The Volkswagen Passat is a family car manufactured by Volkswagen AG ("VW"), and has been produced in various forms since 1973. It falls between the Volkswagen Golf/Jetta and Phaeton in the current Volkswagen line-up, and is currently produced in Volkswagen's plants in Emden, and Mosel/Zwickau, Germany. Its name is short for “passatwind”, which means trade wind in German. While the first generation Passat was a compact car/small family car, the second generation grew in size, and later Passats became mid-size cars/large family cars. Following the Volkswagen Group's acquisition of Audi in 1964, Volkswagen was able to use newly gained engineering expertise to develop a modern front-wheel drive car with a water-cooled engine, and thus the Passat and Golf (the latter being introduced in 1974) were the first of a new generation of Volkswagens. The first Passat was developed directly from the Audi 80/Fox and the two have had a history ever since. The new Passat allowed Volkswagen to compete more squarely with its European rivals than was possible with its product line consisting of old-fashioned rear-engine models.
The all-new fifth-generation Passat (B5 platform) was launched in 1996 in Europe and 1998 in North America. It was significant in that it shared a platform with the Audi A4 (1995 onwards), using the classic "overhung" longitudinally mounted engine with front-wheel drive. The Mark 5 Passat was a very significant car for Volkswagen. It was the first step for VW moving its products up market, with SEAT and Škoda taking over as the "mainstream" brands. In fact, the quality of the Passat was on a par with its sister Audi A4. The curvy lines, heavily raked windscreens, and smooth underpinnings helped give the B5 Passat an incredibly low coefficient of drag, rated at 0.27 (sedan model). The drag coefficient is lower than many sports cars, including the latest design of the C6 Chevrolet Corvette, which is rated at 0.29.
The car featured four-link front suspension, designed to eliminate torque steering. Four-wheel drive was later introduced as an option, using a Torsen AWD system, which helps avoid loss of traction on slick surfaces. The Torsen AWD system was also used by Audi in the A4 and A6. Power came from a 1.8 L turbocharged 4-cylinder (this engine made 150 hp), or 2.8 L V6 (not to be confused with the earlier VR6, this engine had 30 valves and 190 hp). Two transmission options were available: a 5-speed manual transmission and a 5-speed automatic transmission with tiptronic.
In mid-2001, the Passat received a facelift, involving a minor change in the styling and some mechanical alteration, which is commonly known as the B5.5. Although some of the body panels remained unchanged, new projector-optic headlights, bumpers, tail lights, and chrome trim gave the car a fresher look. A 4.0 L W8 engine producing 275 PS (202 kW) was introduced in 2002 in an up market version of the car that included standard all-wheel drive. In 2004, a powerful 2.0 L turbocharged diesel TDI engine producing 136 PS (100 kW) was added. This made the Passat the only mid-sized diesel powered car sold in the U.S. This variant, sold from 2004-2005, is relatively rare on the used market and examples in good condition command high resale prices for their fuel economy and ability to operate on increasingly inexpensive bio-fuels.
Models sold in the U.S. had the 1.8-litre 20-valve turbocharged engine, 2.0 TDI, the 2.8 V6, or 4.0 W8; trim levels were GL (2003 onward), GLS, GLX, and W8 (2002 to 2004). The W8 was only available with the 4motion all-wheel-drive system and a slightly higher trim than the GLX models. The V6 had 4motion as an option as well as the 1.8T starting in the 2004 model year. The GLX trim was only sold with the V6.
Awards
- 2001 Auto Express Used Car Honors 2001 - Best Family Used Car
- 2001 Diesel Car 2001 Awards - Overall Diesel Car of the Year & Best Family Car
- 2000 Used Car Buyer: Used Car of the Year Award - Best Overall Used Car & Best Family Car
- 2000 What Car? Used Car of the Year - Overall winner & Best Family Car
- 2000 Auto Express Used Car Honors - Best Family Car
- 2000 Auto Express New Car Honors - Best Family Car
- 2000 Fleet World Honors - Best Fleet Car
- 1999 Used Car Buyer Greatest Used Buy Awards - Most Sensible Car Award Overall & Best Family Car
- 1999 Auto Express New Car Honors - Best Family Car
- 1998 What Car? Car of the Year Awards - Best Family Car
- 1998 Top Gear Magazine Top Cars - Best Medium Car
- 1998 Which? Magazine Best Buy - Large family car market winner
Options, Features, & Specifications
Year Range: 1998-2005
Passengers: 5
Fuel Mileage: 18-45 MPG
Horsepower: 134-270 BHP
Torque: 155-273 LB-FT
Transmission: 5-Speed Manual or Automatic
List of some of the standard features:
A/C, power everything, tilt wheel, cruise control, AM/FM stereo, dual front airbags, ABS
List of some of the optional features:
Dual power seats, multi compact disc, alloy wheels, leather, moon roof, side airbags