All new 2020 VW Passat !

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 I know, at first, it is hard to tell if this is the all-new 2020 Passat or another existing VW sedan.
As it looks a lot like the new Jetta. And also the Chinese market Phideon.

But this is it: the all-new Passat for 2020.
The pictures here are of the Chinese market version. Which, so far, has been the same car as the one we have had here for the past few years.
(So this is still a different model than the European Passat. Still a “bigger one just for us and China”)

I understand is it even longer than before, by about 2 inches.

 The interior seems to be a huge leap from the current model.
The current interior always looked old. Even when the car was new.
This already looks 100 times better. Putting the Passat back into the small crowd of super nice looking mid-sized sedans interiors. Wright up there with the Mazda6 and Honda Accord.

Of course, we’ll have to wait and see if VW has cheapened out on plastics and materials or not…

 We probably will not be getting this plug-in version here in the US. (using a 1.4 Liter engine) Since VW had announced a few years back they would not be selling PHEVs over here. Too bad…

The Chinese model is powered by a choice between 2 versions of the 2.0 Liter Turbo.
The top version is “only” rated at 217HP.

The current 2.0 Liter (used in the Tiguan) isn’t that much more powerful. And a much rougher and noisier engine than the 1.4.
Not sure what we’ll be getting over here. As VW does not have anything to compete with the much more powerful 2.0 from the Accord, the new Turbo from the Mazda6 or the Camry V6.

The 2.0 might be OK as a base engine. I just wonder what they would have as an upgrade…

Conversation 9 comments

  1. I think Arteon that will be coming to US market in few months looks bit better and interior is fairly similar. Plus it has added practicality of liftback.
    But will be more expensive and possibly too close to Audi A5 sportback since they won't have a base entry level model.

    Who knows we might see PHEV in few years given the stronger push to more electrification including Europe.

  2. that interior is terrible. it's a "huge leap" further into blandness. i'm sure the materials will remain subpar as well

  3. It’s nothing exciting, but it’s not repulsive either. I think it’s a conservatively handsome design.

  4. It could just be the renderings (they don't look like actual photos), but that is one cheap looking car. The plastic wood isn't going to fool anyone.

  5. Looks like the roofline has been swept back more. The interior is a huge improvement, with the exception of the hud. Glad Mazda finally corrected that mistake on the 2018 6.

  6. If you completely block-out the front, this is a very attractive/normal car. Relatively clean body lines, taught rear end.

    But that face is HIDEOUS. It looks extremely Chinese and budget oriented. Awful detailing in the grille, the headlights are grossly misshaped and filled with ugly LEDs (the little line of pin-points along the bottom is the worst).

    It's funny comparing the CX-5 post just below this to see just how far VW has sunk in their ability to tastefully detail a car. The Mazda is 10x cleaner and better resolved.

  7. Why do people still buy Audi at this point? Get a VW and save yourself a few thousand dollars. Take the badges off and you cant tell the difference.

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