You’ve read our first impression of the VW Passat B8 (if you haven’t, click here) and following a rather grand event earlier this evening, the latest VW D-segment sedan in Malaysia is officially launched.

Price for the Passat Trendline (1.8L TSI) is RM159,990, Comfortline (1.8L TSI) is RM179,990, and top-spec Highline with 2.0L TSI engine is RM198,990.

So what do you get for that kind of money? Let’s find out…

5-years free service

… Which of course is a very sensible thing to provide. The free service offer is together with a 5-year; basically VW Passenger Cars Malaysia’s (VPCM) serious attempt at boosting the buying public’s confidence in the ownership of a VW. Will it work, you think?

It’s lighter
Depending on variant and trim level, the new Passat B8 is up to 85kg lighter. Breakdown of weight reduction is: body and trim (-33kg), electrical system (-3kg), chassis (-9kg) and powertrain (reduction of up to 40kg).

More efficient

VPCM managing director, Florian Steiner mentioned that they’ve managed to drive the B8 Passat KL-Penang-KL using just a single tank of fuel. According to Google, that’s a distance of roughly 700km. Maybe someday we’ll attempt the same. Maybe.

New Passat is larger, and bigger, than before
Yes it is. Compared to the car it replaces, the cabin has been given more length (+33mm) despite a 2mm reduction in overall length.

Engine performance

The 1.8L engine puts out 178bhp and 250Nm. The larger engined sibling meanwhile produces 217bhp and 350Nm. The former is claimed to burn 5.7L/100km while the latter: 6.2L/100km.

The boot is handsfree
Okay, that makes little sense. What we mean is that you can open the boot by just pointing your foot underneath the rear bumper. A sensor will see that and provide access. It closes with a press of a button, too. That’s a segment-first, mind you.

The cabin has a 3-zone air-cond system
Count with us: the two front passengers get to choose temp setting for each side of the car. And the rear passengers also get their own blower complete with temperature control switch.

Active Info Display

Quite a party piece that we first saw in the new Audi TT. It’s cool but more importantly, let’s you keep your eyesight locked to the centre rather than to the left, glancing at the display. Having said that, Active Info Display is only available in the Highline variant.

It’ll park itself
With more and more cars able to park itself, this feature helps to keep the Passat just as well equipped. Good thing is, the B8’s Park Assist function can help park the car head first, tail first or parallel park.