2022 Volkswagen Passat Reviews, Pricing & Specs

To memorialize the Passat's passing, Volkswagen rolled out a Limited Edition for the 2022 model year. It slots above the base SE and sporty R-Line trim levels in the Passat lineup and carries a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $31,570 including destination.

Only 1,973 examples of the Limited Edition exited the Chattanooga factory, a number commemorating the first year the Passat went on sale in Europe (the Dasher was the Americanized version). The 2022 VW Passat Limited Edition gets everything standard along with exclusive 18-inch alloy wheels, black mirror caps, and special badges. In addition, it is the only 2022 Passat available in a unique Racing Green paint color, as seen on the car used for this test drive. The other hues for the Passat Limited Edition are white, gray, and red.

Interior features on our test car included supple Mauro Brown leather upholstery. It matched the fake wood trim on the dashboard and contrasted nicely with the car's dark dashboard, carpets, and door panels. Special seat tags read "VW Chattanooga Since 2011" and "One of 1,973," while the rubber cupholder inserts appear to have a relief map of the Tennessee city molded into them.

Overall, the Passat looks upscale inside and out, especially considering its size and price. Though the design is more than a decade old, it has aged remarkably well. A freshening for the 2020 model year helped extend the Passat's shelf life, but this Volkswagen was aging more gracefully than most cars even before that.

Aside from the leather upholstery and a handful of thoughtful details, the Passat's interior is a mix of inexpensive plastics and outdated technologies. For example, the 6.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system looks like a postage stamp glued to the middle of the vast expanse of dashboard, and the small driver information display between the analog gauges appears positively archaic.

Nevertheless, the Passat's cabin displays modernity with its deftly integrated dashboard air vents and metallic detailing, while the subdued surface textures and tones add traditional European sobriety to the interior. It would be a fine place to spend time if it had a decent driver's seat.

When it comes to driving dynamics, the 2022 Volkswagen Passat is enigmatic. It floats around like a 1990s Buick and has all the passing power of a mid-60s hippie VW Bus. Yet, if you ignore its sedate behavior and hustle it on a country road, it reveals traditional German handling traits entirely at odds with how it acts in daily driving situations.

VW only offers a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the Passat. Don't get too excited, though, because the turbo engine generates no more than 174 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque, which is merely adequate in what is essentially a full-size sedan. A six-speed automatic transmission powers the Passat's front wheels and, in its normal driving mode, is in a big, fat hurry to upshift to conserve fuel. Previous generations of Passat offered 4Motion all-wheel drive (AWD), but it’s no longer available.

Thankfully, the turbocharged engine's torque curve rescues it in most driving situations. As a result, the Passat is acceptably powerful when commuting, running errands, or cruising on the highway. If only a driver is aboard, it hustles up hills with little effort. But when you want immediate power for passing, or you're on a short freeway on-ramp and need to get up to speed quickly, you'll wonder why VW couldn't be bothered to extract more giddyup from this powertrain.

You can always switch into the transmission's Sport mode, which holds engine revs a little longer to help make the Passat feel more responsive. The tradeoff should be lower fuel efficiency, but that wasn’t the case in our experience. According to EPA fuel economy ratings, the Passat should return 28 mpg in combined driving. Instead, we saw 30.7 mpg on our mountainous Southern California testing loop, even when using Sport mode for the twisty bits.

The Passat has an 18.5-gallon fuel tank, and it seems like you never need to stop at a gas station. Based on our observed fuel economy, the car could go more than 500 miles between visits to the pump. So if you hate refueling your vehicle, a Passat might be just right.

Volkswagen prioritizes the Passat's ride quality, and most of the time, the car feels like it is floating down the road. Even the Giti-brand tires say "comfort" on them. However, some combination of these tires and the Passat's suspension tuning drew our attention to a section of the evaluation loop that all other test vehicles travel without feeling busy like this VW.

Generally, the smaller and sharper the road surface anomaly, the more the driver is aware of it. On city streets at lower speeds, the Passat can feel downright jittery, and it's not just the suspension conveying that sensation. Impacts easily reverberate through the Passat's elderly vehicle architecture, and when we hit a pothole hiding in the shadows, the car felt and sounded cheap and flimsy.

We also noted inconsistent brake pedal feel and response. In a few situations, a light application of the brake pedal to initiate slight slowing in traffic or on the highway resulted in no braking action, followed by a sudden grab when pushed harder. That caused aggravation for both driver and passengers.

On the highway, the Passat is remarkably quiet. It boasts a low 0.28 coefficient of drag, which helps. Also, the engine is undetectable while cruising at speed. And the Giti tires were surprisingly silent on one stretch of granular freeway surface that usually causes significant road noise in most vehicles.

Nothing about how the Passat drives in typical situations suggests that it might be fun on a twisty mountain road. Still, in this environment, its traditional Germanic traits make themselves known. The car exhibits a flat cornering attitude, the Giti Comfort tires don't squeal or scrub, and the light, smooth steering proves reasonably quick and faithfully accurate.

Overall, the Passat's combination of unexpectedly predictable handling and outstanding outward visibility instill trust in a driver and make the car feel light, lively, and enjoyable to drive. It's too bad many Passat owners will never feel inspired to discover this on their own.

One hallmark of the Volkswagen Passat is its huge cabin. There is plenty of room for five adults, and everyone can stretch out in this car, enjoying the dual-zone climate control system. But, unfortunately, if you're a driver who likes to sit high for a good view out and to make it easier to get into and out of the Passat, you'll also feel like the seat is dumping you into the steering wheel.

The Limited Edition's front seats offer eight-way power adjustment. Two are for moving the seat forward and back, two are for adjusting the backrest, and two are for inflating the lumbar support. That leaves two for raising or lowering the seat. Unfortunately, you can't separately adjust the bottom cushion angle. So you can sit low with good leg support or sit high with no leg support.

This situation is a real shame because the Passat should be one of the most comfortable family sedans you can buy. But it's not—unless you're sitting in the back seat. Here, you'll find cross-your-legs levels of comfort, including more legroom than you need, an adequately raised rear seat cushion supplying excellent leg support, and a comfortable backrest angle. In addition, air conditioning vents and USB ports are present and accounted for, and VW even provides handy coat hooks on the roof pillars, perfect for a sport coat or jacket.

Storage space is good; many locations are lined with rubber to quell noise, vibration, and harshness. But not the door-panel bins, which are lined in hard plastic so that if you place certain items there, they'll slide and make scraping noises each time you brake or accelerate.

You can use the remote keyless entry fob to pop the trunk, which opens completely even though it's not power-operated. The Passat’s 15.9 cubic feet of trunk space is not a class-leading number, but it's not far behind other midsize sedans. Unfortunately, the trunk has no underfloor trays or side bins, so be sure to secure your groceries when taking them home. VW provides a way to shut the trunk lid without touching the grimy exterior paint, at least.

Living under a capacitive glass display that makes the 6.3-inch screen look larger than it is, the Passat's infotainment system is not as sophisticated as what you'll find in other Volkswagen models. However, it does come with standard App-Connect smartphone connectivity (including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), SiriusXM satellite radio, and Bluetooth that can support two paired devices simultaneously. Additionally, after the limited complimentary trial period ends, you can subscribe to any of the three Car-Net connected service plans, including access to a WiFi hotspot.

The Passat R-Line and Limited Edition add HD Radio and a navigation system with improved voice recognition. Volkswagen claims it offers "one-shot voice destination entry," but perhaps a better description would be scattershot. For simple commands, it works. For more complex, naturally spoken commands, you'll want to run App-Connect and put them through your smartphone's digital assistant.

These two trims also have a standard Fender premium audio system, which is excellent. In recent years, VW has moved away from offering Fender systems in its vehicles, which in our opinion, is a big mistake. The sheer clarity and range demonstrated by the Fender components make this sound system one of the best things about the 2022 Passat.

Like its infotainment system is outdated relative to other VW models, the Passat's safety features lag behind the IQ Drive technology you'll find in more modern Volkswagens.

Nevertheless, the base 2022 Volkswagen Passat SE does include standard forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic rear braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assistance, and adaptive cruise control.

Car-Net connected services include Family Guardian with alerts related to vehicle speed, driver curfew time, and driver geographic boundary passes. In addition, through the Car-Net Safe & Secure plan, the Passat comes with emergency assistance calling and automatic crash notification.

Upgrade to R-Line trim for automatic high-beam headlights. Limited Edition models also have adaptive headlights that help a driver see around dark corners, front and rear parking sensors, and a park-assist system to steer the car into parking spaces autonomously.

During our evaluation of the driver assistance features, the lane-keeping assistance system attempted to make inaccurate and unnecessary corrections often enough that we preferred driving the car without it active. Also, while reversing from a residential driveway but still relatively far from the street, the reverse automatic braking system slammed on the brakes as another vehicle approached from the side.

Otherwise, the Passat's systems worked with accuracy and refinement. It would've been nice if the reversing camera had curving guidance lines to show on the display. But, as a counterbalance, the adaptive LED headlights do a terrific job of illuminating the road ahead.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) agrees, giving the top-trim headlights the highest ”Good” rating to complement the ”Good” ratings in all crash tests. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) disagrees with that safety assessment. The NHTSA gave the VW Passat a four-star overall rating, with a mediocre three-star rating for frontal-impact collision protection for the driver and front passenger.

The 2022 Volkswagen Passat seems like a bargain, especially when considering its Carefree Coverage plan. It includes two free scheduled maintenance visits to the dealership, complimentary roadside assistance for three years, a four-year/50,000-mile warranty, and five years of basic Car-Net connectivity.

However, this car is priced low for a reason. We genuinely like the Passat for its compelling combination of style, size, equipment, comfort, cargo space, and efficiency. However, its wimpy engine, older technology, ancient architecture, and subpar NHTSA crash-test ratings are causes for pause.

At one time, the "Americanized" Passat model could qualify as the quintessential family sedan. Unfortunately, that's no longer true. And now that the Passat has gone out of production, that only matters if you're planning to get a used car, anyway.