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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  Silverstone Gray - 2004 Volkswagen Passat
  By chefjefe - December 29 - 2:00 am

  Ours is one of the first GLS 4Motion Passats in the area. This car is an Audi for thousands less - Tiptronic transmission, leather interior with wood accents, heated seats, excellent materials. The interior has the spaciousness we were seeking, and the features of this midlevel GLS are many. It has enough power to get out of its own way, nice tossability for a car of its size, and great highway manners. Cant wait to take it to Tahoe.

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  Best Fun Value All Around - 2004 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By EddyB - December 29 - 2:00 am

  This bug is amazingly quiet with the top up and has minimal wind turbulence with the top down. Where this car departs from the rest of the herd is its amazingly smooth triptronic 6-speed automatic coupled to the quick/quiet turbo engine. The instrumentation is also one of the best, really like the blue/red lighting and the touch/feel of the controls are just the right size and everything is easily within reach. The editor knocked the car for rear- seat tightness, but who cares. . . my two wire-haired fox terriers love it! Fuel economy is fantastic and I have a heavy foot.

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  very good - 2004 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By Lorrah - December 29 - 2:00 am

  I like it, it is funny looking and works well, plus its all convertible-y- ish

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  Love and hateful relationship - 2001 Volkswagen Jetta
  By schrum - December 29 - 12:59 am

  I got my Jetta in 2011, and it did good for a while but in a year it started having over heating problems. I loved driving it but then in 2013 the coil pack went out, so I just parked it in our yard and drove my 95 Nissan XE. Finally in 2015, I put a new coil pack in it and drove it to the mountains, on my way back the tire blew out and destroyed the front left side Love it and hated it at the same time

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  Hidden Gem - 2010 Volkswagen Jetta
  By RLW - December 28 - 3:03 pm

  I shopped for a mpg champ and looked at Hybrids. Ford was unable to get an Escape Hybrid that led me to Edmunds et al. I found the VW Sportwagen TDI. I liked the quality and the price so I bought it. It has the cargo space of an Escape with mileage exceeding its EPA and also for less money. Granted it is not an SUV but it is a nice car. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in cargo space and MPG. Also there is a $1300 tax credit they told me until June 30, 2010. Edmunds, Consumer Reports are right about this being a good alternative to a hybrid. I recently found Hybrid owners on the forums say their MPG drops with battery age by about 5-8 mpg on Escapes. So, my loss was gain.

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  No good - 2006 Volkswagen Golf
  By rover - December 28 - 4:23 am

  My 2006 Volkswagen Golf has too many faults. Beneath that classy exterior and interior lies a medicore engine (at best) and shocking reliablity. So far, roughly 20 things have things have gone wrong wth my car, including the tire jack collapsing, two locks broken, and two engine misfires. Im the only one using the car, so there is no evidence of heavy usage (why does the passenger lock break if nobody ever uses that door?) There is much too much oversteer when cornering, maybe because it handles very well and therefore you tend to drive fast around corners, however, if you want the car, get it with EPS (stability control) to avoid this problem. The fuel economy is poor - around 12 liters city, and 9 liters hwy.

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  3 strikes and your OUT - Never again! - 2002 Volkswagen Passat
  By dww - December 27 - 10:43 pm

  93 Passat GLX, 97 Audi A4 and 02 GLX Wagon, not one could reach 90K mileage. Wagon blew water pump, blew head gasket, bent valves $5,000 to fix. This all happened in 2 minutes on the highway not a chance to save the car and of course is outside of extended warranty. Good bye German Unreliability Hello Japanese Reliability!

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  Miracle MPG with the Passat TDI diesel - 1997 Volkswagen Passat
  By SchnellAutos - December 27 - 10:00 am

  My 1997 Passat TDI has been great. Theres no smoking or tat-tat-tat engine stereotypes. The torque is high, so acceleration is quite good (better than my 87 Saab 9000). The miracle is the gas mileage! The worst Ive had in 5 years is 41 mpg, while the best was 59.7 mpg on the highway in May 2002. Devoted use of synthetic oil and use of Amacos 47 centane diesel fuel has aided mpg. One quibble...the door handles are bad, but otherwise maintenance has been very cheap, and only for expected items (brake pads, scheduled timing belt replacement, etc.). Replacing the original Goodyear tires with Michelins improved performance. Cold weather has been NO problem at all.

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  Best Looking Wagon for the Money - 2002 Volkswagen Passat
  By Jascon - December 27 - 10:00 am

  The only annoyance has been a sound in the right dash connection area that I havent had fixed yet. Other than that its a good solid wagon.

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  Weekender - 2002 Volkswagen Eurovan
  By GRN - December 27 - 10:00 am

  We love our Weekender, and we use it hard. It tows our boat well in the summer, and is even better in winter than our 97 Passat GLX (we live on a pass in the White Mtn. Region with unusually extreme winter weather - 250"+ of snow per season). The brakes are fantastic, and the avoidance handling is far better than expected for a big, clunky, top heavy bread box.