The new Volkswagen Passat will be lighter, roomier and loaded down with new features.

Thanks to the use of advanced materials – including high-strength, hot-formed steel and aluminium in certain areas – the new Passat is up to 85kg lighter than its predecessor. Using high-strength steel means that despite the new, eighth-generation Passat being slightly smaller than its predecessor, interior space has been improved with gains in leg- and head-room and boot space.

The new Passat will be literally bristling with new technology, including the Active Info Display, which replaces the traditional instrument cluster with a fully configurable interactive 12.3-inch TFT display; a heads-up display; the latest Modular Infotainment System, including the Car-Net remote app; a new 360-degree Area View function; and the latest generation of Park Assist. This newly developed Park Assist includes Trailer Assist, which provides assistance when reversing a vehicle with a trailer attached.

Other safety technology includes: Side Assist with Rear Traffic Alert; Traffic Jam Assist; Emergency Assist; and the latest Front Assist system with City Emergency Braking, which cost-optionally combines both radar and camera sensors to add pedestrian detection.

Further details and first pictures of the Passat will be available in early July, ahead of the car’s public unveiling at the Paris Motor Show in October. Australian sales will start in the second half of 2015.