Category: Large Family 
Price Range: £15,150 to £32,780
Decent motorway cruiser, good fuel economy, low emissions.
Firm ride on economy tyres, bit too taxi-like inside.
It's decent enough car for a sales rep, but they might want a bit more standard equipment.
Volkswagen finished 15th of 26 in the Warranty Direct Reliability Survey, which suggests that the German brand still has some way to go before it can start claiming it builds bulletproof cars.
In the 2008 JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey the Passat also lost its lustre. It fell 30 places from last year's survey to finish 77th and the results showed that reliability, in particular, had been an issue. Owners said the interior build quality was below par and a number of them reported engine problems. When the car was working, owners weren't that enthusiastic either. They didn't like the way the car drove or indeed the levels of comfort on offer.
It's not hard to see why the owners have been less than pleased. Interior plastics look a little cheap and hard, and the cabin, as a whole, feels tired and dated. It is drab, but it does feel well-built, however.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volkswagen Passat
wrote on 06 06 2006