New VW Passat Review: BETTER than an SUV!?

The Volkswagen Passat is now only available as an estate!

The question is, has Volkswagen added enough updates to make it a suitable competitor for your next car? And should you choose it over other estates currently available? Let’s take a closer look…

Starting with the design, it clearly mirrors the design of other recent VW releases. We’re in the R-Line edition, which means it comes with a few updates over the standard car, such as a more aggressive black bumper and grille. It also comes with Matrix LED lights as standard, as well as an LED light bar stretching across the car. Along the side, there’s black trim around the windows, and at the back, it’s all fairly plain and neat. Nothing too exciting, but then again, nothing too annoying or fake either!

Step inside and the Passat is pretty smart. Given it’s the R-Line it comes with some Alcantara trim on the dash and even a set of sporty seats in the front. If anything, it seems like a bit much for an everyday family car like the Passat! There’s a large infotainment screen on the middle of the dash, and there’s also a digital dial screen for the driver. There’s loads of storage to be found throughout, and the centre console is super clean and minimalist as the gear selector has now moved to the steering column.

When it comes to engines, the entry-level is a 1.5-litre turbo petrol that can deliver 150hp. There are also two plug-in hybrids available. Both use the same 1.5-litre turbo, but whereas one produces 204hp, the range-topper can deliver 272hp.

The new Passat range starts from £38,500, while the range-topping R-Line trim starts from around £43,000. So should you choose it over the competition? You’ll need to stick with Mat and find out for yourself!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:19 Price
00:47 Design
01:39 Interior
04:44 Back Seats
06:14 Boot
07:30 Annoying Features
08:49 Good Features
09:43 Engines
11:48 Town Driving
14:25 Motorway Driving
15:54 Country Road Driving
17:23 0-60mph
17:50 Verdict

[wdbaudio]

Can we all agree that 'modern' new car design peaked between 2010 and 2020, when there was enough tech to keep people happy but cars had smaller screens, physical buttons for AC and infotainment and the prices hadn't quite reached the level of insanity they have now. Oh, and brands had a bit more of their own identity. Now it's impossible to decipher between the waves of bland SUVs and crossovers which all look overly aggressive and fussy.

[nick]

£47k for a Passat! Didn’t even make it to the end… What on earth has happened to new car prices!

[havfunonline]

Is it just me who thinks the Superb is clearly better now? Better user interface, more practical, nicer touches and much cheaper. Seems to have all the good stuff from the Passat but none of the downsides

[johnandrews]

I'm still driving my 2007 Passat estate. 320, 000km and going strong on the factory clutch. Since the Passat estate isn't available in North America... I'll drive this till it dies or I do... whichever comes first

[shaker]

The tablet in this car looks hilarious like a cashier monitor in Lidl

[matthewpalmer]

I think what Matt should do, when reviewing a new car is have the older model next to it.

[leighprice]

This wrap around screen nonsense is getting out of hand. Take me back to my Mk 7.5 Golf with a digital dash, simple touch screen, and BUTTONS.

[jbconno]

Give me an estate over a bland, generic SUV any day. Well done VW for still making estates, they're just so cool.

[falcongamer]

The recent VW designs make them look so hollow and cheap. I feel like the 00's volkswagens had the most premium and "full" look if that makes sense

[InVader]

VW Passat vs Skoda Superb should've been a video.

[nima]

Manual seat and steering wheel adjustment in a 50k car is absolutely crazy

[pacificsword]

Superb estate. Though why is Matt complaining about the sporty version when reviewing the R line…

[MikeM-cq]

Big estate cars are so good at dealing with family life they grow on you very quickly and you soon love them. We have had Passat Estates for years but I am a fan of all the big estates out there.

[kurtcocktoasten]

We rented one of these in Germany in June 2024 for two weeks. Lots of tech. Was scared by emergency rear braking as the car thought we were going to hit something and SLAMMED on the brakes. I thought we had hit something, but this was the system. Worked well to save us but scared us silly that first time. Plenty powerful for our needs. Amazing range - we drove throughout Bavaria, Austria and the Czech Republic. For European roads and cities, this was a great sized vehicle for my family. In the USA, I drive an "Aircraft Carrier sized" vehicle. This new Passat wagon served us very well. Adaptive cruise was terrific. Lane keeping assist functioned perfectly. Overall, It was perfect for what we needed. Zero complaints. Recommended!

[haserotmalach]

With the Superb existing, this estate only Passat is just redundant.

[BigHumz]

Volkswagen are absolutely smoking with this. £50k, estate only, no diesel engine, manual seat and steering adjustment?

[bucharestbiketraffic]

Nearly 50k pounds for a Passat that is the same as a Skoda. And if you are sensible you buy a Jogger Hybrid and save almost 30k pounds.

[Swiss.]

1:55 Journalists in the past always complained the VW Passat was too dull and wasn't sporty enough inside and out, now they make a car thats trying to be sportier and they complain? I mean I agree, if you want a sporty car like this buy a BMW 3-Series, but why even complain about it in the first place?

[lukaszw]

I went into the dealers to take a look and was absolutely shocked by the tackiness of the interior. After three years with the Cupra Formentor I already knew what a disaster the central control panel is in daily use and how the transmission takes away any fun you might have with the 1.5 TSI but I was in the market for a bigger family car and decided to take a look. What are you doing VW? I owned Mk2 and Mk3 Fabias and those were very good cars for the money. The Formentor was a warning sign for sure, but you are continuing down the same road! The current offer is absolutely impossible. Not to speak of Audi's pre-historic models... I settled on a fully loaded Kia Sorento HEV and very content with it.

[MrLense]

Any Estate is objectively better than any crossover or SUV. Review done Matt