Volkswagen Passat reviews

11 years of continuos use, often fully loaded an estate used to its full potential

I have owned the car for about 5years and found it to be reliable and economical. It is my first diesel car.inside it isn't 'flash' but the instruments are easy to use compared with the insignia that I got rid of. The performance is good and is comfortable on long journeys. If I was to replace the car I would go back to VW . As the title suggests nothing fancy but does what it should. I am not sold on gimmicks that you use once to set up and rarely afterwards

17 years old, 136,000 miles on the clock, 50mpg average over the last 80,000 miles. Not a bad old lump!

I purchased the Passat estate for utilitarian purposes, collecting items from cash and carry and moving large items. It is ideally siuted for this and so far has proved very reliable. Like most manufacturers VW boast the top of the range for economy fuel consumption. Like most manufacturers the reality is somewhat lower. The car is reasonably comfortable althought the drivers seat seems to be slightly to the left of centre so that you end up half on the raised edge on the right hand side. Load space is good and easy to access. All in all not a bad car.

A fantastic car for long journeys returning good mpg and a smooth ride. Exterior and interior are hardwearing and over the past 3 years have not worn or been damaged. This car does every thing well but is not an inspiring drive just a competent workhorse that looks good. If I was being extra picky I would say the tyre wear on the front is barely acceptable (20-25k miles) and first gear is too low for hard acceleration and runs out of revs too quickly. On the whole a nice well built car that does everything competently.

Lovely car but expensive on fuel now

Diisaponted that VW has not issued a recall on the parking brake problems

This vehicle performs well for a diesel engined car, and has good acceleration. Returns between 47 and 53 mpg on motorway driving depending on traffic density. Returns 35 to 40 mpg around town. Government taxation, and insurance push up running costs considerably as does the taxation on fuel. The car is very comfortable with heated seats, air conditioning, self dimming rear view mirror, radio with a six disc CD player. In the seven years I have owned this vehicle it has never broken down, for most of that time it has been used to commute to work from the Manchester area across the Pennines to Leeds & Wakefield through winter and summer with no problems from the vehicle. The car will seat 5 persons and being an estate car there is ample room for luggage behind the rear seats, if required the rear seats can be folded down flat to boot floor level providing a large load area.

Having bought the car secondhand (when 5 years old, about 16 moths ago, I have been amazed just how good a car the V W Passat is. After owning my previous car (Audi A4 estate) the extra space in the V W rear seating is an extra bonus. 2 M O Ts and a service later I had to spend nothing on the M O Ts and a service that required no parts apart from new Cam belts. The M P H is brilliant the boot area is very large, and I can only score this car 5 stars for Performance, Running costs, Comfort, Reliability and Space and practicality. An excellent purchase for me.

gives me everything i want in a car, and has done since the first one i drove in 1996. The comfort,safety,reliability, economy,is always top class. I have never wanted a different car since then.

Very practical and economical but, like most modern cars, too many unnecessary electronic gimmicks which are difficult and expensive to fix when they go wrong.

This is an excellent tow car, it has more than enough power and torque to deal with any hill or overtaking situation. Fuel consumption isnt bad for the size of engine I regulary see 30+mpg around town and on a run 40+mpg, and on a couple of motorway journeys 47+mpg. Towing a caravan 25-30mpg. It is very comfortable to driver, even after a couple of hours drive you still feel refreshed when you get out.

Large comfortable car with acceptable performance and running costs given it's size and age. I have had some extensive repairs to the electrical system due to water damage. Apparently a well known problem with older VW's. Watch out for damp carpets on the passenger side as the warning sign.

roomy, comfortable for long journeys, plenty of room for ferrying large items around - mattresses to tip , helping friend move house, etc

Car is great on diesel and very comfortable but handles very poorly in the bends/corners which does not encourage you to push on. Great cheap family transport but not really for you if you like driving.

This is a recent purchace, previously I have owned new Toyotas (Avensis, saloon and estate and a carena saloon). So my comparisons are with these models. The VW uses more fuel over similar journeys than the last Toyota (estate). But this may be because the VW is heavier. The VW is much quieter to drive, more confortable, gives a smoother ride and I feel more confident while driving it. The VW is the first automatic car that I have owned although I have driven automatics previously. When choosing the new car I was worried about the new automatic handbreaks that are being introduced. So far (only about 3000 miles covered) I have had no problems with the car and have got used to the automatic handbreak.

Reliable, comfortable and massive.

had a laguna dci ,peaugeot 406 diesel and a mondeo tdci all estates and this one beats them all, excellent economy even when towing caravan.

excellent all round car

NOT a sports car but a good family saloon at reasonable price. Never had a problem and driven carefully has very good fuel consumption. Routine maintenance charges are very reasonable.