Passat New Lingyu turbocharges sedan market

The Lingyu was jointly designed in Shanghai and Wolfsburg, Germany.

To the untrained eye, the all-new VW Passat Lingyu doesn't jump out from the bevy of medium-sized, black sedans seen everywhere on China's roads.

But to an experienced Passat driver the new-look model - with its sharper horizontal edges, thicker grille, new mag wheels, reshaped rear, longer wheelbase and additional space - is a welcome improvement.

The latest Passat model from Shanghai Volkswagen was parked inside the car park of government department in Beijing, right alongside older Passat models, and a few Audi A6 cars, all of which serve as official cars. The small fleet of black sedans is typical of both private and government organizations in China.

As the car pulled up next to other vehicles, a team of full-time drivers who were waiting for their bosses stopped smoking and chatting, and fell silent when they spotted the new car.

These veteran drivers immediately identified the differences and liked what they saw. The most notable feature was the rear end, in which the angular-shaped taillights have been stretched across to the trunk area.

Distinguished features

There is also additional chrome in the U-shape radiator grille, the doorknobs and the side windows. In fact, the additional chrome, not common in the European models, is a very distinctive feature adding shine and sparkle.

The drivers could see it was bigger and thought the new Lingyu looked smarter and more refined, which is exactly what the designers set out to do.

"Distinguished, delicate and drivability" are the three selling points the Shanghai VW marketing team are pushing on their promotional brochures.

The whole design process was carried out simultaneously at Shanghai VW and the Wolfsburg design center in Germany. The result shows off the teamwork that has made this joint venture so successful.

As well as appreciating the new exterior, the older drivers looked inside and said the new interior was a notch above the previous model. It looked more spacious and seats appeared more comfortable. There were no complaints from passengers either.

There is more space for the driver, which especially made these professional wheelmen happier and the 2,803 mm-long wheelbase will also cheer up their bosses because of additional rear-seat space. Space, glorious space, is always a strong selling point in China.

Shanghai VW knows it has a winner in the new Passat Lingyu, and any good motoring executive knows that if something is working, you don't fix it.

But there is always room for improvement, so engine power and fuel economy have been boosted in the 1.8T - 1.8-liter turbo - model that was tested. Its power has increased from 110kw to 120kw.

Fuel economy

This is a smart move from Shanghai VW people because the technical turbo-charging tweak gives the 1.8-liter car the same power as a conventional 2.4-liter engine.

The new Passat Lingyu buyer now avoids the government tax imposed on cars that have engines larger than 2 liters, but gets the same power as a bigger-engine car all thanks to the turbo.

Hats off to Swiss engineer Alfred Bchi, the inventor of such a nifty go-fast device.

The new Passat Lingyu motors along nicely and has a solid feel on the open road. And if you hold back, and cruise at 90 km an hour, your petrol bill will be cut by 15 percent.

Fuel consumption has been reduced from 7.3 liters per 100 km to 6.2 liters for the automatic and from 7.1 liters to 6.3 liters with a manual gearbox, a reduction of 11 percent.

The new Passat Lingyu is a smart car for the highways and offers a very comfortable ride for business people who have to scoot from city to city.

The turbo generates an exciting throaty engine note which is music to any driver's ears when overtaking those troublesome trucks that can often clog up an inter-provincial highway.

The 1.8T hits 100 km an hour in 10.2 seconds and has a reported top speed of 210 km an hour, which was not tested in the interests of safety and my self-interest of keeping my driver's license.

Maximum torque of 220 Nm has also been boosted from the previous 210 Nm but in city traffic, the Lingyu did not have sporty acceleration.

However, it does feature a 5-speed Tiptrontic gearbox, which allows the driver to override the car's computer and choose the best gear for traffic conditions. Third gear, which is clearly marked on the gearbox, is best for quicker acceleration in city traffic.

Competitive prices

The Passat New Lingyu retails between 169,000 and 303,800 yuan depending on the mid-sized sedan's three engine options: the 2.0-liter MFI, the 1.8-liter turbo and the 2.8-liter V6.

The 2.8-liter version's six-cylinder engine pumps out 140 kw at 6,000 rpm and boasts a top torque of 260Nm at 3,200 rpm.

The new model, which spearheads Shanghai Volkswagen's sale drive, goes head to head with its main competitors in the B-class segment, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

Chinese motorists have a real attraction for these plain yet smart-looking 4-cylinder sedans made by German brands, such as Audi and Volkswagen. Passats and A6s are not as flashy as the BMW 5 series and Mercedes-Benz E Class, but they do have an aura of prestige, which the new-look Lingyu carries off.

Shanghai VW's marketing people say its model can be characterized as "solid, humanized, evolved for modern times". Lingyu owners "have a wise philosophy and moderate attitude to life" and they have tried to design a car that matches this brief.

The original Volkswagen Passat was launched in 1973 and was one of the most modern European family cars at the time. Wheels magazine hailed it as the car of the year.

Less than three decades later, the Volkswagen Passat hit China's roads and since 2000 Shanghai VW has produced about 500,000 units.

(China Daily 08/24/2009 page8)