Used 2013 Volkswagen Passat Consumer Reviews
First VW, first diesel = Don't know why I waited!
Traded in a 2011 Rav4 Limited because the fit and finish (i.e. squeaks, rattles, road/wind noise) were terrible. I looked at countless vehicles and finally looked at the Passat. Once I read everything I could, scoured the reviews for any negatives (there weren't any) and convinced my wife that diesels aren't what they used to be, I took one for an extended test drive and was hooked. Fantastic fit and finish, little or no wind noise at highway speeds (75 to 80), solid "thunks" when the doors are closed and no odd noises from the cabin. Overall - Very happy and look forward to years of quiet, 40+ mpg drives. I'll post follow-up's every few months (as comments) for anyone interested.
Compares with cars that cost $10K more!
**UPDATE** This is an update to my original review posted below. Now that I have owned the car 2 1/2 years I can offer a "post-honeymoon" perspective. Overall I have to say that I am VERY satisfied with this car. I have driven it hard in L.A. traffic everyday for over 2+ years and it is holding up well. Unless you have driven in this type of traffic you cannot appreciate how this can wear down a car. The V-6 has plenty of power when I need to pass and the wide wheel base makes for a comfortable ride. Having said this, there have been some issues along the way that were all covered by the warranty but I felt I should still mention them. I should also mention that I bought the car with 8K miles as a VW Certified Pre-Owned which extended the warranty up to 60,000 miles. 1. 18K Miles, Fuel Door Stuck - For some reason the fuel door would not unlock and I could not put gas in the car. VW roadside assistance towed the car to the dealer and provided a loaner while this was being fixed. 2. 56K Miles, Fuel Sensor - This caused the check engine light to come on and was affecting the car's acceleration. VW repaired it and provided a loaner car while it was being fixed. 3. 58K Miles, Nav/Entertainment System Replaced - The Nav system would sometimes shutoff and reboot itself for no reason. This was an ongoing problem that I complained about multiple times at the dealership. They could not duplicate the problem and thought a software update would solve it but it did not. I was able to video this happening once and took the car to a different dealer. After seeing the video, they immediately diagnosed it as a hard drive problem and replaced the entire unit. I have had no problems with it since then. The only issue that some people may not like is the system does not read your text messages in the 2013 and 2014 models. I thought this was odd since it does everything else but I don't really miss it, and it was corrected on the 2015 model. Overall I am still very satisfied with the car and will probably give it to my son when he gets his license next year. **ORIGINAL REVIEW** I just bought a top of the line V-6 SEL Premium and I am loving it. I was looking for a luxury sedan with reasonable gas mileage and had driven almost everything under $45K. I was prepared to get the Cadillac ATS 2.0T Luxury with an MSRP of about $44K. I leased a new Passat for my wife back in '02 and remembered it was a reliable car so I thought I would stop at the VW dealer on my way to get the Cadillac. Needless to say I never made it to the Caddy dealer. This car blew me away with it's price and performance. The ride and interior space is comparable to the Mercedes E350 or Acura RL. For less than the price of a base model Cadillac ATS, I was able to get a fully loaded Passat V-6 SEL.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Seriously Consider this Gem of A Sedan
I am extremely thorough in my research and very picky when it comes to the car I want. I am a college student; however travel 25,000-30,000 a year for my job as an Ice hockey referee; I travel the midwest and east coast. This car thus far is awesome on road trips. Quiet, smooth, powerful tdi engine. 3 driving modes make this awesome to drive, while I am getting 43 mpg highway and 30 mpg city (not babying it @75 on the highway). I did replace the awful hankook tires with Continental extreme contact dws. The build design is great and you can tell the high quality, just watch for the rattles in which the dealer quickly fixed. If you want a fun to drive sedan with awesome mpg get this!
I booted my Audi A*L for this car!! I AM IN LOVE
I test drove the gauntlet looking for a replacement for my A8L looking for something that was sporty, smooth, comfortable, and would give me a more green environmental look. Face it the A8L is a gas pig at 18mpg and It did not fit with my new business model. GO GREEN. I drove the Prius, Leaf, Volt Eh not so much. I mean they are green but they just all feel tight like a smart car with a different flare. I did drive the Jetta Hybrid turbo gas electric and I really liked it! but too small felt like a sardine in a can. I am 6feet 250lbs. The Passat TDI SEL is a perfect car for someone who is used to driving a luxury car that wants to just do better things for the environment.
They almost knocked it out of the park
This the fourth diesel we've owned (2nd VW) and they just keep getting better. We bought this car after comparing it to the Honda Accord and Subaru Legacy. It, by far, was the most refined, quietest, smoothest, and most composed of the three. Surprisingly (to us) the Honda was a distant last. After 42,000 miles over 2 years, the car has been flawless. Mileage is consistently between 42 and 44 over a tank with 60% hwy / 40% city split. Open highway runs are typically in the mid to upper 40s. I've seen as high as 52 mpg. The DSG transmission is the mark by which ALL other transmissions should be compared with respect to smoothness of operation. I have never driven a car with a smoother shifting transmission than this one. Even when one watches the shifts, they cannot be felt; utterly imperceptible. It has the most room of any mid-size car, especially in the back seat. It handles well, and ergonomics, while not perfect, are very good. The diesel engine does take getting used to. One of my sons says it's "touchy". It's not, really; just behaves differently than most other cars. Pulling power is quite good thanks to the abundance of torque, though with only 140 hp one isn't going to win any stoplight races. Then again, that's not why one would buy this car in the first place. My quibbles with the car boil down to three items. First, the ride, while composed, can become somewhat harsh. The 50 series tires certainly don't help, but softening the ride slightly would make a big difference in my book. Second, some of the interior parts are on the cheap side. Not as bad as the crap Toyota uses, but they could be better, or at least made to "feel" better. Last, and by far the worst issue, is the infotainment system. It is unquestionably the absolute worst excuse for such a system ever put in a vehicle. While the radio sounds great, and the nav system is quite good, the system is so pathetically slow to respond to input it is maddening. Taking my time, I can back out of a parking spot and drive off before the back-up camera ever turns on. I can literally count the seconds it takes between pushing a button and the system taking action. I could go on about how bad it is, but I digress... Overall, the car had been outstanding. More reliable than a Honda we recently replaced, it has continued to be exactly what we needed. Update - We now have a bit over 52,000 miles on the clock. The car has remained trouble-free. The fuel economy of 41-43 mpg (average over a fill-up) is unchanged. We expect to put at least 100,000 miles on the car before replacing it. Of course, with the emissions debacle (grossly overblown in our opinion) in full swing, we really couldn't doing anything if we wanted to (which we don't) until whatever solution the eco-Nazis force on us is implemented. On the bright side of that issue, though, VW's Goodwill Package has effectively provided us with free maintenance for the next two years, and that will be about the time we would look at replacing it anyway. That makes this the least expensive car to operate we have ever owned. Update 2 - We had to stop driving the car about two months ago. Not because of anything wrong with it (it still runs perfectly), but because of the diesel settlement structure. We will be selling the car back to VW. It has a little shy of 59,000 miles on the clock, which is just below the threshold for a mileage deduction of the buyback price. While we won't recoup our full purchase price, we will be getting back a heck of a lot more than we could ever think of getting by selling it on the open market. it's too bad because it's a really good car despite some of its aggravating shortcomings (e.g. the lousy infotainment system).
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Extremely happy with my purchase
After reading many reviews and talking to mechanics, I decided to go with the Passat TDI. I started looking at the Jetta, but certain aspects with the Jetta I wasn't impressed with such as the single torson bar for the rear suspension. The Passat is just better built, plus it's built in TN. After looking at the different models and price, I decided to go with the SEL. This thing is loaded. I have taken it on a 1200 mile trip, averaged 43mpg @70mph avg. Only problem was a rip in the door panel. Dealer fixed it promptly. I only miss two options: HID's and heated steering wheel.
Bought for MPG - Love for the Great Quality
This is our first diesel car - and we love it! We were pleasantly surprised at the acceleration - at least as good as all of our previous cars. On our first tank we averaged 44.8 mpg about (80/20 highway/city) The ride is firm. The car absolutely hugs the road on turns. No rattles The SEL Premium has electronic seat adjustments and lumbar support on the driver's and passenger side - which is really nice. One caution - new in 2013 is the refueling guard. There is a flap over the gas tank which can only be opened with the correct size diesel car nozzle. Check inside the nozzle for a small bar. Of course the first time we tried to refill we were at a station with "truck" size nozzles.
First VW ever
My wife and I bought a 2013 Passat a few week ago and we love everything about it. We just switched from a 2004 Camry ( Great Car) but not as much fun to drive. We are long time Toyota fans but we feld this car had alot more to offer. We love this car (so far).
Excellent car
Good Fuel economy and roomy interior. Navigation, backup camera and onboard computer processor is too slow. I have had my eyes on this car for several years even before it was redesigned. Went with the 2013 Passat TDI SEL Premium mostly because it was the newest but also because it has the backup camera which was added safety for a home with small children. Unfortunately this is also the biggest disappointment as the processor in this car is so slow that I can start the car, put it in reverse, back out of the driveway and be headed forward down the street before the camera ever turns on to show me the street I am leaving behind. As a consequence this is Not a Reliable Safety Feature.
VW still has quality issues
A new billion dollar factory and still quality issues. My fuel door fell off in my hand! And to add insult to injury they told me that I had to pay to fix it because it was an "external influence!" And when I inquired as to what the external influence was the customer service representative replied, "Cold weather!" So I have to pay $300.00 to replace my fuel filter door because it got cold in Pennsylvania! VW got the engine right. Great mileage, quiet operation, starts quickly in cold weather. The DSG is responsive but expensive, it costs over $300.00 every 40,000 miles to service. Too bad their lousy attention to details like designing a fuel door that will won't fall off.