VW Passat: the Bestseller class has gone through the digital revolution. Will it be enough? – News – Auto

Passat is still a strong player in the middle class, but falls in line with declining interest in this segment. The long-awaited innovation is to extend its lifespan. Yet, he threatens to be the last generation.

The VW Passat has been with us since 1973 and has always been one of the pillars of the Golf.
offers from the German car manufacturer. At that time, he sold him incredible
30 million units. But the car market has been in recent years
swept by the tsunami SUV. Popular cars "half-wind" took the wind
sails of a segment of the classic automobile. This trend is fatal not only
van, but also a classic model of the middle class. The exception is not even the Passat.
Although his sales are not bad, he remains strong with companies.
actors, but the long-term trend is clear. While he's done in the best years
Volkswagen will sell more than 300,000 units. In 2017, it was in Europe.
only 183,228 copies and only 154,074 pieces last year, this is a
worst results in the history of Passat.

We'll see if he succeeds, but now he wants to resume.
The car comes with an upgrade that pushes the Passat to digital
the era and the era of strict emission limits. About less changes took place
outside. Finally, the timeless design of the Passat did not require much intervention.
And then he turned to withdraw. Slightly redesigned are basically just bumpers.
The front has a more pronounced "wing" in the grip and new
triangular fog lights. The back has been recovered in the area
cognitive mark. In addition to the logo, the Passat registration appears. New graphics
also have taillights. Lapiz Blue, the Bottlegreen palette has added a color palette
and Sanndgold. Everything completes the revamped design from 17 to 19 inches
wheels. But that's really all.

There have been even fewer changes in the interior. The new ones are basically only
decorative tiles, dashboard and steering wheel. That's not to say that here
Passat ends. He went through the digital revolution. We can start
a lighting technology that uses only LEDs. The strong points are
I.Q. matrix lamps Light. Each of the front reflectors then contains
22 individually controlled diodes. The directional lights again had the signal
function is a progressive lighting system. The infotainment goes to
the third generation of the MIB3 (Modular Infotainment Matrix) multimedia system with
standard built-in SIM card, which means an online connection to
Internet. The center screen has a diagonal of 6.4, eight or nine
inches.

Artificial intelligence allows control of the voice. Just say "hi,
Volkswagen ", and the system is able to answer various questions or to control
navigation functions, telephone and radio. Volkswagen promises at the same time
more responsive menus and faster responses. Passat can add it
Active 11.7-inch information display with higher resolution.
Three basic graphics modes can now be activated directly by the View button
on the wheel. In the Passat, the Arteon and Touareg models also got the best
the new Dynaudio Confidence 700W at sixteen
channels and digital audio editing in Authentic, Soft, Dynamic and
Speech.

Other important advances are related to support systems. Passat
it gets autonomous capabilities for SAE 2. It would do more,
this is hampered by legislation that requires the constant attention of the driver.
It is now controlled by the capacitive surface of the steering wheel that knows exactly
distinguish if the driver holds it. There is no false opinion.
All support systems are now integrated with Travel Assist,
replacing the original paper jam wizard. The novelty is that it allows
partially autonomous driving up to 210 km / h. He understands
vehicle maintenance or automatic change of training.
Adaptive cruise control now adjusts speed based on navigation data
and signs. Autonomous brakes are registered for pedestrians and thank you
the electromechanical system of brake boosters, reserved until now only
Passat GTE rechargeable hybrid heavier, reacts faster and shortens
the braking distance.

Under the front bonnet, the Passat complies with the latest Euro 6d emissions standard.
Gasoline engines received a particulate filter and diesel engines again
an SCR selective catalytic reduction system with Ad Ad injection
Blue. However, most Volkswagen vehicles focus on the Passat GTE plug-in hybrid.
It did not get the expected 1.5 TSI Evo engine and stayed true to that of the original
the combination of a 1.4 TSI Evo 4 cylinders (115 kW) and an electric motor (80 kW) with
combined power of 160 kW, but the capacity of li-ion batteries has increased
from 9.9 to 13 kWh. This has increased the electrical reach by 31%
from the original 50 to 70 km. In daily work, it would already be
The portion of kilometers should have been purely non-emissive
E-mode. Charging the batteries from the domestic charger (3.6 kW) lasts
6.4 hours.

The engine configuration completes the four-cylinder 1.5 TSI (110 kW), 2.0 TSI
(140 kW, 200 kW) and 1.6 TDI (88 kW) diesel, 2.0 TDI (140 kW) and 2.0 BiTDI
(176 kW). The combination is manual or 7-speed
DSG Double Gear Couplings. To do this we need to add versions
with the drive of the two axles 4Motion. The changes on the chassis touched a new melody,
but also improved DCC adapters operating in mode
Normal, Comfort and Sport. The revised Passat, to be presented to Marcas
the Geneva Motor Show will continue to be available as a Sedan, Variant Variant,
in the upgraded outdoor version of Alltrack. Plug-in Hybrid Passat GTE
you can treat yourself like a wagon. The first vehicles should arrive at the customers
in August.