Like the Superb and many other VW Group cars, the ‘B9’ Passat uses the latest version of the familiar MQB Evo platform, which brings two major advancements in particular.
One is the improved in-car tech, which we will get to in due course. On the mechanical side, meanwhile, that new platform confers the plug-in hybrid with a large, 25.7kWh (net) hybrid drive battery, which can be accommodated with minimal impact on luggage space. That is thanks partly to improvements in battery chemistry giving better energy density than previously, and partly to the battery’s placement under the rear seat, with the 45-litre fuel tank now under the boot floor.
In Germany, the Passat is available with the same wide range of petrol, diesel and PHEV powertrains as the Skoda Superb, and both front- and four-wheel drive – but VW UK is keeping its offering limited. At market launch in 2024, all Passats over here were powered by a 1.5-litre eTSI mild hybrid which got only a little bit of assistance from an integrated starter-generator to produce 148bhp and 184lb ft of torque.
Two plug-in hybrid models were added soon afterwards, where a related engine is joined by a 114bhp electric motor integrated into the six-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The entry-level ‘eHybrid’ PHEV has system outputs of 201bhp and 258lb ft, while the upper-level model bumps those up to 268bhp and 295lb ft. As a result, the eHybrid 272 is a second faster to 62mph, according to the spec sheet.
The big battery should also take less time to replenish than before. With the right charging hardware, it can take up to 11kW (up from 3.6kW) of AC power, and it can DC rapid-charge at up to 40kW.
Volkswagen also later added a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol-four to the Passat’s UK range, with this unit sending 201bhp and 236lb ft to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. But this engine has since been removed from the showroom range, leaving the Passat range looking a bit truncated and restrictive compared with its Czech relation. If you want R-Line trim, for example, you have to have the eTSI 150 engine; but you can’t have that engine in a Passat Elegance, Match or Black Edition.
The Passat has grown quite considerably since the eighth generation, to match its Czech cousin. It’s 144mm longer than before, with some of that coming from the 50mm-longer wheelbase, and the rest from the longer overhangs.
