Volkswagen is hoping that giving the Passat a revised interior and nose and tail facelifts will halt a worrying slide in sales for the upmarket saloon and estate.
Scooped here during final pre-production testing, the revised Passat will be launched at September's Paris motor show. UK sales kick off in January.
See the revised VW Passat spy pictures
According to well placed sources, the Passat is due to a get a welcome lift in interior quality thanks to the introduction of dashboard features from the sportier Passat CC.
That features a more upmarket instrument pack, a redesigned centre console with a clearer sat-nav touch screen, and a sportier steering wheel with spoke-mounted controls.
Exterior changes will bring the Passat in line with the new VW family look, already seen on the Polo and Golf. That means a wide lower air intake, a narrow, full-width upper grille and new headlights.
Expect new tail-lights and trim revisions to lift the rear-end look.
Engines and gearboxes are expected to carry over largely unchanged from today's Passat, which features three petrol engines and four diesels.
The petrols are tipped to be the 1.4 TSI and 1.8 TSI, the turbodiesels will be 1.6 and 2.0 TDIs, and the 3.6-litre V6 R36 is expected to be dropped from the line-up.
Just three years ago Volkswagen UK shifted 37,000 Passat saloons and estates in a full year. In 2008 that dropped to 30,000; last year just 21,000 were sold.
