Volkswagen Passat 2012 now in UAE, KSA, Oman and GCC
Volkswagen Middle East has launched the brand new Passat in the GCC region, now positioned to compete with the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry.
Volkswagen Middle East has launched the brand new Passat in the GCC region, now positioned to compete with the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry.
It’s rather ironic that anyone who’s been to the Sub-continent, or even maybe Europe, has some sort of experience with Compressed-Natural-Gas cars. And yet, we being the largest automotive guide in the GCC, had never driven a CNG-powered car before. The fact that we are in the GCC might be the reason. But there is a real push by certain entities to bring in vehicles with cleaner emissions here, and Volkswagen threw their hat in the ring with the VW Passat Ecofuel, a car that is already offered in Europe, which can run on both natural gas and petrol.
We knew it was a station wagon. We knew it had big “Emirates Gas” stickers on the sides. We knew it was going to get no respect on Dubai roads. But we specifically asked to drive this car — the 2012 Volkswagen Passat Ecofuel Variant. Because this is the only Euro-spec 2012 Passat in the country. But more specifically, it runs on CNG as well.
The all-new 2012 Volkswagen Passat sedan has finally debuted in the GCC, at the 2012 Qatar Motor Show. Unveiled alongside the facelifted VW “Passat” CC from Germany, the actual Passat for this region will now be the U.S. version, which is built in the state of Tennessee and is a bit larger than the European version.
The Volkswagen Passat is all set to receive a new sibling dubbed the Alltrack. The VW Passat Alltrack, based on the Passat Estate wagon which is popular in European nations, will debut at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, of all places.
Riding the green wave, Volkswagen Middle East participated in the second stop on the Western leg of the Asia Pacific Natural Gas Vehicle Associates (ANGVA) Green Highways 2011 event held in Dubai recently that is dedicated to raising awareness among local industries of the importance of making natural gas and energy efficient cars available.
Due for public debut at the current 2011 Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen has officially announced that their “New Midsize Sedan” project will still be known as the Passat in North America. That means there are now two variations of the Passat, one a facelifted version of the old one in Europe, and the other is this up-sized one. Word is this larger one will come to the GCC.
The new 2011 Volkswagen Passat has been revealed at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, in both sedan and wagon variants, with a choice of four petrol engines alongside a couple of Euro-centric diesel motors.
Volkswagen keeps making it harder for their fanboys to defend their favourite carmaker. In the latest line of issues inflicting VW models as they drop out of warranty, the previous-generation Passat is under investigation in the U.S. over reports of engine fires. And for some reason, everybody disses Toyota for floor-mat recalls instead?