2024 Volkswagen Passat unveiled as wagon only, not coming to Australia

The new Volkswagen Passat unveiled in Europe today – with a bigger body, new technology, and plug-in hybrid tech with up to 100km of claimed electric driving range – will not come to Australia.

The next-generation 2024 Volkswagen Passat has been unveiled – ahead of the nameplate’s 50th birthday – but it will not come to Australia.

The new Passat will be sold only as a wagon – after the sedan body style was killed late in the life of the previous model – with a more contemporary design, higher-tech interior, and updated engines with hybrid technology.

However an Australian launch is not planned, as Volkswagen streamlines its range to focus on stronger-selling hatchbacks and SUVs – in preparation for its new range of electric vehicles.

The spirit of the Passat will live on in Australia in the next Skoda Superb – due here at the end of next year – which will be more closely related to the Passat than ever before.

MORE: Volkswagen Passat axed in Australia, new model not coming here

While previous generations of the Passat and Superb have been relatives – but with completely unique bodyworks, and a larger footprint in the Skoda – the new models will share their dimensions and body shell, but carry different front and rear fascias, and interiors.

Compared to its predecessor, the new Passat wagon is 144mm longer (4917mm), 20mm wider (1852mm), 7mm taller (1482mm), and 50mm longer between the wheels (2841mm wheelbase).

Although they are significant increases for the Volkswagen, the new Skoda Superb will only be 40mm longer (4902mm) and 5mm taller (1482mm) – due to the shared body shell – with an unchanged wheelbase, and a 15mm-narrower body.

MORE: New Skoda Superb to be a Volkswagen Passat clone

The Passat’s styling draws from other new Volkswagen models – including the latest Golf and upcoming, next-generation Tiguan – with a sharp shoulder line, matrix LED headlights (said to be brighter than before), and an LED tail-light bar with 3D elements.

An R-Line sports package remains available with unique front and rear bumpers, and alloy wheels up to 19 inches in diameter.

The new wagon claims a drag coefficient of 0.25 – considerably better than the old model’s 0.31 – for improved fuel economy, aided by air curtains in the bumper to channel air into the brakes.

Inside, there is a choice of 12.9 or 15-inch infotainment touchscreens – up from 8.0 or 9.2 inches today – mounted in a tablet style oriented towards the driver.

While it runs Volkswagen’s latest software – with shortcuts for the air-conditioning controls always kept at the bottom of the screen – the controversial touch-sensitive sliders below the screen are not illuminated for use at night, unlike the VW ID.7 electric car.

The steering wheel is equipped with physical switches, not touch-sensitive buttons – making good on a promise by VW boss Thomas Schafer – placed in front of a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster.

The gear selector has been moved to a stalk on the right side of the steering column to save space in the centre console, with indicator and wiper functions now merged into the left steering column stalk.

Included in the screen is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, satellite navigation, and a Car2X system that connects to traffic lights and road infrastructure in Europe.

Boot space is quoted as 690 litres with the rear seats up (measured to the top of the backrests), or 1920 litres with the seats folded – up 40 and 140 litres respectively compared to the outgoing model.

Available features include a head-up display that projects on the windscreen, 45-watt USB-C charging ports, three-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, a power tailgate with kick sensor, and ambient interior lighting.

The seats on regular versions are available with 14-way power adjustment, heating, cooling, massaging and four-way power lumbar – trimmed in suede or leather, depending on model – while R-Line models gain single-piece sports seats.

Volkswagen claims there is 50mm more rear-seat legroom compared to the outgoing model, plus softer interior materials, more sound insulation, double-glazed side windows, and an acoustic film on the windscreen.

Available advanced safety technology includes autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, lane-centring assist (Travel Assist), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, hands-free parking, and automatic high beams.

Powering the new Passat is a range of petrol and diesel engines, plus a pair of plug-in hybrids with up to 100km of electric driving range.

Petrol models include a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder with 110kW and front-wheel drive, a 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder with 150kW and front-wheel drive, and a 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder with 195kW and all-wheel drive.

Meanwhile there is a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine available in 90kW front-wheel-drive, 110kW front-wheel-drive and 142kW all-wheel-drive tunes.

All regular petrol and diesel engines are matched with seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions, while the 1.5-litre petrol engine has mild-hybrid assistance.

Plug-in hybrids combine a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with a 19.7kWh battery, electric motor, six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and front-wheel drive, for combined power outputs of 150kW or 200kW, depending on model.

The outgoing Passat plug-in hybrid (PHEV) combined a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder with an electric motor and 10.6kWh battery for 180kW combined.

Volkswagen claims up to 100km of electric driving range, or up to 1000km with the petrol engine on and 45-litre fuel tank filled. The Passat PHEV can now replenish its battery at up to 50kW at a DC fast-charging station, or 11kW AC on a home wallbox (vs 3.6kW previously).

Under the skin the new Passat sits on an updated version of its predecessor’s ‘MQB’ architecture, shared with the Golf and other new Volkswagens.

The German car giant highlights new-generation adaptive suspension technology – which it claims delivers sharper handling – plus reworked suspension, a new steering system, and Vehicle Dynamics Manager software for managing power delivery and vehicle systems.

The 2024 Volkswagen Passat wagon is due in European showrooms in the first quarter of 2024 (January to March). An Australian launch is not planned.

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New Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale supercar unveiled with petrol and electric power

Alfa Romeo has rebooted the iconic 33 Stradale of the 1960s with a limited-edition, custom-built, multimillion-dollar supercar available with twin-turbo V6 petrol, or full battery power.

The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale name has been revived for a new supercar, unveiled in Europe overnight ahead of first customer deliveries overseas due late next year.

The new car is a modern reboot of the original 1967 33 Stradale, which was the road-going version of the Tipo 33 race car of the day, and is considered one of Alfa Romeo’s most iconic cars.

Limited to 33 examples, all sold out, the new 33 Stradale will be available with an enlarged version of the twin-turbo petrol V6 familiar to Alfa Romeo performance cars today – or solely electric power, as the first battery-powered vehicle unveiled by the Italian car maker.

With each vehicle to be custom-built to the customer’s specifications by boutique Italian ‘coachbuilding’ company Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, prices are estimated to exceed £1.7 million ($AU3.3 million), according to the UK’s Autocar.

It is unclear if any of those vehicles will be manufactured in right-hand drive, and if any have been purchased by Australian customers.

Alfa Romeo promises more custom-built – or “fuoriserie” – cars to follow, though they may be electric as the 33 is believed to be one of the company’s last internal combustion-engined vehicles, as it prepares to sell electric cars only from 2027.

The design of the 33 Stradale reboot is intended to evoke the original, with sleek proportions and a two-seat cabin with ‘butterfly’ (or ‘elytra’) doors claimed to offer a “panoramic view for the driver”.

It appears to be larger than the original 33 – likely due to modern safety regulations – but Alfa Romeo says the car’s proportions, and the ratio between the wheelbase and overall length, and between the wheel diameter and vehicle height are the same as the 1960s car.

The front fascia is inspired by the 1960s version – with large LED headlights, and a small Alfa Romeo triangular ‘scudetto’ grille communicated as an illuminated insert – while two large side air intakes cool the engine on petrol models, and there are circular LED tail-lights similar to the original 33.

The front and rear bodywork of the car lifts up in two ‘cofangos’, made from carbon-fibre as with the rest of the chassis.

Alfa Romeo highlights a number of aerodynamic details: air intakes beside the headlights, door mirrors sharped to direct air flow into the side intakes, and bodywork intended to produce enough downforce to eliminate all lift, without the need for active aerodynamics.

Three colours will be available initially – a regular red, Alfa Red, and royal blue – as well as a red and white livery inspired by the Tipo 33 race car.

Inside, there are few controls – let alone any touch-sensitive ones – with aluminium shift paddles, a steering wheel devoid of buttons, and aviation-inspired mechanical switches on the centre console and roof lining.

There are some screens for necessary functions – a digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel, and a “large retractable display” that emerge from the dashboard for infotainment and drive mode functions – as well as a seven-speaker sound system, and air vents “hidden in the volume of the dashboard.”

Buyers can choose between ‘Tributo’ and ‘Alfa Corse’ interior themes.

The former offers leather and aluminium finishes inspired by the 33 Stradale in the Alfa Romeo museum – with various two-tone leather combinations – while the latter includes carbon fibre, Alcantara and red/black or blue/black trim.

All models feature unique sports seats trimmed in Poltrona Frau leather said to have been inspired by the original 33 Stradale – now with six-way power adjustment, and four lumbar positions.

Alfa Romeo does not say if the aluminium and carbon-fibre chassis of the 33 Stradale comes from an existing vehicle, however reports prior to launch suggested it would be based on the Maserati MC20, which too is available with petrol or electric power.

It would explain the source of the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that is mated to the petrol engine, claimed to be an enlarged, 3.0-litre version of Alfa Romeo’s familiar 2.9-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 from the Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio developing “over” 456kW, sent to the rear wheels.

Alfa Romeo insists it is an “evolution of the V6 engine that already features in the Italian brand’s highest-performance cars,” not simply the Maserati MC20’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo ‘Nettuno’ V6.

Meanwhile the electric version reportedly uses three electric motors that Alfa Romeo claims develop “over” 552kW, with an estimated driving range of 450km in European WLTP testing.

The petrol version is claimed to accelerate from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds, and hit a top speed of 333km/h.

The suspension is adaptive and will be tuned with the aid of Alfa Romeo Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas. It can be switched between Strada (road) and Pista (track) modes, which also vary the exhaust sound, engine and gearbox response (in petrol models), and stability control setting.

Alfa Romeo highlights carbon-fibre used in the roof structure, window frames and monocoque to save weight – around an aluminium ‘H-frame’ chassis – while there is a front-axle lift system to raise the front end by 50mm to clear speed bumps, which can be activated at speeds of up to 40km/h.

Petrol versions are claimed to be capable of braking from 100km/h to zero in 33 metres, thanks to Brembo carbon-ceramic brake discs with six-piston aluminium front and four-piston rear calipers.

The wheels are said to measure 20 inches in diameter.

Alfa Romeo says the 33 examples planned for production sold out within a few weeks of sketches of the car being shown to potential customers at the 2022 Formula One Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Each car will be specified to the customer’s desires over the course of a year, though the company says “each customer’s requests were subsequently examined by engineering to check whether they were feasible in production.”

They wear vehicle identification numbers (VINs) starting with ‘ZAR’, including the characters ‘33STR’, and with the eight final digits selected by the customer. This will be engraved in the central tunnel and rear of the car.

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2024 Subaru Solterra electric SUV due in Australia before the end of this year

Subaru Australia has confirmed it will start taking orders for its first-ever electric vehicle in October ahead of deliveries before the end of the year.

Subaru Australia is about to open the order books for its first-ever electric vehicle, the Solterra mid-size SUV, which is due in Australia before the end of the year.

Subaru Australia’s managing director Blair Read told Drive the company expects to start taking orders for the electric SUV in October with local deliveries due to start before the end of the year.

That would mean Subaru is scheduled to beat the Solterra’s near-identical Toyota BZ4X twin to the punch, with Toyota confirming deliveries of its version are not due to start until February 2024.

The Subaru Solterra and Toyota BZ4X electric vehicles are twins under the skin. Both are built in the same Toyota factory with the only differences the badges, lights and bumpers.

Both vehicles are likely to have been delayed as they wait for a technical update said to unlock more driving range and faster charging in the high-tech electric SUVs.

Toyota detailed a series of updates earlier this year following real-world independent testing in Europe that showed the Toyota BZ4X could only achieve 65 per cent of its laboratory-tested driving range – further from its claimed figure than other electric cars tested in similar conditions.

Toyota Australia has promised an “upgraded spec compared to what is currently available” for Australian models, believed to refer to software updates designed to increase the driving range. Those updates are expected to flow onto the Subaru Solterra.

Mr Read said interest for the Japanese brand’s first-ever electric vehicle remains high.

“We’ve had a lot of interest and a lot of customers going into dealers or coming to us asking for more information or wanting to place an order,” Read told Drive.

“Orders haven’t officially opened. There are a number of customers who have said as soon as that happens, they want to know and want to place an order. So, there’s been great interest.”

Prices for the Subaru Solterra are still to be confirmed: “That will come between now and October,” said Mr Read.

However, it’s likely the Solterra will become the most expensive four-door Subaru ever sold in Australia with Mr Read previously telling Drive it would be priced commensurately with its main rivals.

Those rivals include the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y. All three have models in their respective line-ups priced in the $70,000 to $85,000 range.

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