VW Phaeton appears with new face and gets more techy

Volkswagen’s flagship saloon, which comes with all-wheel drive, air suspension and 4-zone automatic climate control as standard and is being made with two wheelbases as well as two or three rear seats, now brings couple of new ingredients into the mix to keep pace and even surpass in some technological aspects the new trend setter in the premium segment - the Audi A8.

The latest generation of the Phaeton will launch on the market in just a few weeks in Europe. Walter de Silva has designed a new standard front end with chrome radiator grille for it. Also there are the newly redesigned bi-xenon headlights and LED-based cornering lights and fog lights. Perfectly matching this look are the new LED rear lights. The new bumper design complements the radiator grille and headlight styling. There’s a new supporting system for the headlights, called Dynamic Light Assist, based on cameras which affect how the main light beams get reshaped on the various road conditions.

The new ingredient is the braking system, while the forth novelty of the VW Phaeton is the new navigation system, which can integrate online data in the map display by using internet service.

The integration of an optional front camera allowed the computer inside the car to recognize and present traffic signs to the driver, and hopefully avoid the speed tickets on unknown roads.

Phaeton is available with 4 engines of which one uses diesel and that is the V6 TDI (174 kW / 240 HP). Top of the range petrol engine is a W12 (331 kW / 450 HP), while other midrange petrol engines are the V6 FSI (206 kW / 280 HP) and the V8.

As an alternative to the version with three rear seats (5-seater), the saloon may be ordered with two electrically adjustable individual seats as an option (4-seater). The Phaeton is also available in an extended chauffeur version that is 120 millimetres longer. The possibilities for customising the saloon are practically limit less with numerous options from Volkswagen Exclusive.