Volkswagen Passat B5

The Volkswagen Passat (B5) is a large family car which was produced by German manufacturer Volkswagen from 1997 to 2005, with 1997 to 2001 model years being B5 models and 2001 to 2005 model years being B5.5 models. The car, based on the Volkswagen Group B5 platform, was originally launched in Germany in 1997, before it was introduced in 1997 to North America and Europe, followed by Australia in 1998 and China in 1999. It was launched a year prior to the B4, which was phazed out completely by 1997.