Volkswagen Passat GTE plug-in hybrid coming in 2015

Back in July, Volkswagen announced their plans to offer a plug-in hybrid version of their popular Passat sedan. That’s when we learned the Passat plug-in would have a 9.9 kWh battery pack good for 31 miles NEDC and around 22 miles on the EPA test cycle. However, Volkswagen hadn’t announced a name, and only revealed sketches of the new vehicle.

Today Volkswagen has delivered photos and announced the Passat plug-in hybrid will be dubbed the Passat GTE – the same way the Golf plug-in hybrid is the Golf GTE.

Volkswagen hasn’t announced pricing yet, and we don’t know if the vehicle will make it to North America, or if it’s simply a European offering.

Powered by a 1.4 liter 156hp gasoline engine and a 115 hp electric motor, the Passat GTE has a total combined output of 218hp that accelerates the vehicle from 0-62mph in less than 9 seconds. Top speed is 137 mph, but we aren’t sure if that is electric top speed, or combined, or both.

In order to stand out from the rest of the Volkswagen Passat line-up, the GTE has blue accents in the radiator grille, a restyled front bumper with C-shaped LED lights, and larger allow wheels. The interior has blue ambient lighting, a redesigned shifter knob and a leather trimmed flat-bottom steering wheel.

 

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