The Passat is a long car, and that translates into a generous amount of interior space. Up front, a wide range of adjustment for both seats means it’s very easy to get comfortable and stretch out, and even with a tall person in the front, space in the rear seats is plentiful.
Access is easy and – unlike the sleeker Arteon – headroom is good enough for tall adults to sit comfortably without having to slouch. It’s not as good as in the Passat Estate, but four adults will fit comfortably in the saloon. A fifth will be fine for shorter journeys, but will have to straddle a large central tunnel and share the footwells with those in the outer seats.
There’s a good amount of storage in the back – pockets on the rear of the front seats and large door bins big enough for a large water bottle, while an armrest in the middle boosts comfort.
Open the boot and there’s a generous 586-litre load area that’s well-shaped and deep. It’s bigger than the boot in a Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport and Ford Mondeo, but trails the Skoda Superb’s 625-litre offering. The main problem is it’s more difficult to get to than all the others because it’s just the saloon bootlid that opens, not the rear window like its hatchback rivals, severely limiting its usability.
The rear seats fold to open up a total of 1,152 litres of space, but this is only useful for longer items rather than bulky items. But if you regularly need to load the car up like that, a saloon won’t be the type of car you’re considering. The Passat Estate is the better option here.
How safe is the Passat?
Five-star Euro NCAP safety rating
2019 facelift brought more safety kit
Plenty of driver assistance kit, too
First tested in 2014, the Passat scored a five-star safety rating and that still applies following the 2019 facelift. In fact, the mid-life tweaks brought in a raft of upgrades that included various safety and driver assistance technologies.
As standard, the Passat comes with a full suite of airbags – driver and passenger, driver’s knee, curtain airbags front and rear and a front side impact airbag. On top of this there are two Isofix points in the rear, tyre pressure loss indicator and a post-collision braking system that holds the brakes on in the event of an accident. This prevents the car from being shunted into another in front.
There’s also standard-fit lane-assist to warn you if you go to drift out of your lane (and then nudge you back across), parking sensors all-round and adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, working up to speeds of 130mph. The system also reads traffic signs and is able to adapt the system to whatever the prevailing speed limit is on the road.
As part of this system, Front Assist measures the distance between you and the car in front and features autonomous emergency braking. All of this tech is part of the standard-fit Travel Assist system.
The safety and driver assistance kit list can be bolstered with a selection of options that fall under what VW calls IQ Drive – the umbrella term for all driver assistance and safety tech. Extras include 360-degree cameras called Area View, IQ Light matrix LED headlights and a head-up display. There’s also a Trailer Assist system that reverses the car and trailer automatically using the mirror adjustment switch.
Basic equipment
The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Volkswagen Passat Saloon (15-21).
3x3 point rear seat belts
ABS
Alarm
Alloy wheels
Body coloured bumpers
CD
Driver`s airbag
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Isofix child seat anchor points
Lumbar support
PAS
Passenger`s airbag
Rear electric windows
Service indicator
Side airbags
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Traction control
Equipment by trim level
To view equipment options for a specific trim level, please select from the following list:
Equipment included on some trim levels
Air conditioning
Audio remote
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
DVD
Electric driver`s seat
Electric sunroof
Folding rear seats
Front fog lights
Full size spare wheel
Headlight washers
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
Remote locking
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
Bluemotion equipment
Bluemotion standard equipment
Air conditioning
Audio remote
Cloth seat trim
Folding rear seats
Remote locking
Space saver spare wheel
Bluemotion optional equipment
None available
GT equipment
GT standard equipment
Audio remote
Folding rear seats
Front fog lights
Full size spare wheel
Heated seats
Partial leather seat trim
Remote locking
Sat Nav
GT optional equipment
Electric sunroof
Headlight washers
GTE equipment
GTE standard equipment
Audio remote
Heated seats
Remote locking
Sat Nav
GTE optional equipment
Electric driver`s seat
Folding rear seats
Front fog lights
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
Space saver spare wheel
GTE Advance equipment
GTE Advance standard equipment
Audio remote
DVD
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Remote locking
Sat Nav
GTE Advance optional equipment
Electric driver`s seat
Electric sunroof
Folding rear seats
Front fog lights
Headlight washers
Partial leather seat trim
Space saver spare wheel
R Line equipment
R Line standard equipment
Front fog lights
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
R Line optional equipment
Audio remote
Climate control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric sunroof
Folding rear seats
Headlight washers
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
Remote locking
S equipment
S standard equipment
Air conditioning
Audio remote
Cloth seat trim
Folding rear seats
Remote locking
Space saver spare wheel
S optional equipment
None available
SE equipment
SE standard equipment
Air conditioning
Audio remote
Cloth seat trim
Remote locking
Space saver spare wheel
SE optional equipment
Electric driver`s seat
Folding rear seats
Front fog lights
Parking sensors
SE Business equipment
SE Business standard equipment
Audio remote
Cloth seat trim
Folding rear seats
Front fog lights
Remote locking
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
SE Business optional equipment
Air conditioning
Heated seats
SE Nav equipment
SE Nav standard equipment
Air conditioning
Audio remote
Cloth seat trim
Electric driver`s seat
Front fog lights
Parking sensors
Remote locking
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
SE Nav optional equipment
None available
SEL equipment
SEL standard equipment
Air conditioning
Audio remote
Electric driver`s seat
Front fog lights
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Remote locking
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
SEL optional equipment
Climate control
Euro NCAP Rating – 5 stars
The Volkswagen Passat Saloon (15-21) was tested by Euro NCAP in 2014 and was awarded a 5 star overall rating.
This overall rating is calculated from the following individual ratings:
Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.
The safety ratings are determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by Euro NCAP.
These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.