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Used 2015 Volkswagen Passat Consumer Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
78 reviews

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4 out of 5 stars

Great family car, love the excellent mpg

Ed from San Jose, 01/17/2018
updated 01/21/2020
2015 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE 4dr Sedan w/Sunroof (2.0L 4cyl Turbodiesel 6AM)
13 of 13 people found this review helpful

Purchased this car after the recall of my Jetta TDI . I upgraded to the Passat because I wanted more space and the Passat delivered. I miss my manual drive and wish the Passat came with Manual and a sunroof. Because the manual drive did not have sunroof I went with Automatic. I live on a steep hill and I use the Automatic with downshift option when climbing this hill in particular. The fuel economy is terrific and I get 40mpg with normal driving. I highly recommend. The passat has a backup camera which I use daily to assist in parallel parking outside my home. It is a great car and I highly recommend. I take to the mountains here in CA to go skiing and the car performs well climbing into the mountains and handling on the winding roads. We use the heated seats on cold days. The back seat and trunk are very roomy. Bluetooth and sd card on stereo get a lot of use. When I go to the oil change places they never have the oil filter for passat tdi. I order replacement oil filters and other filters on amazon without problem. I have 80k miles so far and no major issues whatsoever.

Safety
4 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
4 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

TDI for Life

JDM, 06/01/2019
2015 Volkswagen Passat TDI SEL Premium 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbodiesel 6AM)
12 of 12 people found this review helpful

2015 TDI SEL Premium, Black. Bought it with 18K miles after the fiasco. It is German Engineering which most either love or can live without, yet at a price greatly reduced from Audi, yet with many of the high $ fun stuff packages. I fall into the former category. Fun and reliable. VW dealer oil change for the TDI with fuel filter is $84, every 10K miles. Timing replacement spec'd @ 120K, VW dealer estimated @ $500. Spec sheet says 30 town and 42 Highway; with 50K miles on the car, I am getting right at both or a shade higher. Love the ride. Only slight mod I made is an upgraded set of Yokohama Low Pro tires one size larger than OEM. I like the DSG with its Normal mode/Sport mode and then shift lever to right for the manual option. The car interior..i.e. audio system is simple and the Fender audio system is a favorite of my teenage sons! And talk about roomy! Again, I paid twice this price for wife's Acura and it feels like a compact compared to this.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

Best Choice in Mid-Size Sedan Class

William, 02/14/2016
2015 Volkswagen Passat Limited Edition 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Fantastic car in every way. Styling, ergonomics, performance and value. Bought my 2015 Passat Limited 5 months ago. Just clocked 6K on the ODO. This car is everything and more than expected in a reasonably priced German engineered sedan. Obviously, long term experience is yet to be seen, but so far it's looking great. Overall I'm getting an average 28MPG, and that's with a 60 mile round trip commute in heavy traffic five days a week. I bought this car brand new for $19,995 and drove it off the showroom floor. I've owned several cars that cost 2x-3x as much and I am very pleased with the overall quality of the Passat. You can't go wrong with this one. It is also quite fun to drive!

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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4 out of 5 stars

VW paid me to buy another one

Fred Brown, 08/05/2018
updated 08/06/2020
2015 Volkswagen Passat TDI SE 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbodiesel 6M)
25 of 28 people found this review helpful

I've driven diesels since 1983, and was still driving the Mercedes I bought in 1988 in 2012 because they weren't bringing anything I wanted to the USA. Because the car was a stick shift, still looked near-new with 297,000 miles on it, someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse on a car that was getting seriously outdated technologically. I checked the diesels available, including VW, and soon after bought a Jetta TDI 6M because the dealer called me with a bargain offer. Someone loved their Jetta TDI so much, they traded it after only 10 months for a similar Passat. Price was great. And...I liked it too, but kept it and just bought a 2014 Passat TDI 6M in addition. REALLY loved that car, but in Spring 2018 VW decided the few hundred stick-shift Passat TDI's were too hard to write new software for, and notified me it had to be sold back to them. So I located an auto broker who had just bought two trailer loads of VW's from the company, and two of them where 2015 TDI 6M's one with very low mileage when it was "sequestered". Stick shifts weren't popular in his city, and he offered it to me for over $10,000 less than VW had paid me for my 2014. The car has the new "Euro 6" diesel, which meets US and European emissions limits honestly. Some of the interior has been cheapened a little, and I swapped many switches, the seats, interior lighting, and some trim, from my 2014 to the 2015 before selling it back to VW. They said they didn't care. Driving it home the 350+ miles from the broker, on mostly Interstate with the cruise set on 82 mph, and about 80 miles of rural 2-lane, I got 54.9 mpg. That's about 3 mpg better than my 2014 with the older engine (which is the same as the one in my Jetta TDI, which has been trouble-free at 95,000 miles). With its 240 ft/lb of torque as low as 1,500 rpm it has ample freeway acceleration, its ride is superb, handling excellent for a FWD car (I own and drive sports cars), and as everyone notes, passenger and luggage space is astounding. The dimensions and body shell are about identical with the Audi A6, yet the Passat gets 2+ extra inches of rear leg room, without giving up trunk space or front passenger space. How?? I have not had to test the stability control on this car, but it is essentially the same as on the Jetta TDI - and I HAVE tested that: cresting a slight to an overpass at 75 mph in the Interstate, traffic was at a complete standstill due to an accident, and in the half-second it took me to realize the situation, I also noted there were several chain-reaction rear-end collisions right in front of me as a result. Knowing I had stability control, I jammed on the brakes, steered onto the left shoulder, right wheels on asphalt and left wheels on grass which sloped steeply left to a drainage channel in the center of the median as the Interstate sloped downward from the overpass I'd just crossed. And doing still over 50 mph, the car did not swerve, did not slide down the hill and overturn, it simply juddered a bit and stopped. beside about the 3rd car in the line. And, as the car behind me hit the car I had been behind. You can tell I think VW has done a good job on the stability control's logic. I don't really expect this Passat to be "nearly new" as it nears 300,000 miles like my last Mercedes was. That was a car designed to be "the European/world taxi" as well as a nice passenger car, and there are many, many in Europe with over 2 million miles. But the last of VW's TDI's with the 2015 Euro 6 motor they currently use there (and the most popular motor in Europe in their larger cars) is a fine car, made in Chattanooga TN thought it may be, with the motor shipped in and installed. They haven't used the diesel in the US in 2017 or 2018, but the new[ish] turbo4 gasoline engine does a great job, has almost the power of the diesel, and since you probably like automatic cars instead of the stick shifts I use exclusively, you'll find the Passat an amazing bargain. A big, comfortable, great handling, economy car. Say what?! Update 08/05/2020. I’ve continued to be happy with this car, getting 39-41 mpg around town and 53-54 mpg on Interstates. I appreciated being able to twice make a 700 mile trip without having to refuel, needing only a picnic lunch and mask (restroom!) to stop at rest areas prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic. No mechanical issues other than a major clutch job I knew would be needed the day I bought the car - the first owner clearly didn’t usually drive straight shift cars. It took a bit of of the $10,000 “discount” (see above) but not too much. Comfort, spaciousness, road noise suppression, still amaze me for the price range. And my worries about repairs to a rare Euro 6 diesel have faded as VW has not reduced their use in all other markets, with diesels continuing to be in 3/4 of their cars outside the USA.

Safety
4 out of 5 stars
Technology
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

A Ride I'm Proud to Own

Walker, 12/28/2016
updated 06/28/2019
2015 Volkswagen Passat Limited Edition 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
14 of 15 people found this review helpful

Before purchasing the '15 Passat, I'd only driven pickups, but after moving out on my own following college graduation, I'd noticed my F-150 was going to be tough to afford. I made the plunge to get this wonderful car in October of 2015 because of the incentives available for it, special financing, and the features coupled with the $25k sticker. I chose black exterior and interior, and added tinted windows. I’m thoroughly pleased that I’ve decided to go with the VW Passat Limited Edition, even after 35k miles (About 2.5k per month). I was skeptical at first about the dinky 1.8L TSI that came with this package, but it doesn’t disappoint. The breaks are superb and reliable. Anyone who has DD’ed for me has commented on them. What’s even better is that they’re not so sensitive that they jar the car to a stop. The top of the pedal push is a little break, the bottom of the push is a LOT of break – as it should be. The handling in this thing will make you feel like you can stick to any corner or fly over an interchange at 85 mph until the traction control immutably kicks in and reminds you that you’re in a sedan and that you’re foolish for mistaking your VW for an F1. Corning and high-speed driving on Texas’ 80+ mph toll roads feels relaxed and controlled with the electronic power-steering (one of my favorite parts about this car). The transmission is nothing special, but includes a tiptronic mode and a sport mode with are both fun. The ride took me some getting used to. The seats are a little stiff, and there’s not a whole lot of extra padding in them like Nissan’s Zero-Gravity seats. But I’ve grown to like these seats, and I’ve even had a coworker who’s a car guy comment on their comfort. They are heated and can practically lay flat fully reclined. Anyone sitting behind me (I’m 5’10”) has had plenty of room, even abnormally large humans. Engine or other passive noises are inaudible at cruising speeds, and road noise is minimal for a sedan with this price tag. I don’t have to yell at my passengers to have a conversation. The suspension is firm as you’d expect from a European car, but there isn’t any obnoxious vibration radiating into the cab from the surface below the tires. The interior is another one of my favorite things. The trunk is “cavernous” (quoting one of my buddies), and the interior is simple – but not stripped-down. This trim doesn’t have the extra steering wheel controls, climate control AC, a sun roof, or advanced options in the instrument display screen, but the push-button start, quality materials, touch-to-unlock door handles, and touch-screen infotainment system make you feel like you haven’t really made compromises at all to get to the price point. It even comes with an amplified 8-speaker sound system which isn’t bad at all. The info panel in the instrument cluster includes a data readout for odo, mpg (instant and average), trip, mph, and miles to “E”. It will even show your current cruise control speed setting which can be adjusted at 1 mph integrals. The door panels feature a nice soft (vinyl maybe?) leather-ish material underneath the window, a silver hard plastic accent piece, metallic latch, leather around the door handle, and textured plastic everywhere else. The dash board follows a similar layout with the soft leather-ish material on top followed by the silver accent piece and textured plastic. Very few parts of this interior feel cheap. To-date (6/2019, 90k miles), I’ve spent $2,700 on regular maintenance, $600 on tires, and $200 for a battery. Haven't had to replace anything else on the vehicle. Lastly, I moved to this car for day-to-day affordability more than anything, and that’s where it’s really delivered. I was paying nearly $750 a month for the note, insurance, and gas to drive my old truck. This car, which is 10 years newer, costs me no more than $550 a month. My commute is about 75% highway, and I’ve averaged 33 mpg (calculated at fill-up). My best road-trip average was 36.6 mpg. I financed at .9% interest for 72mos, put $2.5k down, and lumped in $3k in negative equity from the truck. This brought my total to about $22.7k. Now, I owe about $18.5k on the car, and Edmund’s private party sale value is about $13k. Rats, I’m upside-down on yet another car. It de-valued almost 8k (35%) in one year. But for some reason I don’t care. I love this car. Literally every new person that rides in this thing remarks on how nice it is. It makes them talk about how they wish they had a German car like mine. This car doesn’t BEG for attention, it passively draws attention to itself. The conservative-yet-timeless black and chrome exterior, and simple-yet-stunning interior say “hello, I’m adult enough to worry about the things that matter”. As a recent college-grad trying to make it in the professional world, what more could I want?

Safety
4 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
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