Faults:

CD player won't read discs.

General Comments:

The car fits my life style so well. A strong tow car, with incredible stability when pulling my 1500kg caravan. The inbuilt tow bar, that appears from under the rear bumper is excellent.

I have a daily commute of 46 miles each way, and the car is comfortable (GT spec seats with alcantara and leather), with great levels of adjustability on the seat including electric remote bolster.

The fuel efficiency is excellent, 66mpg on my commute, coupled with the £20/anum tax, a real low cost car to run.

Handling is better than I expected for a large estate car, front end stays in the corner nice. The 190bhp diesel engine pulls strong, and feels and sounds effortless even when pushed harder.

I have a hobby which requires a few large hauler bags being used, and the boot swallows more than any other car I considered.

I looked at Mondeos / Insignias which just didn't have the quality offered by the Passat, and I looked at 5 series and E class, which didn't offer the frugality. The Passat is the ideal car for me.

Faults:

Nothing so far.

General Comments:

Excellent to drive, even with the auto box; sharp handling and good acceleration while doing close to 60 MPG on average; wouldn't expect anything less from a modern car.

Comfortable solid interior. All electrics and modern gadgets as standard. Electronic handbrake as per modern car is a real pain to get used to if you're been using a lever for years before.

Alloy wheels look great on this one, makes it stand out, sharp and stylish if you really look at it, but at the end of the day, it's hard to tell the car apart from others in this class (Mondeo, Insignia, etc); they are all quite close on looks and performance these days.

VW dealer has been good so far and helpful - a lot are not according to some reviews, but servicing and the few times I've been in, they have been fine with me.

Overall a typical modern car that is hard to fault and hard to find anything else to say about it; I just hope it lasts long term as all my previous cars have no problem, and that also includes a 1990s Passat. I plan to keep this for many years and hope I don't get the typical diesel problems some owners have had in the past. Heard many horror stories about faulty injectors, DPFs clogging up, etc. on the previous generation diesel Passat from about 2004 onwards and other similar cars. If you're worried about those things however, consider a petrol as they are pretty good (and economical) nowadays as well.