PARIS SHOW: VW re-invents Passat for shopaholics

2010 PARIS MOTOR SHOW NEWS SPECIAL

Volkswagen has come up with a novel solution to opening the car boot when both hands are full of shopping. A discreet button under the rear bumper of the new Passat sedan and wagon enables the driver to open the boot with a quick tap of their foot.

In one simple move the German carmaker has made remote boot releases obsolete and too complicated – because with those you still need to free a hand to press a button on a key fob.

Because the new Passat has a proximity key, the driver simply needs to have the key in their pocket for the car to detect its owner is nearby. Once the secret button under the bumper is tapped by the driver's foot (providing he or she can balance on one foot while holding shopping momentarily) the boot pops open automatically!

The new Passat sedan and wagon were unveiled overnight at a Volkswagen preview event on the eve of the opening of the Paris motor show. The new model is due to arrive Australian showrooms in the first half of next year.

But the word 'new' is a relative term.

As with the sixth generation Volkswagen Golf hatchback, which was a new skin over the previous Golf's architecture, the 'new' Passat is a new skin stretched over the current Passat's framework.

So the new Passat's roof, glass area, the outline of the doors and the entire underbody are the same as before, but Volkswagen has used the opportunity to bring its big selling medium-sized car up to date with the rest of the Volkswagen range.

The fresh look means the Passat now has the sharp horizontal edge design that has become Volkswagen's corporate signature.

With the exception of the retro Beetle that's due to be replaced next year,and the sleek Passat CC, the new Passat is the last model to fall into line with the new corporate look.

Volkswagen is yet to announce any technical changes but given the Passat engine line-up received a major overhaul 12 months ago, there is unlikely to be any big differences under the bonnet.

This means the price and equipment levels are likely to remain unchanged – or be similar to where they are currently when the new model arrives.

The current Passat range starts from $38,990 for a 1.8-litre turbo petrol model and stretches to a $66,990 for the high performance R36 wagon.

Volkswagen will likely begin to offer aggressive discounts on the current Passat early in the new year because, by then, the Passat will not only be from last year's production but it will also be a soon-to-be-superseded model.

The one exception is the Passat R36. Deals on those are much less likely as there is no successor confirmed for this model.

Although the R36 is hugely popular in Australia it has not found the same popularity overseas and Volkswagen has not confirmed if it will build an R version of the new Passat.

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