Do you remember the first car you consciously experienced? For some, it was a VW Passat Estate with 75 hp in the color of your choice. 40 years ago it cost about 23.000 marks with extras. And “extras” are very relative: plush GL equipment, paint, Gamma radio. That was it.
In 1985, the Passat B2 underwent a major facelift. The bumpers were replaced with plastic-coated bumpers that extended all the way to the wheel arches. The radiator grille was redesigned with halogen wide-beam headlights. The 4,42-meter-long hatchback received new horizontal taillights, and the rear window was also larger, now glued in instead of being built into a rubber frame as before.
Claus Seibel, long-time news presenter for German television ZDF, explains all the new features in a half-hour video for dealers. Although it was entirely designed by VW, it is said to look completely natural. But see for yourself (the opening image shows the Passat before the facelift):
In the same year, the model range was adjusted: The two-door model was dropped, and the new top-of-the-range engine was a 2,2-liter five-cylinder with 136 hp, taken from Audi. In addition, the hatchback version, previously available as the Santana, was renamed Passat. In 1986, the additional options were withdrawn from the range. The 1,3-liter engine was dropped, as was the higher-end Carat trim line.
Production of the Passat B2 ends on March 31, 1988; only the version with synchronous all-wheel drive continues to roll off the production line until July. 3.345.248 vehicles are built in Germany. The 4,54-meter-long Variant is particularly successful, accounting for 60 percent of sales. The most popular choice is the 1,8-liter gasoline engine with 90 hp.
VW produced almost exactly 100.000 Passat hatchbacks in 1985, which amounted to a total of just over 200.000 units of the mid-range model series. In August 1986, prices started at 19.580 marks for the Passat CL 1.6 with 75 hp and basic 165 R 13 S tires; the most expensive Passat was the Variant syncro GT with a 2,0-liter five-cylinder engine with 115 hp for 35.800 marks. Here too, 14-inch tires were the largest wheel size ex works.
The B2 model is also widely distributed internationally: in the US and Brazil it is available as the Quantum, in Mexico as the Corsar and in Argentina as the Carat. In Brazil, slightly modified versions are also produced under the Ford brand – such as the Versailles with a notchback and as the Royale hatchback, the result of the Autolatina project.
In China, the Passat B2 was produced under the name Santana, in both hatchback and hatchback versions. A long-wheelbase version of the heavily revised Brazilian Santana is also available there. In Japan, the Nissan Santana is available.
