Beijing 2010: VW Phaeton Facelift Released

The luxury introductions are coming fast at the Beijing Auto Show - so far Citroen has debuted the Metropolis Concept, Audi has introduced the A8 L, Mercedes the Shooting Break Concept and BMW is planning to introduce the 5-Series extended version.

Volkswagen and its brands are on a roll globally, and company is seeing the opportunity to again make another push with the Phaeton.

When the Phaeton was introduced in 2002, VW was on a roll then, like they are now. It didn't do nearly as well as the company hoped though, as it was priced too high to make a dent in the sales of established competitors.

The changes to the Phaeton are minimal - bringing it in line with the latest VW styling trend and updating the technology.

The wide, horizontal themes that have been introduced on other VWs look good here - the look is more powerful and stately, befitting the car's pricetag. This writer likes the chrome full-width grille.

Out back, the taillight shape remains the same as the original, but it gets reworked inner-LED lighting, as well as a different bumper. In addition, the interior's overall design hasn't been touched. You get it by now - the changes are hardly revolutionary.

The Phaeton didn't need significant updating though - years after its introduction, it is still a highly competitive vehicle, which is a remarkable feat. VW dumped large amounts of money into the car's development to make it the best it could be. As such got all that it needed in this update - a styling nip and tuck and technology upgrades to keep up with the competition.

The Phaeton has added Dynamic Light Assist (camera-based dynamic main beam regulation) and a navigation system that  can integrate online data from Google.

There is also an optional front camera enables the Phaeton to 'see' road signs, with speed limit signs showing up on the instrument panel and navigation screen. The system will also be able to recognise and depict 'no overtaking' signs – which VW says is a world first.

Can VW finally erase the "flop" tag currently associated with the Phaeton? Many have predicted a similar fate as the original Phaeton for the Hyundai Equus, but so far Hyundai has proven adept at handling luxury introductions like the Genesis. We don't know the verdict yet on the Equus, but it is likely that it will do well due to aggressive pricing in comparison to the competition.

Given the fact that the car has been in production for a while, that might enable VW to price the Phaeton lower and more competitively in order to succeed, something they couldn't do when it first came out. Perhaps the Phaeton's story isn't over yet? Time will tell.