The Volkswagen Passat is a family car built by Volkswagen AG ("VW"), produced in various forms since 1973. It falls between the Volkswagen Golf/Jetta and Phaeton in the current Volkswagen line-up, and is currently produced in Volkswagen's plants in Emden, and Mosel/Zwickau, Germany. Although normally known as the Passat in European and North American markets, it has been badged as a variety of other names including Dasher, Santana, Quantum, Magotan, and Corsar in some markets during its life. Its name is short for passatwind. While the first generation Passat was a compact car/small family car, the second generation grew in size, and later Passats are mid-size cars/large family cars.
The latest Passat was first displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2005 and launched in Europe in the summer of 2005. The new PQ46 Passat features a return to the transversely mounted engine and, unlike its predecessor, no longer shares its platform with the Audi A4. Instead, much of its platform (the PQ46 platform) is now based upon the Golf Mark V. Confusingly, this model is sometimes referred to as the "B6" Passat, despite its lack of commonality with the "B6" (Typ 8E) Audi A4. This has happened previously in the Passat's history, with the B3 and B4, which bore no relation to the same-named platforms from Audi.
Styling-wise, the car follows the latest design language first introduced on the Volkswagen Phaeton luxury car, and is a dramatic departure from the styling of the B5.5 Passat. Although the new design is somewhat controversial, sales have improved over the old model.
On the four-wheel drive version, the transverse-engine platform dictated a switch from the Torsen center differential of the B5 to the Haldex multi-plate clutch. This change also changes the handling closer to a front-wheel drive car, with better fuel economy and a more spacious interior. The Haldex can direct power more unequally than the Torsen, which was limited to 66:34 or 34:66 in the B5 Passat. Haldex is a reactive type system, behaving as a front-wheel-drove vehicle until slippage is detected, at which point 100% of the power can be diverted to either axle.
Fuel Stratified Injection is used in nearly every petrol version of the Passat, ranging from 1.6 to 3.2 L, but the multivalve 2.0 L TDI is the most sought out version in Europe (available in both 140 PS and 170 PS variants). In the US market, it features a 200 hp (147 kW) 2.0 L turbocharged I4 as the base engine, or a 280 hp (206 kW) 3.6 L VR6 engine as the upgrade and six-speed manual (only available on the base 2.0T model) and automatic transmissions.
At the Beijing International Automobile Exhibition FAW-VW released the PQ46 Passat as the Magotan, due to Shanghai-Volkswagen using the Passat name for its Passat Lingyu (LWB Mark 5 Passat). Wikipedia
