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00:00 In 2014, Volkswagen launched the Golf GTE, its first ever plug-in hybrid model.
00:14 Volkswagen estimates over the next three years the market will quadruple in size.
00:19 We're here today with the new Passat GTE, Volkswagen's first upper mid-size plug-in
00:24 hybrid.
00:25 We're driving the Passat GTE Estate.
00:28 Plug-in hybrids get their power from an electric motor powered by high-performance batteries
00:32 and an internal combustion engine, which is used for both driving and charging the batteries
00:37 while driving.
00:38 Unlike simple hybrid vehicles, electric usage is considerably higher and can be recharged
00:43 directly from a regular power outlet.
00:46 But what distinguishes the Passat GTE in technical terms?
00:56 The Passat GTE has a 1.4-litre TSI with 115 kilowatts, which is installed here at the
01:02 front.
01:03 Between the engine and the gearbox, an electric motor is installed as a permanent magnet synchronous
01:08 machine, which is particularly efficient.
01:11 It delivers power through a six-speed DSG gearbox, which has now been featured in many
01:15 Volkswagen cars for a good ten years.
01:20 The GTE is a typical Passat.
01:22 It's modern and offers all the latest safety and assistance systems.
01:27 On board, a front assist with city emergency braking, lane departure warning and adaptive
01:32 cruise control.
01:34 From the outside, the GTE is different from the normal Passat, from the main plate, the
01:38 blue used in the radiator grille, and of course through the recharge point.
01:44 The GTE has two engines, an electric one which produces 115 brake horsepower and a 1.4-litre
01:52 petrol TSI engine which produces 156.
01:57 Together they have a combined power output of 218 brake horsepower.
02:01 The electric motor has a range of 50 kilometres.
02:04 The combined fuel range of the car, if the battery is fully charged and the 50-litre
02:08 fuel tank is full, is 1,100 kilometres.
02:12 Even if you have the ideal driving requirements for the hybrid and lots of driving to do with
02:17 it, you should still take a look at the consumption of regular diesel versions.
02:22 Because the higher price of the GTE needs driving for many kilometres to pay for itself.
02:27 They have a fuel efficiency that's written as 1.6 litres, but that's really an academic
02:33 figure and it's only usable for comparing to other cars.
02:36 A realistic real world figure is much closer to about 4.5 litres per every 100 kilometres
02:42 if you drive sensitively.
02:44 Inside, the modified cockpit appearance is particularly noticeable.
02:48 This has been made on the display for the power meter, which indicates the current status
02:52 and how electrical energy is either being used or produced.
02:58 Charging the battery in its normal state takes either four and a quarter hours from a normal
03:02 230 volt outlet or two and a half hours from a bespoke charging box.
03:08 You can get a glimpse of how batteries might be charged in the future from Project V-Charge.
03:15 Here the vehicle automatically searches for the next inductive charging station.
03:29 After charging is complete, it then parks the car completely automatically in a conventional
03:34 parking space.
03:35 For safety, sophisticated technology ensures that pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles
03:40 are seen and avoided using in-vehicle cameras and sensors.
03:50 Space has not been compromised in the GTE as the battery has been built into the vehicle
03:55 floor.
03:56 The GTE is, like his brothers, very spacious.
03:59 For example, as an estate, the car offers the same 650 to 1780 litres of cargo space.
04:07 The materials and finishing is very good and typical Volkswagen.
04:11 All of the usual equipment options available for the sedan and the estate are also available
04:15 for the GTE.
04:17 There are four different driving modes to choose from.
04:20 You can either have pure electric, hybrid mode, which uses both the petrol engine and
04:24 the electric engine, or recharge, which uses the petrol motor to recharge the battery.
04:30 There's also a GTE mode, which gives you the full power that the vehicle has to offer.
04:35 Best of all, switching between any of the modes on the highway is completely smooth
04:39 and easy and almost impossible to detect, which means you can go from using the car
04:44 at its most efficient to using the car at its most powerful and dynamic any time with
04:48 no problem at all.
04:50 The 218 brake horsepower performance of the Passat GTE is delivered very well through
04:55 the six-speed DSG.
04:57 The additional weight of the batteries result only in a slight change in overall drive and
05:02 has the added benefit of providing a low center of gravity.
05:05 Top speed is 225 kilometers per hour.
05:10 It would be unfair to describe the GTE as a top athlete.
05:13 There's more power and improved dynamics on offer from the Passat 2.0 TSI with 280 brake
05:19 horsepower.
05:20 But either way, you should not forget that you're driving a mid-sized sedan and not a
05:24 sports car.
05:27 The Passat GTE features all of the things that we know and like so much about the Passat
05:31 and at a starting price of 44,000 euro, it's about the same as the 2.0 TDI Biturbo that
05:37 produces 240 brake horsepower.
05:40 It also has the top infotainment system, full LED headlights and online services.
05:46 If efficiency and economy are the most important things to you, this is your Passat.
05:51 [Music]