Volkswagen bring luxury to Geneva with the Phideon

by James • April 26, 2016 • News • Comments (0) • 4834

The all-new Volkswagen Phideon luxury sedan made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show. This innovative and luxurious four-door car is positioned above the Passat. The Phideon is slightly smaller than the Volkswagen Phaeton, and it’s targeted directly at the Chinese high-end sedan segment.

At launch, the Phideon will use a turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 with 295 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque, running to the road via 4Motion all-wheel drive. Volkswagen says a front-drive version will soon be available, powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-four, and a plug-in hybrid variant is planned for the future.

The Phideon also sees the debut of the new “face” of Volkswagen‘s luxury sedans. Klaus Bischoff, Head of Design Volkswagen Brand says: “The new Phideon, with its equally powerful and charismatic front end, its flowing and yet precisely drawn lines and the exceedingly dynamic proportions, exudes premium style, while the Phideon’s progressive design corresponds to the high level of its technical innovations.”

Volkswagen‘s design team is proud that it was possible to derive the Phideon almost directly from the C Coupé GTE concept car, presented at Auto Shanghai in 2015, with only minor changes. From a technical perspective, the Phideon is the first Volkswagen to be based on the Modular Longitudinal Matrix (MLB).

The car also continues the Phaeton’s trend of deploying air suspension, here adjustable through five settings, along with soft-close doors, a night-vision camera, as well as cruise control, lane assist, park assist and so forth. Inside, it’s all luxury, with focus on the rear passenger comfort (for chauffeur duties), with electrically adjustable seats featuring heating and massage options. Despite the chauffeur-heavy nature of the Chinese sedan segment, Volkswagen designed the Phideon to be comfortable for drivers and passengers alike – there isn’t a bad seat in the house.