Skip to main content

Volkswagen’s 2016 Passat gets a new look and more tech features inside

For the 2016 model year, Volkswagen has updated the Passat inside and out in a bid to give its struggling U.S. division a much-needed boost.

Up front, the Tennessee-built Passat gains new headlights inspired by the ones found on recent additions to the Volkswagen lineup like the 2017 Tiguan, a wide three-slat grille, a redesigned bumper and a hood with four creases. The changes carried out to the back end include new-look tail lamps connected by a thin strip of chrome trim and a redrawn trunk lid.

The Passat is available with an optional R-Line appearance package for the first time ever. It brings new bumpers with GTI-esque gloss black inserts, 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped by ZR-rated tires, side skirts and a model-specific rear bumper with a small air diffuser.

Inside, the changes include a new instrument cluster that’s easier to read, a revised three-spoke steering wheel and a more ergonomic center console. 2016 also brings Volkswagen’s MIB II infotainment system, which is compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as a standard rear-view camera.

Every Passat regardless of trim level ships with a post-collision braking system that’s designed to bring the sedan to a stop after a crash in order to reduce the damage caused by a secondary impact. Buyers can also order a host of electronic driving aids such as adaptive cruise control, a lane departure warning system, a blind spot monitoring system and parking sensors.

Volkswagen hasn’t made any major mechanical modifications, so the Passat carries on with a palette of three available engines. The entry-level mill is a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder TSI, and buyers seeking more grunt can step up to a 3.6-liter VR6 that generates 280 horsepower. A 2.0-liter TDI turbodiesel four-cylinder engine is also available, though Volkswagen is currently banned from selling oil-burners in the United States following the Dieselgate scandal.

Front-wheel drive is the only configuration available. The TDI and the TSI engines can be linked to either a manual or an automatic gearbox, while the VR6 is exclusively bolted to a dual-clutch DSG transmission.

The 2016 Volkswagen Passat will land on dealer lots before the end of the year with a base price of $22,440. Full pricing information will be published in the week leading up to its on-sale date.

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
Inside the lab teaching Volkswagen’s born-again Bus how to drive itself
volkswagen unveils argo ai powered id buzz ad electric van

Previewed by the heritage-laced ID.Buzz concept, Volkswagen's born-again Bus will arrive in 2022 with a few cool tech tricks up its sleeve. It will be fully electric, it will ride on the MEB architecture already found under the EVs like the ID.3 and the ID.4, and it will spawn an autonomous shuttle scheduled to start carrying passengers in 2025. Argo A.I. is helping Volkswagen teach the Bus how to drive itself, and Digital Trends got an inside look at the project.

Volkswagen unveiled the first ID.Buzz-based prototype on the sidelines of the 2021 Munich auto show. Fully draped in camouflage to mask its final design, the van is fitted with an armada of sensors, radars, cameras, microphones, and lidars that paint a digital picture of the world around it. Argo A.I. — which Volkswagen and Ford jointly own a stake in — argues its technology is highly advanced: its lidar can detect and avoid potholes by scanning the road surface, and it can see objects that are about 1,300 feet away, even if they're dark (like a black car). Powering this hardware requires tremendous computing power, several backup systems, and a mammoth amount of data.

Read more
Argo AI puts a high-tech spin on Volkswagen’s retro ID.Buzz van
volkswagen unveils argo ai powered id buzz ad electric van

Volkswagen is leveraging its partnership with Pittsburgh-based Argo AI to build an autonomous version of the ID.Buzz, an electric van with a heritage-laced design that will make its debut in the coming years. Unveiled at this week's 2021 Munich auto show, the prototype is fitted with an armada of cameras, as well as lidar and radar sensors.
It doesn't take a well-trained eye to tell that the ID.Buzz AD is autonomous. Its hardware suite is clearly visible: Argo AI's proprietary lidar is notably mounted on the van's roof, where it's perfectly positioned to scope out the road ahead. Bryan Salesky, Argo AI's founder and CEO, said the lidar can detect objects up to 1,300 feet away.

Building a van capable of driving itself in a controlled environment is relatively easy. Deploying it in real-life conditions, where it will encounter construction, dogs, and pedestrians, is far more difficult. Salesky warned that improvements in autonomous technology will be gradual -- there's not going to be a big boom -- but he pointed out that modernizing the infrastructure will play a significant role in helping driverless cars reduce traffic in big cities.

Read more
PAW Patrol dogs will get you where you’re going with new Waze feature
Characters from the PAW Patrol.

Waze likes to roll out fun features from time to time, and the latest one is timed to the launch of PAW Patrol: The Movie.

Aimed at kids, or, more accurately, parents who are eager to keep their little ones entertained on long drives, Waze users globally can now get driving directions from Ryder and his loyal team of rescue dogs.

Read more