VW Passat’s up and running

Last year, there were speculations that Volkswagen was busy preparing the new Passat for unveiling this year and that plans manifested this year as planned. As you can see here, it uses the body of current Passat, with a sli ghtly wider track and the new model’s nose under a disguise.

VW has had to alter the body to squeeze it over the new MQB platform, which is essentially a stretched version of the chassis that underpins the latest Golf. Market watchers are however expecting styling similar to the Golf, too including a more grille and angular lights.

The engine line-up will be very similar to other MQB models’, with the same 138bhp, 1.4TSI petrol and 104bhp, 1.6TDI and 148bhp, 2.0TDI diesel likely. A new 2.0BiTDI with over 200bhp is coming, as is a plug-in hybrid capable of 150mpg-plus and carbon-dioxide emissions of around 40g/km.