Faults:

The weak suspension can't take British roads, so required lots of replacement parts.

Clutch wore out, but that is to be expected.

Tailgate handle needed taking apart and cleaning to work again.

Used a lot of engine oil; apparently normal.

A/C needed gassing.

General Comments:

Like most VWs, overrated. Build quality actually not all that, and not as rattle free as the previous car, a 3 year older and 30k more miles Vectra!

The handling is poor, very soft, and the ESP cuts in way way too soon. Despite that, the ride wasn't brilliant either; unladen it was thumpy and rough, and fully loaded it was spongy and wallowy. Maybe new shocks would have fixed this, but hey.

The engine consumed oil as if it was being burnt, but apparently that's normal for the 20v engine. For a modern 5v engine design, power and economy was down on rival models. Really suffered fully loaded and MPG was poor generally.

It was huge in the boot though, and we did load it fully once and it was incredible what we packed in, but the rest of the time the car was so tedious as to be invisible!

The blue dash lights look good, but gave me sore eyes after a few hours of night driving.

Surprisingly good stereo, really impressive for standard kit.

The very complex front suspension is quite weak and expensive to fix correctly. Also all engines are belt driven and all models have dual mass flywheels, so can be pricey to keep going if you need to go to a garage.

The only advantage it has is the badge on the nose; other cars are far better to drive and own.

Faults:

Water coolant reservoir drained.

Front left CV-joint knocking when turning left.

General Comments:

This car introduced me to the world of diesel engines, and I'll never go back to petrol.

Take off power is excellent, and the handling on the roads after putting on a set of alloys with hard wearing tyres, has made the drive smoother.

The economy is second to none for the age, mileage and size of the car - at my last calculation it is doing 55.4 mpg.

The biggest plus for this car is the excellent comfort from every seat while on the move.

Faults:

Was impeccably reliable until about 70,000 miles then the following in the last 14k (all out of warranty:

Clutch judder (common fault and nearly £800 to fix)

Have had to replace almost the entire front suspension due to knocks, creaks and clonks over bumps. Apparently, 70,000 miles is good going for front suspension on a Passat!! Nice to know these things when you're paying a big bill.

Water leaking into the car because of a blocked drain channel (design fault and common problem)

Alarm developed a mind of its own (common problem caused by the water getting into the car)

Inside edges of rear tyres scrubbing (worn bushes, another common problem)

Temperature gauge "quits" after about 20 minutes of running. Switching the ignition off and on again cures it. For another 20 minutes.

Pipe popped off the intercooler reducing boost to zero. This car can barely move its own weight when that happens. Oh, this is a common problem also.

General Comments:

Great car in many ways. Classy, comfortable, lively, economical, refined and good looking (in my opinion)

Was the model of reliability for 70,000 miles. Didn't have to so much as replace a bulb. Sadly, once it got to 70,000 miles it was like it had been pre-programmed to self destruct.

Had I followed the "offical" VW dealer route for all of the above repairs, I would have spent over £2,000 on unscheduled repairs in the last year. By using independents, I managed to get it down to half that, but still appalling on a supposed quality product.

The disinterest and rudeness of VW dealers has to be experienced to be believed.

I want rid of it, but having just spent a grand on it, I want to get my money's worth. I still really like driving the car, but I don't trust it any more.

The least reliable and most expensive to maintain car I have ever owned, and I have owned two Alfasuds and a Rover SD1!