After seeing the larger redesign happen in the 2016 model year, the 2018 Volkswagen Passat remains relatively unchanged, except for the engines. New for the 2018 Passat is the replacement of the entry level engine to a slightly more powerful 2.0L turbo charged four cylinder engine, plus the addition of the new Passat GT model, which takes elements from the Golf GTI to make the overall appearance a bit more sporty! Like the previous 2017 VW Passat, you will see at your first glance of the exterior and when you first step foot inside the cabin, an attention to detail that has made the German-engineered Passat a top seller for so many years.
UNCOMPLICATED EXTERIOR
The 2018 VW Passat, like all the previous iterations, has always been conservative which comes with both pros and cons. One benefit is that the timeless exterior design will never appear dated as the years go on. However, the 2018 Passat’s exterior will also never stand out in the crowded and competitive mid-size sedan segment.
Rather than the bold lines and curves typically seen in modern designs, such as the 2018 Ford Fusion or even the 2018 Hyundai Sonata. Instead, the 2018 Volkswagen Passat continues to showcase its traditional, understated yet elegant exterior. The Passat’s conservative lines combine with chrome highlights and a quality build to provide a sophisticated and refined look of luxury. The subtle cues like the dual exhaust, shark fin antenna, LED head and tail lights and a wide, planted stance hint at the performance lurking beneath the hood. The overall shape is quite pleasing because of the satisfying proportions.
New for 2018, is the Passat GT model, which takes some design cues from the Golf GTI to enhance the exterior with some red highlight lines spanning the blackened grille as well as the highlighting features styled in black instead of chrome. Overall, a sharp exterior hinting at sportiness, allowing the 2018 Passat GT to stand out from the crowd a bit better than the other Passat models.
SIMPLE YET SPORTY INTERIOR
While the 2018 Passat’s interior remains unchanged from the 2017 Passat, that’s not a bad thing. The redesign in 2016 brought a new interior design that incorporated high quality materials with an elegant design and German engineering, resulting in a premium look of luxury.
The 2018 VW Passat’s cavernous interior immediately draws your attention to its full length panoramic sunroof, the large infotainment touch screen display and all the polished high quality materials throughout. The very spacious interior provides a generous amount of leg and headroom for all front and rear passengers, despite the smallish appearance from the outside. The enormously spacious trunk also offers many options for hauling a large amount of cargo.
The dash is well laid out and intuitive and has a simple yet elegant look to it. Rather than having a multi-layered or curvy dash to create a bold design like many others in the segment, the 2018 Passat uses a beautiful mix of high quality materials to highlight various areas of the interior and create a sophisticated look. I particularly like the rich two tone leather used for the seats and doors and found that it really brings the interior into a luxurious and premium category of its own.
ENGINE & DRIVE
The Passat has a new base engine for 2018. A 2.0L turbo charged four cylinder engine outputting 174hp now replaces the 1.8L version in the 2017 model year. You can also opt for the more performance oriented 3.6L V6 engine that churns out 280hp and propels the 2018 Passat from 0-60 in only 5.7 seconds. Both engines are paired to a responsive yet smooth six speed automatic transmission.
Having had the pleasure to test the Passat equipped with the V6 engine, I can happily report that the driving experience is indeed exhilarating, sporty yet refined and controlled. There’s no lack of power whatsoever, even with a full load, leading to fast and powerful accelerations. All this power is reined in by a refinement I can only attribute to the Passat’s German engineering standards. The overall ride experience inside the 2018 Passat is quiet, smooth and comfortable for all passengers. Minimal road noise penetrates through to the cabin and even when accelerating the engine noise is minimal.
The driver of the 2018 VW Passat is rewarded with panoramic visibility and great manoeuvrability. Despite the cavernous interior hinting at a massive exterior size, the Passat is surprisingly agile and easy to navigate into tight spaces. Another great feature is the adaptive headlights which makes cornering at night much safer by lighting the way around corners as you turn.
FINAL THOUGHTS
When considering the purchase of a large sedan, you won’t find a higher quality build or all round elegant and timeless design in the 2018 VW Passat’s category. With top safety ratings, lots of options and a simplified choice of two engines, the Passat’s entry level pricing is quite attractive. While you won’t be standing out from the crowd too much, you can rest assured that the 2018 Passat does everything else superbly!
