Volkswagen Middle East is making a significant comeback in the region’s sedan market with the return of two iconic nameplates – the all-new Volkswagen Passat and the all-new Volkswagen Jetta.
Hard to believe that it’s been 8 years since the Volkswagen Passat’s last full redesign in 2012. That was the year when the European Passat and the American Passat diverged into two distinct cars, as the latter became a larger car with class-leading space for a midsize sedan, but also less sophisticated in terms of execution and features. The GCC market gets the American one. And it’s now on its second facelift, the first one being back in 2016.
The current generation Volkswagen Passat has been around for 8 years. The 2020 model now gets a much-needed facelift, as well interior upgrades with new technology and additional safety features.
The 2020 Volkswagen Passat was recently revealed at this year’s Detroit Auto Show. It gets some exterior updates and new tech features, along with a choice of new body paint colours and interior upholstery designs.
The American-built VW Passat got a minor facelift last year, having been on the market since 2012. We thought it’d have a bigger impact on the midsize sedan scene, given that it easily has the most cabin space in this segment, but key features were missing that may have caused it to become an also-ran. Several of those issues have now been addressed.
The Americanised Volkswagen Passat has been around since 2012, when it caused a few ripples by separating from the smaller European Passat and transforming into a larger car with class-leading space for a midsize sedan. Since then, it’s been a bit muted in public minds, but this timely facelift for 2016 should see it garnering some interest again, with some new features.
Volkswagen has officially unveiled the facelifted 2016 Passat in the United States. This is the variant we get in the GCC, a slightly larger sedan than the excellent European one.
This here is the 2015 Volkswagen Passat sedan. Also available in wagon as well as R-Line form, it is clearly the European version rather than the larger American one. Which means it may not come to the UAE.
Volkswagen have released a few images of the Passat Performance concept ahead of the Detroit Auto Show. It will be the sports version of the midsize sedan.
The all-new Passat is a big car for Volkswagen. And by ‘big’, we mean both importance as well as size. The larger 2012 Passat is now shipped in from their new United States factory, and we were shipped to Jordan for a test-drive as well as a mini-vacation at a Dead Sea resort.