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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  Stay away... Dont buy this car!!! - 2009 Volkswagen Routan
  By baseball33 - December 5 - 10:51 am

  This was my first VW and my last. From the moment I bought this van I have had it in the for repairs. Or should I say I take it in for repairs but the van is never fixed. The sliding doors are extremely damerous. My chidlren are scared to get in & out. It hit my arm and let a nice bruse. Brakes and roaters have been replaced three times and still do not work right. Power seats have a mind of their own. And the paint job is horrible, one little bump the paint falls off. Spoiler has had to be completely re-painted. Now it doesnt start all the time. Wow. I dont have enough characters to explain what is all wrong. VW customer service isnt much help, suggested buy new VW van. No thank u

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  Great decision - 2002 Volkswagen Passat
  By Wirespy - December 5 - 10:00 am

  Originally, we werent too interested in buying VW even though we enjoyed 4 different VWs over the years. I checked out BMW and Volvo and finally put some money down on a new Nissan Altima SE (260HP Manual) which would be a month wait when I decided to do keep looking around. I heard that VW doubled their warranty and decided to check out the Passat merely for its size and look. As soon as my wife and I climbed into the car we looked at each other and smiled. Needless to say, we bought it almost on the spot and havent looked back!

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  none - 2002 Volkswagen Passat
  By armen - December 5 - 10:00 am

  all ican say that ireplacedE320 for passat glxV6 and idont miss anythig .its the best car for the mony!!

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  Turbonium! - 2001 Volkswagen GTI
  By CDN20VALVE - December 5 - 10:00 am

  I love my 2002 180hp GTI! I switched from a Sunfire GT to a VW, and I never looked back! The VW is a much more capable car in every way! No other car in its class can compete with it. I just came back from a camping trip, where I turned my German cruise missile into a stationwagon (folding down the rear seats). We carried everything, and people were amazed at how much we could fit in the GTI! Did I mention it was very fast?

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  Well See - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By Jae - December 5 - 10:00 am

  2002 GTI fully loaded. Problems from the day one. The "Brake" light blinks with warning sound randomly. I first took it to Gilboy VW in Allentown didnt do anything and when I told them problem didnt go away they didnt even asked me to bring the car back. They really sucked in service. They even messed up my radio treble knob. it was keep coming off I told them to fix and all they did was glue them back together and not alighned. I took it to Lehigh Valley VW twice and first they topped off brake fluid. problem still persist.. Second time they adjusted parking brake switch. no Its been almost a week.. Ill have to see if the problme ever come back.

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  poor review - 1999 Volkswagen Jetta
  By boo 4 jettas - December 5 - 10:00 am

  The volkswagen jetta i purchased has given me problems after 2 months. several others who own a jetta has complaints as well. customer service as well as the service dealers are never helpful. my car is always in the shop. one major thing goes wrong every few months. they can never establish what is exactly wrong with the car. i will never purchase a volkswagen again.

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  Good commercials, bad car! - 2002 Volkswagen Jetta
  By SaminNJ - December 5 - 10:00 am

  I have had nothing but problems with my 2002 Jetta 1.8T. It looks very good, is fun to drive(when it goes into drive!) But has so many problems in the first two months, that I would strongly urge anyone considering buying one to really reconsider. I can not put my car into drive directly, have to go into 3rd or 4th gear and then sometimes it will go into drive is the largest of the problems.

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  Punches above its weight - 2012 Volkswagen Passat
  By caesara - December 4 - 1:38 pm

  Decided on Passat as best option among mid-size sedans with a manual option. Others with manuals only did so with uninspiring entry-level trim. Also like the SE/non-sunroof combination as I rarely use sunroofs and they reduce headroom. Looked at upscale sedans with manuals (BWM 5-series, Acura TL), but Passat ticks most of the boxes, and I have other uses for the cash. German engineering with made in the USA is a plus. So far (5 mos, 6k miles), very pleased in a variety of situations (commuting, kid hauling, nights out). No problems with build quality or otherwise. Black on black, with the style of the car, has a classic look that gets complements. Zehr gut!

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  Transmission is a disappointment - 2017 Volkswagen Passat
  By Mike Gordon - December 3 - 10:22 pm

  A decent car except for the Japanese automatic transmission. I owned a 2009 and 2015 Jetta TDI with the DSG transmission and am extremely disappointed with the transmission in the 2017 Passat SE. The upshift from 3 to 4 and the downshift from 5 to 4 are jerky and noisy, unlike the DSG transmission of my two previous Jettas. The jerk and noise is especially noticeable when driving normally at the speed limits in small towns but not noticeable when accelerating more aggressively with the gas peddle when getting up to highway speed. I would not buy this car if you love the smoothness of the DSG transmission in prior VW models. None of the Passat SE models had DSG when I was buying and I did not notice the difference when test driving, so I bought the car assuming that the 6-speed automatic Japanese transmission would be OK. I was wrong. The other minor annoyance is this car does not have park assist (which I dont care about) but I frequently get a notification on the screen that there is no park assist. Why would I want to know this when I dont have it? I will be trading in this car when VW decides to add DSG to the Passat SE line. The only model that has DSG at this time is the gas guzzling Passat SEL and the tradeoff isnt worth paying royalties to oil companies that have inflated prices at a time of historically low demand for fuel.

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  Get a manual - 2005 Volkswagen New Beetle
  By Sarah - December 2 - 12:26 pm

  After reading some of these reviews, Im not surprised that people had a lot of problems with the automatic transmission. My second VW was an automatic and I had to replace the transmission at 60K miles. Instead of letting the lease run its course, I got a great deal on my Bug Convertible. Its a manual transmission and have experienced NONE of the problems that my last VW had. The car is fun and sporty. Not too fast, but I drive like an old lady anyway. I also dont commute for work so my mileage is way low. I would recommend this car to anyone thats willing to buy manual, makes it even more fun.