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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  Good If You Dont Like Driving Much - 2016 Volkswagen Jetta
  By R.D. - April 26 - 6:37 pm

  First of all, Sport has nothing to do with it. "Sport" is an overstatement. If you performance and an engaging car to drive, get a GTI or GLI. I bought my 2016 Jetta Sport last January to replace my 2000 Audi A6 2.7t and boy do I regret it. The "Sport" model includes the same suspension setup featured in the GLI, fog lights, a lip spoiler and sport seats with more bolstering than your standard Jetta. All good things, but unfortunately the rest of the car doesnt match the persona that Volkswagen tried to get with the "Sport" trim. If you want to merge onto a highway with a speed limit of 70, good luck doing that safely. If you want to pass somebody on a highway at about 70, you arent going nowhere. The 1.8t is an absolute dog of an engine. No torque, no pickup and absolutely atrocious gearing. If you care, even in the slightest about performance the Jetta Sport is not the car for you. The five speed gearbox features nice, smooth, short throws. But thats about all its got going for it. The clutch has an excessively long travel, the engagement is horrible and its feather light and feels like its pushing away from you. Its also worth nothing that the reverse gear of this car does not have a syncro. What this means is that it sometimes wont engage into reverse properly and will grind occasionally when being put in reverse. This also means that the car cant be put into reverse while moving at all. Something that most cars nowadays have. Throttle application is uneven and not smooth and the turbo lag is annoying. The interior build quality is pretty horrible, expect plenty of squeaks, rattles and badly pieced together trim. Everything is hard, hollow plastic and everything from the speakers to the headliner will rattle at some point. One of the few redeeming features this car has is that you can get up to 45 miles per gallon highway. Thats pretty damn good.

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  Biggest Piece of Crap I have ever owned - 2006 Volkswagen Passat
  By k_brackney - April 18 - 6:11 am

  I bought this vehicle in Germany over a year ago. In the past year I had over 2600 dollars in repairs. Not routine maintenance, but repairs. It ate oil....there was never a leak, but the oil would disapear. The maintenance lights would appear magically after repairs were completed. I purchased the VAG COM diagnostic program to stem the cost of the regular repairs which were required for safe operation of this money pit. I was throughly disappointed that I sold my 06 Ford Focus. But I was able to unload this clunker to purchase a 2011 Chevy Equinox. I will never buy a foreign car again!

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  Worst car I have ever had! Lemon for sure - 2007 Volkswagen Passat
  By ajh2009 - April 17 - 8:13 am

  I read reviews on hundreds of cars before I purchased my used Passat Wagon. I read some negative ones but for each bad one there was a good one or two so I made the decision to become a VW owner. What a horrible Idea. My Wagon has been in the shop several times - currently for $4000 worth or repairs (not covered under warranty) Thank God I purchased the extended warranty or I would really be upside down in this car. Everything from the AC / injectors / Fuel Pump, Water Pump / Sun Roof/ You name it I have had to repair or replace it. I will never purchase a VW again. The problems I am having should be replaced - repaired at no cost because they are faulty equipment and design. Not my fault.

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  Dazed and Confused - 2009 Volkswagen Routan
  By DazedConfused - April 15 - 4:10 pm

  The 3.8L engine is horribly underpowered and the transmission is too anxious to find a home in 6th gear. Trying to accelerate to get on the freeway leaves me depressed as I watch the fuel gauge race to the left faster than the car gains speed. The ride is smooth and the entertainment features make a ride of any duration tolerable. The interior features are pleasant and the exterior looks eerily similar to the Dodge and Chrysler.

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  A costly piece of junk - 2003 Volkswagen Jetta
  By A german quality fan - April 14 - 10:00 am

  Jetta has lot of mechanical problems. We bought ours(brand new) in march 2002.Since then it has been in the dealers workshop 7 times for repairs. The car did really well for the first 2000-2500 miles. After these initial miles it has given us all sort of problems. It started with door rattling, followed by the left view mirror cracking, followed by complete failure of the audio system 2 times in a row(within 10 days) . Yesterday the drivers side window fell into the door and wont go up. Guys, think twice before buying this car.

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  Real let down!!! - 2002 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By badbug - April 8 - 1:00 pm

  When my wife told me she wanted a new beetle I was not to happy with that idea, but I said lets go take a look, 1st mistake. we go and find a really clean dark blue with auto, I was surprised on the room the little car had and the power the 2.0 kicked out. so we buy it 2nd mistake, the warranty still had about 1yr left not 1 problem until warranty runs out then all hell breaks loose 1st thing low fuel light comes on and stays on even with full tank $300, 3wks later air bag light pops on, ok I live with that for about 2 weeks until I have to get the battery replaced might as well fix all $485, 1wk water pump $600 now 5wks later EPC & check eng. light and running like crap afraid of this $$$$

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  Steer clear of this one!! - 1999 Volkswagen Jetta
  By hate_my_jetta - April 7 - 2:00 am

  After two year warrenty ended, I have poured dollar after dollar into this car. I only drive it about 11,000 miles per year. Over the past 6-9 months I have replaced the power steering rack ($1200), the catalytic converter ($900), all four brake pads and rotors ($700 because warning light never told me pads were low), both front windows have fallen off the tract (VW paid), replaced three different kinds of sensors ($800) etc. (Im running out of space...) Complete lemon. Others I know have had same problems.

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  Best car/worst car - 2006 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Scott - April 6 - 3:43 pm

  Bought my 2006 TDI new back in September 2005. Until last week, I couldnt give anything but high praises for the car and interior finish. Im a light driver and just recently turned over 86K miles. Always dealer maintained and it just completed its annual checkup about a month ago. Last week the car sputtered backing out of the garage and then had to get it towed into the dealer. My poor TDIs diagnosis: "On the initial diagnostic scan we found faults for fuel running rich in the oxygen sensors and mass air flow system. the vehicle was smoking and running in limp mode. Called tech line and was advised to remove valve cover and inspect for doming or for worn cam lobes - found lobes worn and tappets domed over. the camshaft is what pushes the tappets (cam followers) to move the valves in the engine. we were also advised to check fuel filter to make sure no oil is getting into fuel system. At this point to repair the vehicle the Camshaft, Tappets & Valve Cover Gasket while we have everything apart to complete those repairs it is also recommended to replace the timing belt & perform an intake carbon cleaning. the cost for the repairs including the initial diagnostic is $3838.00 plus tax. ". Needless to say Im stunned the engine failed at relatively low mileage. While the car has been kept in pristine shape, its not even worth $3.8K. The value of all VW diesels has taken a serious hit due to the emission scandal even though this model is not part of the recall. While VW headquarters was happy to listen to my concerns, they are unwilling to help with anything, and the dealer was not willing to offer any special incentives on a new VW for a person in this situation. The dealer would also not accept the 2006 as a trade in as they said the best I could expect was to donate it to charity and take the tax deduction. This car has never been wrecked, always garage kept and dealer maintained. Two weeks ago I would have said this is the best car Ive ever had and that VW was the best company to deal with. Ive changed my mind.

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  2009 Jetta problem vehicle - 2009 Volkswagen Jetta
  By Dave - April 5 - 6:43 am

  Our car has been in the shop 12 times this year, and continues to have problems. VW of America offered $1500 toward a new VW, or $500 for all the service visits. The fuel system and front suspension have been rebuilt, and new problems surface daily. This is a German car built in Mexico, and is of poor quality. Also, when it runs, during moderate acceleration, the front wheels are overpowered. This causes front wheel hop that shakes the dash and prevents forward progress. The chassis can not handle the turbo engine. On the highway, the vehicle is very loud, lots of road, tire and wind noise. Another point, the dealerships Do not stock parts. pass this car up.

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  Worst Car EVER! - 2003 Volkswagen Jetta
  By J. - April 5 - 4:30 am

  I have had nothing but problems with this car! The water pump, pistons, cylinders, locks, windows, suspension, (and the list goes on) have gone OUT on me numerous times!! I go to the mechanic at least 2 times a year, and average spending $400-$500 each trip. I hear a constant LOUD rattling sound when I drive on the freeway, and hear loud squeaking noises when i go over speed bumps, and make wide turns, & no one can fix it! I WOULD NOT recommend this car!