of 9.2 seconds. Diesel power will not be offered, but two plug-in hybrid (PHEV) eHybrids will arrive in the summer of 2024. They combine a 1.5-liter petrol engine with an electric motor and a 19.7 kWh battery and can be equipped with 201 ch and 268 ch.The PHEVs have an official electric range of 120 km, but 100 km is more realistic in the real world. This surpasses the official ranges of the BMW 330e Touring and the Citroën C5 X PHEV.
As always, long-distance comfort is at the top of the Passat’s priority list. The R-line version I tried was equipped with DCC Pro adaptive suspension (which costs about 1,100 euros more) and delivered a neat ride. The DCC Pro’s individual driving mode offers 15 increments between the firmest and softest. There’s also a predefined Comfort mode, which trades a bit of softness for tighter body control, and a Sport mode that prioritizes body control. In Sport, body lean is reduced, and steering gains weight for more confidence in corners. The Passat’s handling is much more composed than the C5 X’s but never puts as broad a smile on your face on a twisty road as a 3 Series Touring can
The car deals with sharp edges with less suspension flutter than a C5 X, and the brakes are also less grabby. Road noise is well suppressed on highways, making the Passat a quiet long-distance cruiser. From the mid-range Elegance trim, you get laminated side windows to further reduce wind noise. The 1.5-liter engine is quiet when running and shuts off and starts up much less intrusively than in a C5 X.
Interior
All versions of the VW Passat offer plenty of seat and steering wheel adjustment so the driver can find a comfortable position. Even the entry-level Life trim gets electric back adjustment and a massage function to increase comfort.
Large windows aid overall visibility, but the Passat is a large car, and its sloping bonnet can make it a bit difficult to judge its ends in tight spots. That said, all models come equipped with front and rear parking sensors and a rearview camera to help maneuver in tight spaces. Standard LED headlights aid nighttime visibility, while intermediate and above Elegance trims are equipped with more advanced matrix LED units. They actively drop sections of your high beams when using high beams to avoid blinding other road users.
The Passat’s dashboard is similar to that of the VW Tiguan SUV, and although it looks neat and simple to use, you’ll have to rely quite heavily on the touchscreen to find most functions. In a potential step back for ease of use, the new Passat loses the physical climate controls that were a feature of the previous generation car, instead forcing you to use touchpads under the screen to change the temperature.
The Passat also moves trad on the Tiguan’s physical rotary dial for volume and driving mode selection. More positively, you get proper buttons on the steering wheel rather than the annoying haptic controls you get in VW’s ID electric cars. Additionally, the gear selector has been moved to the side of the steering wheel, freeing up additional space in the central console for odds and ends. All trims include a 10.3-inch digital driver’s display that can be configured to display a variety of information in different layouts, and is much clearer and more versatile than that of the Citroën C5 X. A heads-up display is available as an option. You get a 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen as standard, and a 15-inch touchscreen is available as an option. Both use an improved version of Volkswagen’s infotainment software, and you can add custom shortcuts at the top of the screen for convenience. The standard stereo has eight speakers, but you can upgrade to a 700 W, 11-speaker Harman Kardon system if you wish.
Passenger Space and Trunk
In addition to being longer and wider than its predecessor, the latest VW Passat wave car has a greater distance between its front and rear wheels. As a result, the interior space is even more generous than before. Not that front seat occupants ever had a problem, with plenty of head and legroom available, plus more elbow space than in a BMW 3 Series Touring.
There are plenty of useful storage spaces, including a lidded central compartment that doubles as a padded armrest, two cupholders, and a tray for wirelessly charging your phone, or plugging it into the USB C ports alongside. Those sitting in the rear seats will notice the biggest difference in space with this generation of Passat. With limousine-like legroom levels, a 6-foot occupant can stretch out when sitting behind someone of the same size. They’ll also find plenty of headroom, although the middle seat passenger has a large floor hump to straddle.
Wide rear door openings make access easy, and rear storage space includes card and phone pockets on the back of the front seats. The fold-down center armrest has two cupholders and a tray that holds a smartphone vertically so you can watch a video on it. All Passats come with a 60/40 split-folding rear backrest and a through-loading hatch. There are levers in the loading area that allow you to easily fold the spring-loaded seat backs from the rear of the car without having to open the side doors. The Passat’s boot is vast. The mild hybrids offer a boot capacity of 690 liters, which eclipses that of the Peugeot 508 SW and is more than you get in the much pricier E-Class. The new Skoda Superb Estate is likely to offer an equally huge boot.
The loading lip is quite low, so you don’t need to lift items too high to slide them into the boot. The loading area is square and uniformly shaped, with useful hooks and a 12V power outlet mounted on the side. A power-operated boot cover is standard on all trim levels.
Buying and Owning
If you’re considering an outright purchase, you’ll find that the VW Passat’s list prices seem high next to the Citroën C5 X and the Peugeot 508 SW. However, running costs should be reasonable. With an official fuel consumption figure of around 50 mpg, the 1.5-liter mild hybrid petrol should not be too costly to run. The PHEVs will need to be charged as often as possible if you want the best economy. Unlike most rivals, the Passat eHybrids can be plugged into public DC chargers of 50 kW, making charging much quicker than with a BMW 3 Series Touring, which is limited to AC charging at a maximum rate of 3.7 kW.
The entry-level Life version of the Passat provides plenty of equipment, including 17-inch alloy wheels, three-zone air conditioning, adaptive cruise control, and ambient lighting. Stepping up to the mid-level Elegance trim adds additional massage settings for the front seats, a panoramic glass sunroof, additional ambient lighting color options, and heated front seats. The top-of-the-range R-Line adds larger 18-inch wheels, dynamic chassis control, and sporty styling enhancements.
All versions are equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB) and sign recognition, lane-keeping assistance, and a system that monitors driver fatigue. In terms of quality, the top-of-the-range R-Line trim I tried had soft leather-like surfaces and high-quality plastics. There’s a good variety of dense-feeling materials, well-damped air vent sliders, and buttons that help it feel more upscale.
The VW Passat has always managed to bridge the gap between similarly sized mainstream rivals and more premium options. This ninth-generation Passat seems to be the best yet, offering all the space and comfort you’ll need while hauling everything you can fit in the boot. An intelligent interior is taken into account, and it’s a contender worth considering.