The Volkswagen Passat is a sober, straight edged property automobile that feels more and more out of time

Not so way back, the writing gave the impression to be on the wall for the Volkswagen Passat. Buffeted first by the relentless rise of the hatchback, then knocked again once more by the dominance of the SUV, it appeared that there was no love left for a simple, conventional saloon and property automobile. The unique B1 Passat started life as a big fastback sedan, launched in 1973 with era-appropriate angular bodywork by none apart from Giorgetto Giugiaro. The B2 model arrived in 1981. In an period when market-specific names have been thought-about important, the B2 was referred to as the Carat in Argentina, the Corsar in Mexico, the Quantum in America and Brazil and the VW Santana in Japan and China.

It was the latter nameplate that saved the mannequin aloft for many years, most notably in China. In truth, the Santana has a powerful declare to be the origin story of that nation’s huge motor trade. The creation of the Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd in 1984 set the scene for sluggish however regular progress all through the 80s and 90s (on the time of the partnership there have been barely half 1,000,000 personal vehicles in China), in addition to the all-important proportion of state possession of overseas ventures. The venerable B2 Santana was inbuilt China for thirty years, from 1983 to 2013.

Again within the West, the style for fastbacks waned within the 80s, and the Passat settled right into a barely doughy anonymity with the B3 and B4 variants. It wasn’t till 1996’s B5 Passat that the mannequin re-found its mojo. Styled by the legendary VW head of design Hartmut Warkuss and a workforce embrace the younger Peter Schreyer, the B5 Passat helped begin VW again on observe in the direction of the straightforward, restrainted design language it nonetheless practices right this moment.

What we now have here’s a prime instance of the B9 era Volkswagen Passat, launched in 2023 and out there ( within the West at the least) solely as an property automobile. It’s a totally spectacular all-rounder, made all the higher for being a hybrid. If I used to be being extraordinarily hypercritical, then the present Passat would lose marks for barely generic, nameless styling. It appears a bit over-bodied, with a wheelbase that’s simply quick sufficient to unbalance the general composition, quite than plant it.

Property aficionados – and there just a few of them – may see the Passat as a little bit of a missed alternative on the type entrance, not least as a result of VW had some true corkers in its line-up within the not-to-distant previous. Simply two years in the past there was the marvellous Arteon Taking pictures Brake, which provided a successful mixture of favor, practicality and efficiency. There’s additionally the modern VW ID.7 Tourer, an all-electric property automobile that appears eerily properly positioned to cannibalise from the Passat and vice versa.

In case you haven’t been following the enterprise pages, the VW Group isn’t having a simple trip in the meanwhile. Massive conglomerates that centralise their product planning after which introduce competing merchandise are particularly prone to shifts within the client psyche (see additionally the present struggles of Stellantis). The co-existence of the Passat and ID.7 Tourer is a working example – is the corporate hedging its bets or is one division merely pitted in opposition to one other?

All this confusion is a disgrace, for the Passat packs loads of likeability and much more practicality into an nameless, unthreatening however admirable package deal. It’s an enormous automobile, however not a tall or oppressive feeling automobile. The massive baggage compartment extends all the way in which to the again of the entrance seat – a colossal, wardrobe-sized load bay. I drove the 1.5 TSI eHybrid, however there are petrol and diesel fashions within the line-up as properly – for these out there for an all-electric property, VW gives solely the ID.7 Tourer. None of them are particularly distinguished when it comes to efficiency however that solely provides to the quiet attract of the automobile.

VW inexplicably pitches this low-key machine as ‘business-class reinvented’, when it’s actually something however. There’s nothing remotely government degree concerning the Passat, however the automobile is all the higher for it. It’s as if VW’s design division refused to play together with automotive one-upmanship which then flummoxed the advertising and marketing workforce. For those who want an enormous automobile and don’t have any need to step as much as an SUV, then the Passat is a welcome retreat into simplicity.