In 2000, the Passat B5 was launched into the Chinese market. The Passat launched in China is based on the Passat sedan of the German Volkswagen Company, and is redesigned and produced according to the aesthetics and usage requirements of Chinese users for cars.
Passat has a long history and feels more like a gentleman from a traditional German family. Rectangular headlights, neat grille, straight waistline, wide front nose, simple curved roofline, the overall appearance of the vehicle is grand and elegant, but the rear shape is a bit stiff compared to Audi. Passat's appearance is more likely to be popular with middle-aged people, but it may lose some of the young people's market.
Shanghai Volkswagen is well aware of the value orientation of domestic consumers and lengthened the prototype B5 by 77mm, bringing the vehicle length to 4780mm. Coupled with the width of 1740mm and the height of 1470mm, the wide body makes the Passat more suitable for the domestic commercial vehicle market.
Spacious space and complete equipment
Due to the lengthened body, the wheelbase of Shanghai Volkswagen Passat is also 100mm longer than the original B5, reaching 2803mm, and the passengers in the back seat can even stand up. Legs come.
The design inside the car is completely copied from Germany, with fine workmanship. The basic configuration includes four-door electric anti-pinch windows, a four-way adjustable steering wheel, eight-speaker audio throughout the car, rear sunshade curtains, rear seat center armrest, electric heated exterior mirrors, and electric central door locks. High-level configurations are even more dazzling: (imitation) peach wood veneers, leather seats, automatic constant temperature air conditioning, six-disc CD player, electric eight-way driver's seat, cruise control system... Of course, to get these things you must Pay more money.
The steering wheel can be adjusted in four directions
Complete configuration does not mean perfection, and no matter how good the design is, it is impossible to meet everyone's requirements. The built-in cup holders on the front hollow panel of the Passat are not as refined and easy to use as those on models such as the Bora. The ashtray in the rear row is designed behind the armrest in the middle of the front seat. To eject the ashtray, you sometimes need to bend forward to reach it, which is not as convenient as being placed on the door.
Shanghai Volkswagen provides three types of power for Passat, 1.8T and 2.0L engines, with maximum power of 110kw/5700rpm and 85kw/5400rpm respectively, and maximum torque of 210n.m and 172n.m. It is worth mentioning that the 1.8L turbocharged engine has 5 valves per cylinder and has the same core technology as the Audi 1.8T engine. It can perform supercharging well in the speed range of 1750-4600. The effect of the converter is a constant output of a maximum torque of 210n.m. The 5-speed manual or 5-speed automated manual transmission matched with the engine shifts smoothly and can well transfer the engine's power to the wheels. The 0-100km/h acceleration time of the 1.8T is 12 seconds. The 2.0-displacement engine needs to be matched with a 4-speed automatic transmission, and the 0-100km/h acceleration time is 12.8 seconds. Although the performance of the 1.8T engine is good, the ignition coils of early-produced models equipped with 1.8T engines were easily damaged. Fortunately, Shanghai Volkswagen made improvements to this later.
Another 2.8L V6 30-valve engine is configured for the highest-level Passat. The maximum power is 140kw/6000rpm, and the maximum torque is 260n.m/3200rpm. The direct benefit of large torque is fast acceleration. The 2.8L Passat accelerates from 0-100km in 10.8 seconds.
The Passat's front suspension adopts a four-link independent suspension, and the rear suspension adopts a composite torsion beam semi-independent suspension. The suspension adjustment is geared toward comfort. It can effectively filter out vibrations from the road while driving, and the chassis noise is also very small. When performing more intense operations, the body roll is slightly larger. When encountering continuously undulating road surfaces, the body of the vehicle undulates a bit.
The quality of the vehicle is reliable, but there are many minor problems
Shanghai Volkswagen introduced German Volkswagen products to China, but it did not copy all the Germans' rigorous style.
The overall quality of the domestic Passat is quite good, but some problems may appear from time to time. Car owners will always hear complaints about the quality of some small sensors. Some minor faults are caused by assembly quality issues. Even the maintenance master said that there is still a certain gap in quality between domestic Passat and imported cars.
It seems that there is still some way to go before the domestic Passat can reach the level of keeping pace with the world.