Volkswagen Passat
Long-running executive car enters its ninth generation – exclusively as an estate On sale April Price from £38,480
Lawrence Cheung lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com
AS BIRTHDAYS GO, the Volkswagen Passat estate has just celebrated a big one; it first went on sale 50 years ago. However, while the original had a hatchback sister, this all-new ninth generation goes it alone; the previous saloon bodystyle is no longer an option.
This estate-only Passat will initially be offered with a 1.5-litre mild hybrid petrol engine developing 148bhp. This has plenty of poke for everyday driving (0-62mph takes 9.2sec), and it’s quiet on the move, with the mild hybrid system switching the petrol engine on and off in traffic much less obtrusively than that of a Citroën C5 X.