Oh Good, Volkswagens Have Front Passenger Screens Now

The Passat sedan as most people know it is dead, but the new Passat Pro carries the torch overseas. While the latest-generation family car is a no-show in America, there's a wagon in Europe. Over in China, Volkswagen is launching a good ol' saloon with its local partner SAIC. It'll be sold alongside the Magotan, another similarly sized sedan offered through the FAW-VW joint venture. Yes, sedans are still big business there.

The three-box Passat is different from the global model, not just because it does away with the more practical liftgate. Hop inside, and you'll notice VW has crammed a display just for the front passenger. We're used to seeing triple-screen setups from high-end brands from the VW Group, such as Porsche and Audi. It's now trickling down to the mainstream core marque, and we're not exactly thrilled to see it.

That third display measures 11.6 inches, making it smaller than the 15.0-inch infotainment but bigger than the 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster. The Passat Pro is the latest in a long string of new cars to almost entirely do away with physical buttons. Instead, you'll have to rely on that giant touchscreen sticking out from the center of the dashboard. If smartphones are distracting, how is that tablet not? That extra screen certainly doesn’t help either.

Based on the same MQB platform as the wagon-only model sold in Europe, the Passat Pro is larger. It measures 197.1 inches long, 72.8 inches wide, and 58.6 inches tall, with a generous wheelbase of 113 inches. It's 3.5 inches longer overall and 1.2 inches between the front and rear axles. It carries the same wheelbase as the Magotan but it's slightly longer overall. By the way, the other large sedan VW sells in China also has a passenger display with the new generation launched earlier this year.

SAIC-VW will sell the Passat Pro with a turbocharged 2.0-liter gas engine making 217 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. The four-banger channels power to the front axle through a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission. A lesser 1.5-liter unit with 158 hp and 184 lb-ft is also planned.

The old Passat won't be phased out as SAIC-VW intends to sell two different generations of the sedan for an unspecified amount of time. There are plenty of other sedans available from VW in China where crossovers and SUVs haven't completely taken over just yet (and might never will): Lamando L, Phideon, CC, Sagitar, Bora, and the Lavida.

Following its public debut at the 2024 Chengdu Motor Show, the VW Passat Pro will go on sale in China before the end of the year.