New VW Passat from $34,990

Volkswagen has launched its eighth-generation Passat in Australia in the midst of the 'Dieselgate' NOx emissions scandal, but that hasn't stopped it forecasting more sales than ever.

That's because it expects the all-new mid-size German sedan and wagon to be more popular with both business customers and luxury car buyers, and because the base model is $4000 lower than before despite offering more style, technology, performance and efficiency.

Currently Volkswagen's fifth best seller Down Under behind the Golf, Amarok, Polo and Tiguan, the outgoing B7 Passat – which has been out of production for nine months and effectively in run-out for the past 12 months – has found less than 1500 Australian homes to September this year (down 33 per cent on 2014 figures).

But Volkswagen Group Australia managing director John White says the slump is due to low supplies and expects the first full year of new Passat sales in 2016 to exceed the 4000-plus figures achieved in 2013 and 2014 including the Passat Alltrack, which will be replaced by next March.

"Last year we sold almost 4500 Passats including all three variants. We've got an opportunity – there's no doubt in my mind about it – to do more than that with this car. We're going to pick it up," he said.

"[But] I think we've got some work to do to reintroduce the car. In the last year we've been in a run-out mode with a special-edition car. Our Passat sales aren't really good but that's all supply-related.

"With the long [model] change over ... we had to stock up. We had to take a punt on how many cars we were going to sell and when you go into run-out like this you always want to be a little short.

"We've really been short the last couple of months. We've had less than 100 cars around the country of all three variants – sedan, wagon and Alltrack – for the last two months.

"But we're very bullish on the new car."

White said the new Passat will attract more user-chooser, fleet and government buyers to the base 132TSI petrol model, which is now priced from $34,990 plus on-road costs and is expected to account for 15 per cent of sales, particularly after the demise of Australian-made sedans like the Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore and Toyota Camry and Avalon.

"Yes we clearly see some fleet opportunity there," he said. "You look at who has the fleet market cornered now and it's pretty much Toyota in that segment, and the other fleet is government business, which right now we can't play in but once they're no longer manufacturing here that's going to open up the landscape.

"You'll see a lot of the fleet business in the base car. We've specced that ... right in that sweet spot, so I think we have some upside on the fleet side for sure. But the segment is declining overall so to give you a percentage figure I'd be guessing."

While the mid-range 132TSI Comfortline (priced from $39,990 and claimed to offer $4000 worth of extra value over the old 118TSI base model) is forecast to attract a dominant 55 per cent of sales, the top-shelf 140TDI Highline diesel (from $45,990 – $1000 more than the outgoing 130TDI) is forecast to account for as much as 30 per cent, with many buyers expected to migrate from luxury German brands.

"We'd like to think we can eat into BMW and Mercedes," said White. "We honestly believe we can pick up some from the luxury players.

"Some will be repeat owners and we've got some domestics [car makers] in the mix as well for sure, so I think we can get some more business at the lower end and pick it up at the upper end too."

As with the previous Passat, there are no plans for an R performance version of the B8 Passat, but nor is there a petrol V6. Instead, VGA has introduced an R-Line package, priced at $2500 for the Highline and $3000 for the Comfortline.

The R-Line pack includes 15mm-lower sports suspension, progressive steering, five 19-inch 'Verona' alloy wheels, sports front seats, Nappa leather appointed upholstery with carbon-style side bolsters, 'R-Line' exterior and interior styling, leather-wrapped multifunction 'R-Line' steering wheel with gearshift paddles, black headlining, piano-black interior highlights and dark-tinted rear/rear-side windows.

There's also a Luxury Package available for $3500 on 132TSI Comfortline and 140TDI Highline models, comprising LED headlights with dynamic cornering lights, LED daytime driving lights, a panoramic electric glass sunroof, ambient interior lighting, power-folding mirrors, third-generation Park Assist and Driving Profile Selection (standard on the Highline).

Comfortline and Highline models also come standard with a Driver Assistance Package that costs $700 extra on the entry-level 132TSI, including Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with stop and go, automatic low-speed braking (Front Assist with City EB, now up to 65km/h), Lane Assist lane-keeping aid, Side Assist blind-spot monitoring and Rear Traffic Alert (reversing cross-traffic detection up to 50 metres), plus Driver Profile Selection. The only other option is metallic/pearl paint ($700).

The Passat is Volkswagen's longest surviving nameplate and top-selling model globally with almost 22 million sold since 1973.

Based on the same modular MQB architecture set the Golf 7, the mid-size front-drive Mk8 Passat again arrives with two body styles (sedan and wagon, which costs a further $2000), two engines (four-cylinder 132TSI petrol and 140TDI diesel), two dual-clutch automatic transmissions (six-speed wet-plate for the diesel, seven-speed dry-plate for the petrol) and three equipment grades – base, Comfortline adding $5000 and Highline adding $6000).

The new Passat is just 4mm shorter than before at 4767mm long, but 12mm wider at 1832mm and some 34mm lower at 1456mm, yet its wheelbase is a big 80mm longer than previously at 2791mm, resulting in shorter overhangs at both ends – 67mm up front and 13mm at the rear.

Within the sportier silhouette is a 33mm-longer passenger cell that liberates more leg and shoulder room, while cargo capacity increases by 21 litres to a huge 585 litres in the sedan and by 47 litres to 650 litres in the wagon, which can swallow up to 1780 litres. Both models come with a 60:40-split rear seat and full-size spare wheel.

Both turbocharged direct-injection four-cylinder engines are new and matched with fuel-saving second-generation idle-stop and regenerative braking systems, powering vehicles that are lighter than before, ranging from 1450kg (petrol sedan) to 1562kg (diesel wagon).

The 1.8-litre 132TSI turbo-petrol four offers 14kW more peak power with 132kW over 5100-6200rpm and the same 250Nm of torque over 1250-5000rpm. It sprints to 100km/h in a claimed 7.9 seconds (sedan) and 8.1 (wagon), and consumes 6.0L/100km in both forms – at least 0.2L/100km less than before.

The 2.0-litre 140TDI turbo-diesel four makes 140kW over 3500-4000rpm (up 10kW) and 400Nm (up 20Nm) over 1750-3000rpm, hits 100km/h in 7.7 seconds (sedan) and 7.9 seconds (wagon), and consumes just 4.8L/100km in both guises – down 0.9L/100km.

All models come standard with a full safety suite comprising nine airbags (including front/rear side, front/rear curtains and driver's knee bags), reversing camera (RVC), stability control (ESP), traction control (ASR), anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic brake-pressure distribution (EBD), brake assist (BA), Auto Hold, extended electronic differential lock (XDL), driver Fatigue Detection, post-accident Multi-Collision Braking System, front/rear parking sensors, automatic emergency brake lights, tyre pressure monitoring and an electro-mechanical parking brake. The latest Passat has achieved a maximum five-star Euro NCAP crash rating and VGA expects the same result in Australia.

The entry-level 132TSI comes with a host of standard equipment including a 6.5-inch colour touch-screen display (up from 5.8-inch), ‘Discover Media’ satellite-navigation with JPEG viewer and multiple phone connectivity, Bluetooth connectivity with music streaming, 17-inch ‘Istanbul’ alloys with 215/55 R17 tyres, LED tail-lights, ergoComfort driver’s seat, black cloth trim, front seat height adjustment, three-zone climate-control, leather-clad multifunction steering wheel, daytime running lights, cruise control and speed-limiter,  LED indicators in side mirrors, front centre armrest with storage, cooled glove compartment, four carpet floor mats, rain-sensing wipers and auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

The 132TSI Comfortline adds Front Assist with City EB, Lane Assist, Side Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, 'Vienna' leather appointed upholstery, 17-inch ‘London’ alloys with 215/55 R17 tyres, an 8.0-inch colour touch-screen with ‘Discover Pro’ navigation with voice control and front fog lights with cornering lamps.

In addition, the range-topping 140TDI Highline offers 'St Tropez and black Nappa' leather, enhanced exterior chrome highlights, darkened rear premium LED tail-lights, 18-inch ‘Dartford’ alloys with 235/45 R18 tyres and Volkswagen's App-Connect system featuring Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Mirror Link.

Seven exterior paint colours are available, just one of which is solid: Pure White. The other colours are: Tungsten Silver Metallic, Indium Grey Metallic, Night Blue Metallic, Reflex Silver Metallic, Harvard Blue Metallic and Deep Black Pearl Effect.