What’s it like?
A car as long-serving as the Volkswagen Passat almost needs no introduction, as it has been around across seven generations since the 1970s. The Mk6, sometimes referred to as the ‘B8’ is the predecessor to the current new model, and it still makes for a highly rewarding large family car ownership proposition.
Sold as a four-door saloon and a five-door estate, with an off-road-themed Alltrack version of the latter also available, the Passat makes for refined, comfortable and quiet transportation. Its contemporary rivals include the likes of the Opel Insignia, Ford Mondeo, Peugeot 508, Toyota Camry and Skoda Superb (to which the VW is closely related), but many of those have been discontinued entirely nowadays, whereas the Passat soldiers on. Therefore, you might even consider it a leftfield alternative to premium machines such as the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class.
Which model to go for?
As a car which blurs the lines between executive transport and a family chariot, and which was sold primarily through the later 2010s, the Mk6 Volkswagen Passat is most readily found on our used market as a turbodiesel, badged as the TDI. This came in two capacity sizes, which were a 1.6-litre unit and a 2.0-litre, and it is the latter that is far more common.
Of the three specifications of 2.0 TDI VW offered in this generation of Passat, due to taxation and running-cost reasons customers by far favoured the 150hp derivation, and a very fine motor it was too. This came with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch (DSG) auto and drove the front wheels only – apart from on the ultra-rare Alltrack estate, where it was paired to 4Motion all-wheel drive.
You may find either the 190hp iteration, or even the mighty BiTDI (twin-turbo) with 240hp, as both were offered in various models of the B8 Passat line-up, but they’re not commonplace. They will also be purely mated to the DSG and 4Motion AWD.
The 1.6 TDI, meanwhile, delivered 120hp and 250Nm, and comes with a manual gearbox and front-wheel drive only.
Petrol engines were offered in the Passat Mk6, but they were not taken up in great numbers here in Ireland. It’s the 1.4 TSI you’ll come across the most on the second-hand scene, most likely with 150hp. It’s OK, but the 2.0 TDI offers the richer all-round driving experience.
Later in its life, that 1.4 TSI formed the basis of the plug-in-hybrid (PHEV) version of the Volkswagen Passat. This was combined with an 85kW motor and 9.9kWh battery pack (later enlarged, from 2020-on, to 13kWh), for peak outputs of 218hp and 400Nm. That gave the Passat PHEV sporty acceleration, with 0-100km/h done with in 7.2 seconds, and so Vokswagen marketed it under the racier ‘GTE’ badging. Expect less than 50km of electric range from the 9.9kWh Passat GTE, and something like 55km from the later 13kWh model.
It is the Passat GTE which is the most-common variant on the used market, after the 150hp 2.0 TDI.
Does anything go wrong?
Although most of the issues reported by owners of the Mk6 Volkswagen Passat are minor and relate mainly to electrical niggles and glitches, there are plenty of them – so this car didn’t always perform that well compared to its contemporaries in customer satisfaction and reliability surveys. Also watch for emissions-control faults with the TDI models, such as blocked diesel particulate filters (DPFs) and the selective catalytic reduction (SCR). Other than that, Passats like this can be high-mileage, so check the maintenance history of any used example very carefully indeed.
Incredibly, there were no fewer than 17 recalls for this generation of Passat, which were for airbag housings injuring passengers during deployment; a possible brake-fluid related fire risk; loose engine covers; insufficient extinguished sand in the high-voltage safety systems; an incorrectly attached push-actuating rod on the brake booster; connection issues on the 12-volt battery’s positive terminal; the steering system’s belt-pulley securing ring; the sunroof cover potentially detaching with the vehicle in motion; incorrectly fitted or welded head restraints; weak brake discs on the front axle; rear-wheel-bearing housings possibly fracturing; airbags not activating in a crash; incorrectly tightened wheel bolts, which could result in the loss of a wheel; leaks in the fuel rail on larger-capacity petrol models; faulty pump pistons in the electronic stability control; a potential trapping scenario with the sliding/tilting sunroof; and front-wheel-bearing casings breaking.