The new Volkswagen Passat is going to feature a massive screen, and a cabin inspired by the ID. range of electric cars.
Spy photos of the 2024 Passat reveal its dashboard will be dominated by what looks like a Tesla-style touchscreen, complete with similar haptic sliders to the latest Golf at its base.
Gone is the conventional instrument binnacle, replaced with a slimline screen, and the gear selector has been replaced by a rotating knob integrated into the dash.
It’s a big departure from what we’ve come to expect of the Passat, which has grown into a solid, sensible large sedan and wagon over its eight generations.
Then again, times are changing. The next Passat is likely to be the last with petrol and diesel power, and is expected to be only available as a wagon.
The big screen and pared-back dashboard design are in keeping with the direction Volkswagen is moving across its range, however, led by the ID. electric vehicle line-up.
Previously-spied Passat prototypes have used a current-generation car’s body as a mule, but appeared to be longer and wider under the skin.
As Volkswagen is wont to do, this prototype has been disguised to look like another vehicle – in this case, the current-generation Passat – with decoy headlights, tail lights, and air intakes.
The new Volkswagen Passat is expected to be revealed in 2023 as a 2024 model.
Under the bonnet, power is expected to come from both petrol and diesel engines with mild-hybrid systems. A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain will also be available.
Internally, this new-generation Passat is referred to as the B9. It’s being developed alongside the Skoda Superb and will be built in the same plant in Slovakia.
While the next Passat range will reportedly lack a sedan, there’ll be a new mid-sizer in the Volkswagen line-up with a three-box silhouette.
Codenamed Aero B (above), the electric mid-sizer has already been spied testing and will be sold alongside the next-generation Passat.
Previewed by the ID. Vizzion concept, and in wagon form as the ID. Space Vizzion, this all-electric model was originally rumoured to wear the ID.6 nameplate.
Like the rest of the ID. family, the Aero B rides on Volkswagen’s electric MEB architecture and will likely offer a choice of single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive variants.
