What’s in a name? Not much, according to William Shakespeare who in Romeo and Juliet, wrote, “A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet”.Apparently, Volkswagen does not feel the same way. That is why when the time came to freshen up its four-year old Passat CC sports saloon, it chose to delete the “Passat” moniker from its name in order to signal its upmarket move and severe any ties with the mid-size family sedan.
To reinforce its point, VW has made some changes to the styling of the 2013 CC that made its world debut this week at the LA Motor Show.
While the main bodywork stays the same, the front end of the CC sports a new chrome grille, redesigned headlamps with LED daytime running lights and a different bumper. It’s a similar story at the rear end that gains LED tail lamps and new boot and bumper designs.
The cabin features new climate controls and trim options, stainless steel door sills – and that’s about it on the design department. However, one significant upgrade in the 2013 CC is that there is now seating for five, with a three-seat rear bench taking the place of two individual buckets.
There are no changes to the engine line-up, which in the States, includes a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 200HP and a 280HP 3.6-liter naturally aspirated V6, both with direct injection tech.
What has changed compared to the outgoing model is the addition of driver assistance systems, such as the Side Assist Plus with Lane Assist that warns you of vehicles in the car’s blind spots and, if necessary, makes the required direction changes to avoid an accident.
The updated 2013 CC, which will be launched first in Germany in February and subsequently in the rest of Europe and the U.S, can also be ordered with Dynamic Light Assist and a (rather useful, we guess) traffic sign detection system.
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