New Passat is the new Volvo

Next generation VW goes geeky, with extra safety gadgets and technology
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The next generation Volkswagen Passat will have Volvo-like safety technology, able to avoid crashing into the vehicle ahead and to detect when the driver is drowsy.

But there is a strong likelihood it won't get the one feature that earned the new Passat headlines around the world when it was unveiled at the Paris motor show earlier this month.

The new Passat was billed as the ideal car for shopaholics after VW revealed it had a clever sensor under the rear bumper that opens the boot automatically with a deft swing of your foot.

Owners of the new Passat can open the boot even when their hands are full, providing they can balance on one foot and swing the other past the sensor near the number plate.

But this neat trick may not make it on to models sold in Australia.

"That feature is not confirmed for us as yet," Volkswagen Australia spokesman Karl Gehling told the Carsales Network at the launch of the new Passat in Barcelona overnight.

"It comes as part of the package that includes the proximity key, and we haven't ticked that box for Australia as yet."

The new Passat will, however, be available with a raft of new features including a driver fatigue sensor, automatic high beam operation, a crash avoidance system that prevents or reduces the impact of rear-end crashes, plus a new generation of parking assistance technology that enables the car to squeeze itself into even tighter gaps than before.

But only the fatigue alert system will be standard across the new Passat range; the other features will either be optional on all models or standard on the flagship version.

Although the new Passat is available with 10 engines in Europe, there will be just three engine options when it arrives in Australia mid-year in 2011.

The 1.8-litre turbo petrol and 2.0-litre turbo diesel continue with the same power and performance but come with fuel economy improvements, while the R36 performance version will be replaced by a prestige model that uses the R36's engine but doesn't get the other go-fast bits. As before, all three engine options are backed by twin clutch 'DSG' gearboxes.

The new Passat is billed as the seventh generation model even though it is a significant facelift of the current car -- the exterior sheetmetal, lights and bumpers have changed but the core structure of the car, defined by the door frames and roof pillars, is carried over from before.

The Carsales Network will publish a road test in the coming days once we've tested the car.

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