Volkswagen has a history of keeping its best stuff for its home market of Europe, I’m looking at you Scirocco. This includes the latest Passat wagon, which I’m about to put through its paces in the English countryside. So, what would you like to know about it?
VW sadly hasn’t sold the Passat in the U.S. since 2022, and even then it was just the sedan variant and not in its all-new, all-wagon guise. Now, the car has been updated with the launch of the ninth-generation Passat wagon, and that’s what I’m about to drive.
The new car, which VW says is the most aerodynamic Passat wagon ever, is slightly longer than the outgoing model, slightly wider than the old car and packs in more new tech than you can shake a stick at.
There are new engine options on the new Passat, including a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine and plug-in hybrid options that VW says will be capable of covering as many as 77 miles per charge. No matter which powertrain you opt for, though, the cars will all ship with six- or seven-speed automatic direct-shift gearboxes as standard.
There are further changes inside, with VW rolling out its new cockpit concept to the 2024 Passat. As such, there’s a 15-inch screen at the heart of the car, which includes customizable sections of the screen to pack in your favorite controls. There are also new switches on the steering wheel, to show that VW hasn’t totally done away with real buttons just yet.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what’s in the 2024 Passat. To find out everything the new car is hiding, I’m heading out of London and putting this car plus a few others from VW through their paces on the undulating roads of the English countryside.
Before then, I’d love to know what you’d like to find out about this hot new wagon. So, head to the comments section below with any questions you might have about the new car. I’ll do my best to find out answers to as many as I can.