Faults:

So far the reverse gear switch failed (common problem), engaging the rear parktronic permanently, which is not very nice when sitting in city traffic (constantly beeping).

Also a leak of fuel (diesel) from the tandem pump, lead to an antifreeze leak from the breather hose in the rear end of the engine - turned out be a common problem for this engine as well (1.9 TDI-PD, 130hp).

General Comments:

I bought that car for long journeys with my family (4 fully grown).

Lots of space inside and in luggage compartment! (Passat Variant)

Nice fuel economy for 4 wheel drive car - around 6-6.3/100km with normal speeds round 110-120km/h.

Handles substantially better than a front wheel drive Passat! Adorable handling on snow (4motion IN this car relies on Torsen diff, which in my own opinion is much better than the Haldex)

Build quality is on a high level.

Faults:

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.

General Comments:

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).