2012-2017 (NMS) Volkswagen Passat Pros and Cons

The North American version of the Volkswagen Passat has been around since 2011. A distinct model all of our own, the car got a facelift for 2016 that added updated technology and some new styling but was the same car underneath.

So after six model years, how do owners feel about their Passats? We fired up the Algorithmtron 3000 to find out what VWVortex community members have to say.

Cons

Handling: Some owners aren’t happy with the bigger, softer North American car. StlVdub summed it up like this: “Don’t get me wrong, I have really enjoyed this car. It’s been trouble-free, an absolutely perfect highway-cruiser and I still think it’s a sharp-looking car. While it is surprisingly quick, is just not fun at all to drive. I’ve grown pretty tired of the big, floaty boat feeling and the lack of feeling any kind of connection to the road makes me lose confidence while driving.”

Remote Start: Other owners aren’t happy with VW’s remote starter. In most cars, the remote start keeps the engine on until the timer runs out or the start button is pressed by the driver.

hbennick asks why the Passat is different: “When you unlock the doors after a remote start, it kills the engine. Is there a way to disable this? So frickin’ annoying”

Lack of Tech: In early cars, a lack of tech features frustrated owners. User jcme0557 summed it up: “no blind spot monitor, no lane change monitor, no big screen head-unit with dozens of apps interfacing, etc.”

Engine Soft Spots: There were also some reported drivability issues with the car. User charliemaxvw reported that the car was weak until 45 mph, and that the torque converter would cause the car to pull away from a stop extremely slowly. This caused problems in traffic. Fortunately, there was a fix.
“Just about everything I noted above disappeared within a few days of the ECM Learn. In Drive, that 35-45 mph blind-spot is still a little weak. But it’s clear the car is operating at higher rpms (around 2K, rather than the draggy 12-1500) and is already in the proper gear. It’s subjective, but I swear the much vaunted torque-converter disengage never happens. I’m always ready to pop into motion.”

Heater Core: Finally, early 2.5L four cylinder and TDI equipped cars had a manufacturing defect that could cause heater core failure. User BK Metz described it:

“Apparently the heater core has a manufacturing defect. Too much solder flux was left inside. It reacts with the coolant and creates a goo that plugs the heater core. As the heater core is a flat tube design, the tube openings are not much thicker than a credit card. It sounds odd that one side of the car would be hot and the other not, but the way the core is built into the dash and the way air is blown over it, if there is some flow through it, the driver’s side gets heat first. This can be serious as not only is the heater core a flat tube design, but so is the oil cooler and EGR cooler.”

Pros:

Active Safety Features: With the 2016 refresh, VW added many of the missing tech features. Like autonomous emergency braking. Just ask herkguy: “So recently I have had a couple of the new safety features auto activated and I was amazed by the performance. Driving along street at 30mph, lady pulls out in front but gets up to speed ok. Then must have realized she had gon the wrong direction and just puts on brakes and whips a left u-turn relight in front of me.

I started to swerve right but as I start to turn the wheel I feel the car rapidly decelerate and the collision screen came on in red on the mfd. Had I not done anything the car appeared to have stopped in time to avoid a collision.”

That sentiment was echoed by DZD, who was “impressed that it “saw” the sudden speed decrease of a car a few car lengths in front of me even when I wasn’t that close.”

Power Owners love the 280 hp and 258 lb-ft of the 3.6L VR6 engine.  13se said: “If you have to pass someone, and mash the throttle, it will make you smile every time.”

Yezhik agreed: “that Vr6 + DSG combo is just delicious.”

And the 1.8L turbo delivers great fuel economy if absolute power isn’t your priority.
Just ask user Roadglide: “Just returned from a 4K mile round trip to Michigan, went as high as 7200 ft and back down and averaged 39mpg for the entire trip

Size: The NMS North American Passat is larger than the car the rest of the world gets. Buyers like that extra space. In fact, the love of that space came up more than any other feature of the car.

Mpower 22 said “has a huge trunk, plenty of room in the back for carseats [sic].”

Core5 added that “my daughter is in a rear-facing seat and the space and accessibility is fine. It’s a big seat (Graco 4ever) and it fits with room to spare.”

Styling: Even the US market Passat kept a big dose of VW style. Or as PhthaloType put it, “clean, classy styling that resisted this decade’s trend for everything to look like a big, angry, robotic shark.”

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