The B3 Passat was heavily facelifted in 1993, and despite being designated B4, it was not an all-new model. The facelift resulted in every external body panel being changed, except for the roof and glasshouse, with most obvious exterior change seeing the reintroduction of a grille to match the style of the other same-generation Volkswagen models of the era, such as the Mk3 Golf and Jetta. The interior was mildly updated and included safety equipment such as dual front

airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. Th ...

s and seat belt pretensioners, although the basic dashboard design remained unchanged. The B4 sedan was replaced in late 1996 by the new B5 Passat. The car was available with a range of engines, including a

Turbocharged Direct Injection TDI (Turbocharged Direct Injection) is Volkswagen Group's term for its current common rail direct injection turbodiesel engine range that have an intercooler in addition to the turbo compressor. TDI engines are used in motor vehicles sold by th ...

(TDI)

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

- an inline four-cylinder 1.9 liter

turbodiesel The term turbo-diesel, also written as turbodiesel and turbo diesel, refers to any diesel engine equipped with a turbocharger. As with other engine types, turbocharging a diesel engine can significantly increase its efficiency and power output, ...

. It carried a U.S. EPA

fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, wh ...

rating for the sedan of highway. Combined with a fuel tank, it had a 1300+ km (800+ mi) range on a single tank of fuel. The B4 TDI wagon saw less than 1,000 sales in the U.S. during its 1996 to 1997 lifespan.

B4 trim levels

In Europe, L, CL, GL, GT and VR6 versions were available; with the

VR6 VR6 engines are V6 piston engines with a narrow angle between the cylinder banks and a single cylinder head covering both banks of cylinders. Volkswagen Group introduced the first VR6 engine in 1991 and VR6 engines currently remain in producti ...

offered alongside the trims, for example a GL VR6. Only three trim levels were available in the United States: GLS, GLX and TDI. The GLS had a 2.0-litre, SOHC 8-valve

I4 engine A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the e ...

, while the TDI had the 1.9-litre

TurboDiesel The term turbo-diesel, also written as turbodiesel and turbo diesel, refers to any diesel engine equipped with a turbocharger. As with other engine types, turbocharging a diesel engine can significantly increase its efficiency and power output, ...

. The GLX version carried Volkswagen's 2.8

litre The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...

VR6 engine, rated at . ''

Motor Trend ''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...

'' measured a 0-60 mph (97 km/h) time of 7.9 seconds for the 1993 Passat GLX. Canadian versions of the Passat were similar to models sold in the U.S. Unlike the U.S., however, Canadian models were offered with the AAZ 1.9-liter TurboDiesel, but for the 1995 models only. The 1.9-liter TurboDiesel was replaced by the 1.9 TDI (1Z/AHU) in 1996. The only version sold in Mexico was the 2.8-liter VR6 gasoline in GLX trim. These versions were more expensive than the Volkswagen cars built in Mexico, due to the import

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...

s, and the fact the Passat was built in Germany.

B4 engines

The following

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...

s were available in the B4 Passat:

References

{{Volkswagen (South America) timeline 1980 to date Passat B4 Front-wheel-drive vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles Cars powered by VR engines Cars introduced in 1993 Station wagons simple:Volkswagen Passat#Passat Mk4