Review: Volkswagen Passat GTE

With excellent economy and emissions, this new hybrid shows there is a price to be paid for everything.
Graham Scott|Autocar25 August 2016

With this plug-in hybrid, there are some important numbers that VW will have looked at in the UK market. They are 3,500 and 75,000. The first is the number of hybrids just three years ago, the second is the current number.

That’s an absolutely enormous increase of, errr, many. So the Passat GTE is launching into a growing market and so it needs to be absolutely right on the money. A phrase we’ll come back to later.

The name tells you how this is viewed, a grand tourer with electric capability. The range is a claimed 622 miles, so if you need to eat a continent before breakfast this makes a whole heap of sense, particularly when you view the claimed consumption figures of 166mpg.

That figure, combined with CO2 emissions of just 39g/km, is thanks to what sounds like a fairly small engine for such a big car. The 1.4-litre four-cylinder under the bonnet is good for 154bhp which isn’t enough. But add in the substantial electric motor and you have 215bhp. That’s more like it, particularly when you factor in the all-electric component’s ability to get the car away from standstill like a cat that’s just sat on a whole lot of volts.

Despite all the clever stuff, you aren’t really aware of when the engine comes in and out, there’s just a pleasant shove at any revs or speed. But move it to GTE mode and everything, from suspension to throttle and gearbox, sharpens up and lets you hoon down country lanes in a far from decorous manner. Handling is impressive and you’re moving at the sort of pace you wouldn’t expect to in what is set up as a mile-muncher.

Inside it’s what you’d expect, in that it’s a great and spacious cabin, albeit with reminders like blue stitching and lights, that you’re driving the E-version. There’s also an instrument that shows your power range, so that’s handy when you’re trying to make the electricity last before the petrol engine cuts in.

There is also a very fine range of tech, including City Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Discover Navigation and parking sensors.

What’s not to like about a Passat with yet more clever stuff? Well, what price all this? At £34,025 for the base price, this is a significant hike over diesel competitors, and that is after the government has thrown in money as well.

And then there’s the question of what this car is for. If you buy a car like this then presumably you’re planning on doing a lot of big miles. So what good is a 30-mile electric range? Perhaps if you drive in the city for short distances during the week and then go and see your mistress/toy boy at the weekends who lives a conveniently long way away, it makes a lot of sense if you can afford it.

So it’s hard to recommend on the grounds of logic, but we still love it and think it makes an exciting addition to the Passat range.

KEY STATS - 2016 Volkswagen Passat GTE

Price £34,025
Engine 4 cyls, 1398cc, turbo, petrol;
Power 215bhp
Top speed 140mph
0-62mph 7.6sec
Economy 166mpg
CO2/tax band 39g/km, 7%

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT