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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  Love my car but I hate the repair bills! - 2007 Volkswagen Passat
  By Dianna - October 4 - 9:02 pm

  I bought my car used in Feb of 2012 with 70K miles on it. I was happy to find a 3.6L AWD version. We paid $15.1K. This car is my 4th VW. Im a huge VW fan, and have only driven VW. The good things, I like about the car: AWD system-it grips well!, the ride is really comfortable-it makes a great trip car! Leather seats (I prefer it), 6 disc in dash CD player, cargo room is huge, roof rails (I bought a rack that attaches to them), Sport shifting option (taking off is fun!), rear seats can be made flat to haul stuff (which makes a lot of room!). The bad: the clear coat on both my fenders are peeling off, my passenger door lock doesnt always work-sometimes it locks and other times it doesnt. It will alarm if the door is opened at least!, the Leather is cheap-I already have a huge tear and 2 tiny tears in the drivers seat, The film around the window, emergency brake, and radio buttons are peeling off the plastic, the rear hatch does not open when I use the button-I have to pull on the hatch to open it. I have had to send the car in for 2 major repairs. One was because the rear alignment was way off because the car had been in an accident when the former owner had it. I dont blame VW for this, I knew it had been in an accident however I thought it was the front end of the car. I went through 2 tires before I took it to the dealership and they told me I had to repair a bent rear A arm ($700 repair). The rear alignment went from 3 degrees out of spec to 0.7 degrees. The other major repair was for a bad sensor. Over the 3 years I have the car, we have spent approximately $3K for repairs and such on the car. I thought about trading it in for a 2013 Tiguan but I only have $5K left to pay on the car and we just bought a house. Im hoping the car will last until the next model comes out however, I am doubting the quality of the newer version considering what I have had go wrong on this car (excluding the alignment issue). I currently have ~110K miles on the car (as of 7/15). I am hoping the new wagon model (coming out in 2017 in the US) will have better quality than this model and that my next check engine light will not be a major repair where I have to shell out at least $500 to get it repaired....

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  Consumes Oil - 2009 Volkswagen Routan
  By pnwislander - October 4 - 2:28 pm

  This is the first vehicle I have ever owned where I have to put in a quart of oil every 1,000 miles or the oil light will come on and the manufacturer considers that normal. There are other things that seemed minor, like side door catching etc. But all of the sudden after hitting 30,000 miles to have to start putting in a quart of oil every 1,000 miles (now at 45,000 miles) just seems ridiculous to be considered normal. Our other car is a VW Golf that we love ,and the Routan is just an all around disappointment. Wishing we had bought the Honda or Toyata minivan instead.

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  1st Volkswagen - 2012 Volkswagen Golf
  By jdhtx87 - October 3 - 9:42 pm

  After approx 2 years of reviewing everything out there, i finally decided on a car that had the best balance of everything I was looking for. Entertaining to drive, practical, versatile, and high quality interior. It is designed for those who love to drive. MDI is the best feature. Being able to select from your connected ipod, iphone, am/fm, sat, and sd card is amazing. Voice control is icing on the cake. DSG works exactly as written. You have to understand that this is not an automatic but an automated manual. Averaging 41mpg after 800 miles. So far, all the positive hype has proven true. Coming from Honda and not looking back!!

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  Fell in Love after the first ride - 2007 Volkswagen Jetta
  By ehollander - October 3 - 6:35 am

  I bought it in 2010 as a certified used car with 40K miles on it, and I need to say it is a blast to drive it everyday, I drove many cars before from Olds to Ford, Toyota and Chrysler but none kept me interested in keeping the car longer then 2 years. But this one is the best in quality fabrication, interior space quality and ride pleasure. I averaged about 30MPG before I changed my tires and had an allingment done now with the new ecopias it is even better new avg is 33-34 MPG and the cabin is so quiet. Also after 35k miles driven now no problems not even the rear breaks, but the dealer told me I would need to replace them after about 40K miles. I LOVE THE JETTA.

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  Best VW to the date - 2010 Volkswagen GTI
  By mike475 - October 3 - 3:12 am

  Owners since Dec 2009 of 4dr DSG GTI + Autobahn Package (aka leather seats and moonroof). It is great car all around. Quality is top noch (I guess no surprise here). Even MKV Jetta it looks like the car was made by different company. I love about everything about the car, so does my wife.

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  Love this car - 2003 Volkswagen GTI
  By jwschmchr - October 2 - 4:40 pm

  I bought this car new with 35 miles in 2003.I have since put about $15,000 worth of performance mods into this car. The build quality is excellent for a $25,000 car. I was lucky to be stationed in Germany for 2 years with this car. It drives like a dream on the autobahn and on the back roads. I lapped the Nurburgring in 9:18 my first lap on the track. With some work this car is easily as fast as a 911 carrera on the track.I have never had any major issues with anything breaking. Just do the scheduled maintenance and it runs like a top. After driving more $$ cars like the BMW M3, Mercedes AMG 55 and my 2000 740i sport the Golf GTi is as well built and as fun to drive as any other high $$ car.

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  Not bad, but the cost-cutting is obvious - 2010 Volkswagen Golf
  By LA Golf Leasee - October 2 - 11:16 am

  The good: Exterior styling, particularly in silver is pretty nice and an improvement over the last gen. Performance is ok for the class, but definitely go with a stick. Interior design generally a step above competition, but there is some definite and annoying cost-cutting. The not-so-good: No covered interior storage outside of the glovebox, junky radio with sat option - touchscreen with Sirius only available on TDI, no armrest - seems small, but gets annoying quickly. I got the base Golf only because I couldnt afford a TDI and there are no Mazda dealers close to me to get a 3. With a few upgrades, it could be a great compact, but the skimping makes it better than avg, but not great.

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  Most fun to drive CUV under $35K - 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan
  By newjerseyguy - October 1 - 8:00 am

  Its no GTI, but for a CUV it is the best out there in its price range. Handling and composure on all road surfaces is excellent. Not skittish like the RAV4 V6, and better gas mileage than the Acura RDX. Fit and finish is better than the Honda CRV. Comfortable and quiet interior, controls are simple and in the right places. The 2.0T motor is smooth and refined with plenty of kick when you need it. And dont be put off by the high MSRP as large discounts can be had. Flemington VW was awesome, with no pressure and knowledgeable salespeople.

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  I love this car - 2009 Volkswagen CC
  By Neo - October 1 - 7:20 am

  I usually suffer from some buyers remorse when I buy a car, but not this time. I just bought this car to replace an Infiniti I30T and I couldnt be happier. I had test driven the Lexus ES, BMW 3 series, Maxima and a few other cars and chose the CC for its styling, peppy engine (the 4-cylinder 2.0T is much quicker than the 6 cylinder I had on the I30), and price in comparison to other cars that were less sexy, had fewer features and were $5k to $10k more. I get more compliments on this car than others I have owned and people often wonder what type of car it is. I would definitely recommend (and have recommended) this car to others.

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  TDI - Great Ride, Great Milage - 2006 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Stefano - September 29 - 1:00 am

  Wow what a fun car. It has plenty of power and plenty of range. I am getting about 500+ miles to a tank of diesel # 2 fuel with about a 13 gallon capacity. It starts right up, even on cold mornings. Also, it only needs oil changes every 10,000 miles after the break in period. This car is great.