Faults:

- Terrible gas mileage.

- 4Motion kills the tires pretty fast.

- Brakes are terrible - they go bad very fast.

- Engine takes long time to warm-up - until then, the car moves hardly.

- The plastic panel under the engine which protects the engine block from mud, rain and such fell down on the highway. It took me $250 to replace it. I heard that it is a common thing for Passats.

- When the sunroof is open, it makes too much noise

- When the sunroof is open, the wind blows the car right 2 left, left 2 right... terrible aerodynamics.

General Comments:

Can't beat it on the highway :)

4Motion is great while taking sharp turns.

Front seat warmers are great!!!

Faults:

Well I bought the car used and it had a couple of things that did not work.

Cruise control did not work.

Memory seats did not work.

Both things were fixed by the dealer with no questions asked.

General Comments:

The car is awesome. It's the second German car that I have owned, and for sure will not be the last one. However I would never buy a German car without having a trust worthy mechanic by my side. I have found that many dealers that sell German cars, have no idea on how to fix a German car. I have found out from friends and family members that most of the problems that German cars have are because the car has been poorly serviced(by the dealer). But if you find a trust worthy mechanic, you will always buy a German car.

The 4 motion on my car is awesome in any kind of weather. It gives me extra grip in snow and rain, and when dry it takes the curves like nothing else.

The 2.8 liter V6 is not a bad engine, but I wish they would have made it a little bit more powerful, cause it only has 190 hp, but VW has fixed that problem with the new Passat.

Since it’s the GLX model, it has everything other than a sat nav.

As I said, get a good mechanic and avoid the dealers; they charge you way too much and they just makes things worst. I have been taking my car to my expert German car mechanic, and nothing has gone wrong with the car.

Faults:

I have had to replace axles, water pump, she has 95,000 miles so I can't complain.

General Comments:

I read all the reviews and thought I would add one that is positive I love my Passat. Sure I have to do regular maintenance I use synthetic oil to prevent sludge build up and every 20,000 I change the fuel filter I love the heated seats and the way the silver glows under the lights in the parking lot.

Faults:

Water coolant reservoir drained.

Front left CV-joint knocking when turning left.

General Comments:

This car introduced me to the world of diesel engines, and I'll never go back to petrol.

Take off power is excellent, and the handling on the roads after putting on a set of alloys with hard wearing tyres, has made the drive smoother.

The economy is second to none for the age, mileage and size of the car - at my last calculation it is doing 55.4 mpg.

The biggest plus for this car is the excellent comfort from every seat while on the move.

Faults:

Heater core replaced at 60000 miles, required entire dashboard to be replaced. $$$

Air Conditioner Evaporator replaced at 120000 miles, requires entire dashboard to be removed. $$$

Thermostat replaced at 70000 requiring a complete overhaul of the car's front end. $$$

Alternator had to replaced at 90000. $$$

General Comments:

Enjoyable to drive. I like the 4-motion and the interior is comfortable. The car drives better (handling, acceleration) than many new cars (I rent cars several times a month). In a nutshell, I like the car, so I keep throwing dollars at it for repairs that are not related to mileage. Some of the repairs are not unreasonable, but the cost to service is way out-of-line due to the design. I joke with the dealer that the car should have been made with zippers as parts of the car have been disassembled several times. I hope to get one more year out of this vehicle before buying a Honda. I had a Jetta before this Passat and basically the same comments: fun car, but too expensive to service.