There's inevitably a premium to pay for this GTE over, say, a top Passat diesel and these days, there's no helpful government Plug-in car grant to soften the blow. Nevertheless, Volkswagen still thinks this GTE variant will account for around 25% of Passat sales. That's despite the fact that you'll need to approach purchase with a budget of around £36,500 in mind. That's for the standard saloon variant; you'll need another £1,500 for the Estate derivative. There are standard and 'advance' trim levels.
The GTE comes with 'Car-Net Guide & Inform', a system that delivers information such as traffic, petrol prices, and free parking, to the navigation screen through a range of apps. Many of these apps can be controlled via your smartphone. Car-Net e-Remote allows you to monitor the charge of your GTE battery, and can help direct you to your Passat if you've returned to a busy car park without remembering where exactly you had parked.
Other equipment includes a blue-stitched, leather-trimmed three-spoke multi-function steering wheel, stainless steel pedals, 2Zone climate control and a 'Composition Media' infotainment system with a 6.5-inch touchscreen display. This offers access to Bluetooth telephony, the usual informational functions, SD card and USB connectivity and a DAB tuner as part of an eight-speaker stereo system.
