The Volkswagen Phaeton may not be familiar to us Malaysians, but it’s actually the company’s flagship sedan in many major countries. It’s a full-sized behemoth of a car which has been around since the early 2000s and saw 2 facelifts in its lifetime, along with a number of other updates. Due to upcoming Euro 6 emissions regulations though, the Phaeton will no longer be sold in the UK. VW never managed to hit its 20,000 unit per year sales target despite investing over a billion US dollars in the car. In fact, they lost about around €28,000 on each Phaeton sold in its first decade of production.
In China though, the Phaeton is going so strong that not only is it being retained, but being facelifted once more. It is just a minor aesthetic change though. The headlights have been darkened to look more aggressive, while the front end sees a lot more chrome all around. The LED taillights also feature a new look.
Inside, the rear passengers get 2 10.2-inch displays and the front infotainment unit gets an 8-inch touchscreen interface. There’s a lot more wood to go around and a DYNAUDIO sound system with a 12-channel digital amp.
Engine selections for the Chinese Phaeton start with the 3-litre V6 FSI that puts out 250 PS and 310 Nm of torque and ends with a 4.2-litre V8 that generates 335 PS of power and 430 Nm of torque. There’s a ‘middle-way’ 3.6-litre V6, which is also an FSI engine and all three engine choices come with 4MOTION all-wheel drive systems with 6-speed gearboxes.
This China-only model is expected to remain on sale until its second generation replacement is put on sale in 2017. That one might come with a highly-efficient but ridiculously overpowered W12 6.0-litre TSI engine that does 11 litres/100km.
