Volkswagen Passat
Shares rank 6 of 8 cars by recommenders
Recommended for a diesel engine that goes over 1000 miles per tank and synchro AWD, though critics cite proprietary wheel and brake screws.
Recommended for a diesel engine that goes over 1000 miles per tank and synchro AWD, though critics cite proprietary wheel and brake screws.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 50%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Proprietary wheel and brake screws
“the Passat 3B and later platforms introduced proprietary screws for the wheels and brakes, so you weren't able to change them yourself”
Comment from 22 Dec 2025 on Hacker News “introduced proprietary screws for the wheels and brakes, so you weren't able to change them yourself”
Comment from 22 Dec 2025 on Hacker News
Other cars people recommend
The four most recommended other cars, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Camry | 25 | 8 | 76% | 9 | 6 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Subaru Outback | 10 | 8 | 56% | 5 | 7 yrs5 owners | — |
| Honda Accord | 8 | 4 | 67% | 5 | — | — |
| Volkswagen Beetle | 8 | 2 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
| Volkswagen PassatThis page | 5 | 5 | 50% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“easily the most annoying feature of this car”
“I'd buy a gen 2 or 3 jetta or Passat”
“Good engine and synchro awd.”
“a 1.8t VW Passat is a better tow truck”
“a diesel Passat will go over 1000 miles on a tank without trying”
“the fix seemed to cause some other issues, at least in my case”
“the Passat 3B and later platforms introduced proprietary screws for the wheels and brakes, so you weren't able to change them yourself”
“introduced proprietary screws for the wheels and brakes, so you weren't able to change them yourself”
“did not even let me change the cooling fluid myself because it is also used to cool the battery”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.