The 2020 VW Passat is exactly what sedan buyers want more of: styling, content and refinement.
The 2019 North American International Auto Show is a weird one. There are a number of OEMs missing and contrary to recent auto shows, manufacturers are talking about sedans! Fact is that 4.25 million sedans were sold in the US last year, or 800,000 more cars than the entirety of the German new car market.
Volkswagen’s built its recent success on the Atlas, Tiguan and the new MK7 Jetta. The latter is far more important to the brand than we imagine and the same can be said about the long-running well-known Passat. As another pillar in Volkswagen’s North American line-up, it enters 2020 with more elements existing customers want.
For 2020, the Passat sports the now familiar front fascia that is inspired by the Tiguan and the new Jetta. The headlights and grille are updated for a sportier look. The rear-end is rejuvenated and there are new wheel designs. The cabin gets a new horizontal dash design that is lifted from the Arteon and also includes an 8-inch with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
The powertrain remains unchanged from the 2019 car. As such, the turbocharged 174 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque 2.0-litre 4-cylinder and adjoining 6-speed automatic transmission are back.
Perhaps what is most important is that the Passat will continue to be built at VW’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant that also builds the Atlas. Relatedly, Volkswagen’s selected Chattanooga as the location for its $800 million investment to build their future EV assembly plant.
[…] America lost the Volkswagen Passat station wagon some years ago in favour of the Tiguan, Touareg and Atlas. European markets continue […]