When Volkswagen decided it needed to drastically increase sales in the U.S. market, a different Passat was born. Engineered for and built in America, that Passat arrived for the 2012 model year larger than ever before and at a drastically reduced price—but also on a less sophisticated architecture and with fewer available luxury and tech options. At the same time, Europe kept updating its more compact sister model with fresher tech.
And now the divide is widening. While the U.S. Passat, based on the aging PQ46 platform, is getting ready for an extensive face lift next year, the Euro model has been completely redone atop the VW Group's impressive MQB modular vehicle architecture.
Visually, the new model is strictly evolutionary. Designed under the guidance of Marc Lichte, who has since been tapped to head Audi design, the new Passat’s exterior is characterized by horizontal lines and as a result looks sleek and low. In what is perhaps an industry first, the Passat is actually available with two differently shaped headlight units. Its optional LED headlamps are smaller than the standard halogens, and the look is markedly different. VW didn't go as far as changing the sheetmetal surrounding the lights, but the LEDs have a far more prominent chrome strip up top that then carries over into the grille. At the rear, the fanciest LED taillights—there is a lower-spec set, also lit by LED—change their graphics from horizontal to vertical when the brakes are applied.
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