Overview & Reviews

Volkswagen is an automaker based in Germany. Its products typically command a higher price than those of competing models, but the return is a more upscale driving and ownership experience.

In 1934, Ferdinand Porsche was commissioned to build a small, inexpensive car at the request of Adolph Hitler. His answer -- a beetle-shaped sedan that was called a Volkswagen (German for "people's car") -- debuted two years later. Hitler had a town built near the plant for factory workers; he named it Kraft durch Freude Stadt (derived from the Nazi party's motto, "Joy through Strength"), and soon decided that Porsche's creation should be named the KdF-wagen (short for the "Joy through Strength" car). This upset Porsche, who was not political.

World War II delayed production of the vehicle; the factory suffered extensive damage during combat, and was ultimately taken over by the British Army. The company was renamed Volkswagen, and the town at the factory was renamed Wolfsburg (after Werner von Schulenberg of Wolfsburg, who had been forced to surrender his land for the construction of the town and factory). By the end of the 1940s, mass production of the Volkswagen Beetle had begun. The model made its first appearance on U.S. shores in 1949.

The 1950s saw Volkswagen broadening its product range, adding the Bus (Type 2) to its lineup. The Bus, especially, proved quite popular due to its versatility. And the Beetle, which went on to become the best-selling car of all time, quickly showed signs of being an enduring favorite, with more than 1 million models produced at the Wolfsburg factory by 1955. This decade also saw the debut of the Karmann Ghia sports car, which featured a sleek, Italian-designed two-seater body atop a Beetle platform.

Volkswagen's star rose during the 1960s, its success fueled largely by the breakout success of the Beetle. The car benefited from an effective advertising campaign and from an appearance in a popular Disney movie. By the close of the decade, Volkswagen's yearly output of Beetles topped the 1 million mark.

In 1972, with more than 15 million units assembled, the Beetle topped the world production record set by Ford's Model T. Mid-decade saw the launch of a new era of Volkswagens that had front-mounted, water-cooled engines driving the front wheels. The Passat (Dasher in the U.S.) was the first of the new breed and was built using standardized components that could be used interchangeably among other models in the manufacturer's lineup. The Passat was soon joined by the Golf (Rabbit in the U.S.), which met with immediate success. By the end of the decade, the manufacturer's lineup had grown to include the Scirocco sport coupe and the performance-oriented Golf/Rabbit GTI. The Beetle, however, was discontinued for the U.S. market.

The Golf grew in popularity during the '80s, becoming Volkswagen's most popular model. When a second generation of the car was built in 1983, it was crafted in a mostly automated process using robots -- marking the first time robots had been used in vehicle manufacture. By the mid-'80s, the U.S. version traded the Rabbit name for "Golf." The higher-performance Golf GTI helped the manufacturer make waves on the rally circuit. In 1986, Volkswagen Motorsport nabbed the title of Group A World Rally Champions.

Volkswagen saw its sales in the North American market tumble during the early '90s, but by the end of the decade, refocused marketing efforts and an increased emphasis on new products had brought about a turnaround in the company's fortunes. The popular New Beetle helped put the company back on the radar in the United States (though it fared less successfully in European markets). The body style was based on the classic Beetle, and it struck a chord with consumers who still had a place in their hearts for the iconic, cheerful-looking "love bug."

The new millennium saw Volkswagen moving into the luxury segment with the launch of the pricey Phaeton sedan and Touareg SUV. Though well-designed and executed, the Phaeton was a disappointment sales-wise, perhaps signaling unwillingness on the part of consumers to shell out premium dollars for a brand that lacks the cachet of established upscale names like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Luckily, Volkswagen has seen success with other vehicles in its lineup, which currently includes everything from family-oriented sedans to roomy SUVs. Today, the automaker enjoys a reputation for crafting vehicles that offer refined handling and upscale accommodations.

User Reviews:

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  GTI 337 - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By Eric Kuhns - March 30 - 10:00 am

  An awesome back-to basics, true GTI. Works as weekend autocross track day car (have set several FTDs over cars with nearly twice the HP), babyhauler (pretty roomy ofr it exterior size), and everday commuter. Comfy seat, decent mileage. Incredible brakes, excellent handling, very good power (extremely flexible motor). A ball to drive, anywhere.

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  Golf TDI ROCKS! - 2003 Volkswagen Golf
  By doctor - March 30 - 10:00 am

  I already have Golf TDI for one year. I have not had any problems at all with anything - it works like a Swiss clock! Gas/milage is a killer, I get 650/700 per tank (14 gal) for highway and 450/500 per tank in the city. It looks kind of dated, but it is very different from other cars and therefore I dont feel that dated look too much. The car is roomy and affordable. Its increadable fun to drive! The car achives 155 torque at very low RPMs! My only suggestion is: dont get automatic transmission, get a manual one - you will get much better performance.

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  Golf TDI ROCKS! - 2003 Volkswagen Golf
  By Doctor - March 30 - 10:00 am

  I already have Golf TDI for one year. I have not had any problems at all with anything - it works like a Swiss clock! Gas/milage is a killer, I get 650/700 per tank (14 gal) for highway and 450/500 per tank in the city. It looks kind of dated, but it is very different from other cars and therefore I dont feel that dated look too much. The car is roomy and affordable. Its increadable fun to drive! The car achives 155 torque at very low RPMs! My only suggestion is: dont get automatic transmission, get a manual one - you will get much better performance.

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  Look out - 2001 Volkswagen Passat
  By arrrrrrrrrrrr - March 30 - 10:00 am

  I own 2 Passats, one of them has for the most part (with the exception of 2 of the cheap Cooper tires they give you) blowing unexpectantly, been fine. The other, has had problems, including me having to fork over $2,500 to replace the clutch at 35k miles. I dont ride the clutch, I dont do any crazy teenager driving with it, so I was a bit surprised to find it go at such a low mileage. Of course, VW was quick to point out that this is a "wear and tear" part. I have also had problems like others have mentioned with oil leaks, electronic problems with CD player, etc. I will NEVER buy another VW again.

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  Very Safe and Classy - 2006 Volkswagen Passat
  By Matt - March 30 - 8:13 am

  This car handled great and accelerated nicely. Its engine noise was practically silent and I was able to get 32 mpg on the highway and about 28 mpg average around town. Its leg and head room were ample and the trunk is huge! It is loaded with safety features, I was able to walk away from a head on collision with a van and both cars traveling around 35 - 40mph.

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  Passat - Lots of Room - nice accel. with good MPG - 2015 Volkswagen Passat
  By Casey Fitzpatrick - March 30 - 6:59 am

  Previous vehicles: 2003 Toyota Corolla, 2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe. Current vehicles: 2014 Nissan Rogue (CVT transmission). I bought this car with about 5k mi on it. The turbo is great, combined with the 1.8L to give you decent pickup and still have great gas mileage. We put our two little ones in the back seat in car seats, and you could still have the drivers seat sit comfortably without being right up on their legs. The transmission shifts out of first gear pretty quick, which is taking some getting used to for me, and shifting can be a little harsh. The DSG transmission is odd to me...will take some getting used to (or maybe its the turbo, I dont know). Love being able to downshift a few gears to instantly get the acceleration you need to pass a car and mean mug them for driving too slow. You do feel quite a lot of the road. When I looked at used passats for sale, I noticed some uneven wear of the tires, so Im hoping to rotate them more frequently to avoid this occurring in my passat. I feel like I could stand to put the bubble mirrors on the side mirrors...there feels like a blind spot at times...it could be that I am just getting used to the larger car. Overall space is fantastic. I had one instance so far when the backup camera did not turn on when I put the car in reverse. The MPG for a car this size is amazing. 32-34 mpg on average for me! UPDATE: 12/9/16 @ 17k mi. The turbo lag is tough to get used to. Sometimes the car doesnt "go" right when you want it to. Still a very smooth ride. I am going to get the oil changed and tires rotated shortly, as I have heard of feathering issues with these cars. I do wish I would have gotten the LED lights instead of standard, but I think they can be added on later. The bluetooth and backup camera are a little quirky. There have been a few times when I put the car in reverse and the backup camera doesnt engage. A backup camera is a must for a car this size. Im headed towards my first winter with the vehicle, so I will make sure to update after Ive driven in snowy conditions. VERY IMPORTANT: I got caught in a downpour while driving this car, and realized that the windshield wiper speed was slower than I was used to in other cars. I could not see; it was very dangerous, and had to pull off of the road. I HIGHLY recommend using Rain-X or similar windshield washing fluid to keep your windshield slick so that the rain wicks away.

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  Sick of Dung Beetle - 2004 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By abroome - March 29 - 2:20 pm

  This Beetle is the worst car I have ever owned. The cup holders, the window regulators, the air bag light, the check engine light, replaced several headlights, the convertible top, the console lock, and the transmission. These are just a few problems with the car. THe transmission will not shift and the VW dealership wants 6,000 to fix this. I will never buy another VW again. The dealerships act like nothing ever happens with these cars but everyone I talk to has these problems. Also a design flaw regarding the battery and seatbelts. Battery must be replaced by dealership. Beware!!!!! Very cute car but not reliable at all. It is a piece of crap there for a dung beetle!

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  Great car . . . BUT - 2012 Volkswagen Golf
  By volkswagon123 - March 29 - 2:13 pm

  I love my VW Golf Diesel, BUT . . . the navigation system is faulty (tells you to get off the highway before your exit, turn right when you need to go left) and the FM radio song display shows only a few characters at a time (e.g. Jumpi; ng Jac; k Flash). Theres no problem with the display while using satellite radio, CDs or an iPod. I researched both problems with the dealer and also called VW customer service about the FM radio display. They admitted these are problems, so if navigation or FM song display are important to you, then you need to look for a different car.

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  Very nice! - 2005 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Jaidev - March 29 - 1:50 pm

  Traded in my 2001.5 V6 Passat for this car. Excellent build quality. Fun to drive. The tiptronic 6 speed transmission is a marvel of modern engineering. It works better than the manual transmission on my Passat. Fuel economy is also great for a 5 cyl. car. There is no difference in mileage between the manual and the automatic with tiptronic. Although from certain angles it does resemble the Corolla a little bit, if you see it from the front, there is no mistaking the chrome grille.

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  worse car ive ever had - 2015 Volkswagen Passat
  By Ashley T - March 28 - 8:27 pm

  Last year in may 2016 we had an awful hail storm and unfortunately my favorite car got totaled from the hail up here in Billings Montana. Fortunately, my fiancé had a pick up for me to drive in the mean time while we look for a car. We are both Ford people and thought to go out of the norm for once when we saw this beautiful, classy fuel efficient car. For us there are a lot of pros and cons with this car mainly cons. My Wolfsburg car is very fast which I love, and handles very well. But I have had nothing but problem with this car, everything went fine till November. Thats when my windshield wiper motor took a crap, it happen to be snowing and slushy out, with vehicles driving by me with their slush hitting my window. I tried to use my wind shield wipers with the fluid but no fluid was coming out and it was not clogged, so its was just brown snow smeared across the windshield and was unable to see, that was fun especially when I live 15 miles away. THEN 3 weeks later I start my car in the driveway due to it being 5 degrees out that morning with it dumping snow to warm up the car before I head into work. I get in and thought I forgot to turn on the heat/defrost. nope, the FRICKEN HEATER WENT OUT and it was 5 degrees outside. thankfully I took a shower that morning so that kept me warm along with the heated seats. the warmth of my body frosted the inside of the car and I had to scrap the windows on the INSIDE. that was also really fun!! not!! thankfully is was still had warranty left so I didnt have to pay for any of these issues. also dealing with our dealership in town is terrible, they treat you like your a burden and are disrespectful. and as of lately my seatbelt light keeps dinging at me while im driving, its staring to happen a lot. makes me feel like if I got in an accident the seatbelt would not work, I will be taking it in soon its just SO frustrating. Ive heard nothing but good things about VW thats why we took the leap and went out of our nor.so I thought I would write a review to warn people about this car, I may have just gotten a bad car, they cant all be good right!?