VW Passat Variant R-Line Edition Revealed With Plenty Of Kit

Billed by Volkswagen as being "the most important family car in the world," the Passat has a special place in the company's lineup even though crossovers are taking over. The MQB-based European version was facelifted at the beginning of the month and now is ready to receive its first special edition. Available exclusively as a wagon and in just 2,000 examples, the R-Line Edition is basically what happens when you tick a lot of the boxes on the list of optional goodies.

Featuring 4Motion all-wheel drive as standard, the generously equipped Passat Variant can be had only with the top-spec engines, namely the 272-horsepower 2.0 TSI gasoline unit or the 240-hp 2.0 Bi-TDI twin-turbodiesel. The large wagon comes finished in a shiny new shade called Moonstone Grey combined with a series of black accents for a contrasting effect, with the most obvious being the large glossy black roof.

Complementing the black theme are the side mirror caps, side window frames, roof-mounted rear spoiler, and the diffuser at the back, while the 19-inch alloys come in a high-gloss black flavor. At the back, the LED taillights have a black tint to complete the look. Since we've mentioned the lights, the ones up front are of the matrix LED variety launched together with the facelifted Passat.

Once you hop inside the cabin, you'll immediately notice a predominantly black theme, including for the sporty R-Line seats using a combination of Nappa leather and what VW refers to as "carbon" leather. The R-line logo adorns the stainless steel side sills, while the pedals are also finished in brushed stainless steel.

Like we've mentioned before, the Passat Variant R-Line Edition has basically everything: digital instrument cluster, the larger 9.2-inch infotainment, Area View camera system, and VW's up-to-date adaptive damper control. Wolfsburg also throws in its Travel Assist, which enables the wagon to offer partially assisted driving by automatically steering, accelerating and braking the car while it travels at speeds of up to 130 mph (210 kph).

VW will bring the Passat Variant R-Line Edition next week at the 89th Geneva Motor Show where we'll also going to see the T-Roc R performance crossover, albeit in a near-production concept form.