Volkswagen Passat - World Premiere, Potsdam, Germany.

Volkswagen chose their own design centre at Potsdam near Berlin to show the world for the first time their all-new Passat. Quite an event it was too, with most countries being represented with a handful of selectively invited guests. It was a warm and sunny evening, alongside the lake, in the heart of Volkswagen’s design centre.

During the evening, Volkswagen’s own in-house clay modellers were making a life size model of the new Passat, live, in front of our eyes. It is a clever process and a wonderful sight, presented by some very clever and talented people. It’s amazing what you can do with a lump of clay and a metal ruler.

This is the 8th Generation Passat, with over 22 million being sold since its launch in 1973. Last year on average, somewhere in the world a Passat or a Magotan, as it’s known as in China, was sold every 29 seconds. This is more than 3,000 per day, a huge success and a very important car globally for Volkswagen.

The all-new Passat is 2mm shorter than the current model, but its wheelbase has been increased by 79mm. The wheels have been moved closer towards the bumpers, resulting in shorter body overhangs and more interior space. The roof has been lowered by 14mm and it is 12mm wider. These changes in dimensions give it a lower, wider and therefore sportier look.

The side profile has changed dramatically; it now has bold swage lines, which Volkswagen call “character lines”, they run from front to rear. This gives the new car striking looks and distinctive and athletic styling. The designers were brave by putting the door handles on these character lines which dictate precise manufacturing and assembly techniques.

The front end is all-new and looks impressive with its four chrome bars and new headlights; it will be a distinctive “face in the crowd”. Also LED headlights will be standard on some models. The rear end has changed quite substantially and on some models, depending on engines a “trapezoidal exhaust tailpipe trim panel” is standard. These look very elegant and give the car a real premium look, but no doubt these could be expensive to replace.

The interior has also improved, it is much nicer than the current car, even though the current car is pretty good and very premium, some high quality materials have been used. The seats felt comfortable and supportive, the sort of seat you could travel for hour after hour in complete comfort.

There are loads of new toys and gadgets in the Passat, including City Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Monitoring, Trailer Assist (we guess for the Dutch Market) Traffic Assist, Emergency Assist, Active Info Display and Head-Up Display, and a Second Generation Infotainment system including an interface to smart phones and related Apps via the MirrorLink. Some of these we understood, some we just nodded our heads, as though we understood what they were talking about.

The new Passat opens for orders on 7th October, with first UK deliveries due in January 2015. No prices or specification have been announced yet. It is expected the saloon and estate will be launched around the same time.

It will be available initially with a 2.0 litre TDI engine, with others following shortly after. A Plug-In-Hybrid will be offered that combines a petrol engine with an 80kW electric motor giving a combined power output of 211ps. It will have a range of around 30 miles on pure electric power.

The new Passat looks good as both the saloon and estate, has improved quality and has plenty of new technology. Volkswagen has really raised the game with this all-new Passat. The slogan Volkswagen will be using is “NEW. BUSINESS. CLASS”

We get to drive the new car and estate at the global press event in early October in Sardinia.

Martin Ward, Manufacturer Relationship Manager