Volkswagen has announced a new top of the range Passat – the VW Passat Highline Plus – featuring SatNav, Bluetooth and a chrome grill.I suppose that when you’re trying to shift a huge range of cars it’s always useful to have a model to fit every niche. VW – and particularly Audi – milk this style of marketing for all its worth, and I’d be amazed if anyone ever walks out of the showroom with the exact model they had in mind when they walked in.
One of the big ‘Selling’ points is value for money. The other is the cachet of buying the model that sits at the top of the range. So Volkswagen has decided to put both those key selling points in to one car to launch a new top of the range Passat (except for the Passat R36 – but that’s effectively a stand-alone) – the Volkswagen Passat Highline Plus (is there enough room on the boot for all that lettering?).
The Passat Highline Plus gets a chrome grill surround and louvres so those in the know can tell you’ve got the top model; Bluetooth phone connectivity and touchscreen and VW’s RNS 310 SatNav. Which with a premium of £750 over the regular Passat Highline – and the SatNav costing £795 as an option on other Passats – it means you get the chrome grill and bluetooth as a freebie and £45 off the SatNav. And you get the ‘Best’ model. All the selling boxes ticked, then.
The Passat Highline Plus comes with the usual raft of engine choices – as a saloon or estate – and starts from £20,915.