Volkswagen Passat facelifted

The B6 Passat was heavily facelifted by Klaus Bischoff and Walter de Silva, and was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September 2010 and although designated "B7" the car is not an all-new model. The facelift resulted in every external body panel being changed, except for the roof and glasshouse, with the most prominent change being to the grille and headights, which mirror the style first shown on the Mk3 Scirocco. The height and width dimensions are unchanged from the B6 Passat, while length increases by 4 mm. New features include a fatigue detections system and an automatic “city emergency braking” system. It arrived at dealerships in mid-November 2010.


Volkswagen Passat




Volkswagen Passat


Volkswagen Passat


Volkswagen Passat


Volkswagen Passat


Volkswagen Passat


Volkswagen Passat


Volkswagen Passat


Volkswagen Passat


Volkswagen Passat


Volkswagen Passat


Volkswagen Passat

J.D. Power APEAL: Porsche win the most appealing nameplate for 5th year straight

J.D. Power and Associates has released the results of the 2009 Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) Study. It’s not surprising that Porsche ranks as the most appealing brand for the fifth straight consecutive year. Volkswagen had the most segment-leading models in APEAL, including the CC, GTI, Passat, and Tiguan. That's more than any other brand in 2009.

The APEAL study measures how satisfied new owners are with their vehicles after the first 90 days of ownership, with questions regarding more than 90 vehicle attributes. It gathered responses from more than 80,900 purchasers and lessees of 2009 model-year vehicles between February and May of this year.

Yet Porsche only had one top-placing model in Power's study, the Cayenne. Across all models, the 2009 Mercedes-Benz S-Class receives the highest APEAL score for 2009, for a third consecutive year. Other repeat segment winners in Power's APEAL include the Chevrolet Avalanche, Dodge Challenger, Hyundai Genesis, and MINI Cooper (all for the second year), while both the 2009 Honda Odyssey (also an IVA winner) and 2009 Honda Ridgeline receive segment awards for the fifth consecutive year.

From the result, there are some points we can notice. The overall level of APEAL scores has risen quite significantly this year. The average score across all models in 2009 is up 9 points from 2008 to 779. A large part of that increase is attributed to a boost in owner satisfaction with fuel economy, according to J.D. Power vice president David Sargent.

In the same way, American carmakers have a huge improvement in design and build quality of American vehicles. In 2007, domestics fell 27 points short of imports, while in 2008 that shrunk to 15 points. This year there's just 5 points between domestics and imports.

Spy shots :next-gen 2012 Volkswagen Passat

Volkswagen's next-generation 2012 Passat is expected to up the stakes against Germany’s luxury carmakers, with the car’s designers hoping it will be mentioned in the same breath as the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes Benz C-Class and Audi A4. Photographers have caught it undergoing testing on Germany's famous Nürburgring.


While the test-mule wears the current Passat body, we can see slight modifications in the form of wider wheel wells and lengthened B-pillars. This clearly indicates that the next generation Passat will be longer and wider than today's model. Clear giveaways on this test-mule are the extended wheel arches and a stretched B-pillar.

Under the hood, a replacement for the VR6 engine will be in place, putting out close to 300hp (224kW) from a displacement of 3.0L. To improve mileage and maintain power, the new engine will also be using direct injection, while the rest of the powertrain lineup is expected to benefit from some form of forced induction as well. Other models will include a new hybrid as well as a high-performance diesel with AWD.

To give the Passat some much needed panache, VW will be pulling out all the stops to make the next-generation a technological showcase, with features that should have the traditional German manufacturers feeling a little worried.

Expected to debut in late 2011 as a 2012 model, the next-generation Passat is tipped to feature a host of new technologies, including airless tires, a wiperless window cleaning system, and an advanced user interface. There may also be an electronic stability system with a feature that automatically offers counter-steering assistance in adverse driving conditions.

One year after the launch of the Passat sedan will be the station wagon. This will be followed closely by a new high-performance model to replace the current R36.