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2020 Volkswagen Passat GTE gains bigger battery

The Volkswagen Passat GTE has been given an EV range boost thanks to a larger capacity lithium-ion battery pack.


The Passat GTE's battery capacity has been boosted from 9.9kWh to 13kWh. Electric-only driving range under the WLTP standard is now rated at 56 kilometres for the sedan, and 54km in the wagon.

Under the old NEDC testing regime EV range has been improved by 40 per cent. With this boost in battery capacity, Volkswagen claims the Passat GTE is capable of completing most commutes around major European cities without any tailpipe emissions.

The rest of the drivetrain remains unchanged with a 115kW 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine and an 85kW electric motor built into the six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

With both motors working together the front-wheel drive Passat GTE has a total system output of 160kW of power, and 400Nm of torque.

Volkswagen has reduced the number of selectable driving modes from five to three: EV for pure electric operation, GTE with the petrol and electric motors operating in concert, and hybrid which switches automatically between electric- and petrol-only modes.

To help negotiate the EV-only zones in place in some cities the driver can reserve a percentage of the car's battery for electric-only driving via the car's touchscreen infotainment system.

Australia

The upgraded Passat GTE is available now in Germany. The facelifted Passat will start arriving in local showrooms from the end of 2019, but last we heard the GTE isn't on the cards for Australia.

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