The primary Volkswagen Passat was launched greater than 50 years in the past in 1973 — a 12 months of platform footwear and flared denims when Slade, Candy, and T.Rex have been using excessive within the charts together with David Bowie’s Life On Mars.
Simply in time for summer time and flaming June, I have been driving the newest ninth-generation model which, for the primary time, is accessible solely as a household five-seater property model with a big versatile boot, and never as a conventional saloon.
The launch mannequin is the frugal 150 horse-power 1.5 litre turbo-charged TSi mild-hybrid petrol with both a six or seven-speed automated gearbox. With costs ranging from £38,490, there are three trim ranges: Life; Magnificence; and R-Line spec, which I drove, costing from £42,850.
Pack the household: The brand new VW comes solely as a five-seater property
Mine was well-stocked — together with heated entrance sports activities therapeutic massage seats, voice management, LED matrix lighting, and heated windscreen washer jets — however added ‘extras’ pushed the worth up by greater than £5,000 to £48,265.
These included: a tilt-and-slide panoramic sunroof (£1,200); a driver help pack together with lane and emergency help and an electronically operated child-safety lock (£620); a Harmon Kardon sound system (£800); a bigger 15-inch display screen infotainment pack together with head-up show (£850); metallic paint and enhanced upholstery (£745); and a folding towbar with trailer help (£1,050).
Driving on 18-inch alloy wheels with sports activities suspension, my front-wheel drive Passat property proved a snug experience with respectable efficiency — although do not anticipate a sports activities automobile — with 0 to 62 mph acceleration in 9.8 seconds, a high pace of 138 mph, and CO2 emissions of 129g/km. There are 4 drive settings — sport, consolation, regular and particular person.
Simply in time for summer time and flaming June, I have been driving the newest ninth-generation model
The automobile was well-stocked — together with heated entrance sports activities therapeutic massage seats, voice management, LED matrix lighting, and heated windscreen washer jets
Count on extra oomph from two new plug-in eHybrid petrol-electric fashions
Driving on 18-inch alloy wheels with sports activities suspension, my front-wheel drive Passat property proved a snug experience with respectable efficiency
Buttons on the steering wheel can be utilized for quite a lot of dashboard graphics
Streamlined, aero-dynamic, and 5.5 inches longer than the earlier mannequin, it has two inches of additional rear legroom and loads of area within the boot
Count on extra oomph from two new plug-in eHybrid petrol-electric fashions (with 204hp and 272hp) from £44,090 mixing the 1.5 litre engine with an electrical motor, a 19.7kWh battery and an electric-only vary of as much as 77 miles. Each can be found to order forward of deliveries mid-summer.
Streamlined, aero-dynamic, and 5.5 inches longer than the earlier mannequin, it has two inches of additional rear legroom and loads of area within the boot which might increase from 690 litres (a rise of 40 litres) to 1,920 litres (up by 140 litres).
The brand new Passat additionally guarantees a quieter drive because of efficient noise insulation together with a regular acoustic windscreen and double glazing with an acoustic movie on facet home windows.
Magnificence and R-Line trim variations have new ‘ergoActive’ entrance seats which embrace lumber assist adjustment and a pneumatic therapeutic massage within the seat backrests.
Buttons on the steering wheel can be utilized for quite a lot of dashboard graphics: basic (spherical dials); progressive (sq.); navigation (exhibiting maps) and R-Line with a gear-change indicator and pace rpm shows.
Time to place some Bowie on the turntable.
Britain’s very personal Motown celebrating tenth MotoFest
The free occasion this weekend is devoted to the motoring heritage of Coventry — religious house of Jaguar and now UK headquarters of Stellantis, which incorporates Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall, Fiat and Jeep.
Within the quick lane: Having attracted greater than 200,000 guests final 12 months, this time guarantees a turbo-charged programme
Having attracted greater than 200,000 guests final 12 months, this time guarantees a turbo-charged programme inside and past the high-octane dash circuit, created from the town’s ring highway, together with reside motorsport demonstrations, basic automobiles, producer shows, reside music, artwork, movie, and fairground rides. See coventrymotofest.com.
Fancy an automotive summer time backyard celebration within the coronary heart of the capital?
Go to the London Concours, which runs from June 4 to six within the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Firm, with supercars and classics from McLaren and Ferrari to Jaguar.
For particulars, go to londonconcours.co.uk.
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