Volkswagen Passat CC Facelift (2012) at LA Motor Show

Volkswagen Passat CC gets a Facelift for 2012

Volkswagen has given the VW Passat CC a facelift for 2012 to make it look more upmarket, and more like the Passat Saloon. Debut at Los Angeles Motor Show.

The VW Passat CC – the swoopy-coupe version of the regular Passat – has been around for four years and has hardly changed since it launched. Well, unless you count the option of having five seats in the back of your Passat CC, that is.

But now its time for Volkswagen’s Mondeo-sized offering that thinks it’s a Mercedes CLS to get a bit of a makeover. Nothing too drastic – Passat customer aren’t the most adventurous in the world – but enough to make the CC seem fresher and a bit more upmarket.

The usual recipe prevails with the CC’s facelift. Up front the grill gets a tweak and some chrome, a new set of headlights – bi-xenons with LED running lights – and a more impressive bumper.

You also won’t be too surprised to learn that VW has carried on in a similar vein at the back of the Passat CC, so it gets LED lights and a new bumper.

Inside there’s a bit of a nip and tuck going on with the controls and trim – you can now have it in brown – and there appears to be a clock nicked from the Phaeton bolted in the middle of the dash. And you can have more toys, like Side Assist and Lane Assist.

Under the bonnet there appear to be no changes, which means a choice of petrols from the 158bhp 1.8 litre TFSI to the 296bhp 3.6 litre V6, and 2.0 litre diesels with 138bhp or 168bhp.

A very conservative facelift for the 2012 VW Passat CC. Which will suit the Passat CC’s very conservative buyers a treat.