1990 Volkswagen Passat CL review from Bulgaria

The dash panel has cracks.

Due entirely to my fault, a year after I purchased the car, the original water pump blew off and had to be replaced.

At 200,000 km, the back shock absorbers gave way and had to be replaced.

Otherwise, nothing major has gone wrong with the car so far.

The Passat is now 17 years old and has no rust whatsoever.

The interior - except for the few cracked parts on the dash panel - is still in very good shape.

Since it is a station wagon, it provides with a lot of space for luggage.

The car is very reliable. On many separate occasions I have made long journeys with it - from Normandy to Istanbul. I have also driven it down dirt roads and dry river beds on a number of occasions.

I can say one thing - the car is made to last.

The only problem I find with this car are the poorly engineered door handles (a very important detail that has somehow, unknowingly how, escaped the attention of the German constructors).