Volkswagen Passat

The eighth generation of VW’s first car to be sold in India gets the MQB platform. In theory, that should make it better than before

- L Aninda Sardar

WE JOURNALISTS crib a lot, especially on media drives and usually about the fact that there isn’t enough time to evaluate and shoot the car. Not today. Today we have close to 400km separating the flag-off in Jaipur and flag-in at Udaipur, which means a full day of driving on Rajasthan’s excellent roads. And sure enough every one of those 400km will be necessary to find out if this car, the eighth generation of the Volkswagen Passat and the first one to get VW’s MQB platform, is in fact better than the Passat that has disappeared from India’s motorscape.

What’s new?

Well, apart from the engine that continues to be the tried, tested and now almost expected 2.0 TDI turbo diesel motor, everything. For starters this is the first VW sedan to get the Group’s brilliantly versatile MQB platform. It’s wider and sits squatter than before and its wheelbase is longer by over 70mm. As a result, the overall length of the car has also grown. However, VW engineers have put the new Passat through a rigorous weight loss programme and ensured that despite the overall increase in size, the new car is a full 55 kilos lighter than its predecessor.

But what’s not new is the way it looks. VW will ofcourse have you believe that you’re looking at an all-new design. Something that has tonnes of presence and displays the agility of an athlete. However, fact is that the visual DNA of the predecessor runs so deep in the styling of the new car that you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference unless you park the old and the new cars side by side. The new Passat’s styling continues to be as subtle as before. And no, it doesn’t look particularly athletic. It looks stately and dignified, exactly how I’d expect Passat clientele would want it. True to VW’s claims however the car does have plenty of road presence.