Category: Volkswagen

About 20 American journalists and analysts had a chance to drive the Volkswagen XL1 at the Autostadt near Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. Only 20 of the planned 250 vehicles have been completed to date and five were on hand for our drives. A Volkswagen engineer guided each drive through Wolfsburg and even included a short autobahn blast hitting the car's top speed limited to 160kmh (about 99mph).

Volkswagen Passat wins AutoPacific's Ideal Vehicle Award for Most Ideal Premium Mid-Size Car.

Volkswagen Golf wins AutoPacific's Ideal Vehicle Award for most ideal Compact Car

The top satisfying Premium Mid-Size Car is the all-new 2012 Volkswagen Passat. That Volkswagen can pull off this feat in its first year of an all-new design of a car assembled in an all-new assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee is remarkable. It normally takes a couple of years to fine tune the process. The owners of the new Passat gave the car class-leading satisfaction ratings in 21 of 48 attributes that contribute to AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Award.

Owners of the Volkswagen GTi give the car top satisfaction marks in its class. GTi owners gave the GTi top satisfaction ratings for 29 of the 48 attributes contributing to AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Award research

Owners of the all-new Volkswagen Beetle give the car top ratings in twenty of forty-eight attributes in AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Award research. The owners of the Beetle give the car high marks for characteristics that enhance their driving involvement and also make the car “new” just by glancing at it. Volkswagen deserves an “Outstanding” rating in its remake of the iconic New Beetle from a decade ago.

Owners of the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan Compact Crossover SUV give the vehicle top ratings in sixteen of forty-eight categories in AutoPacific’s 2012 Vehicle Satisfaction Award research. Owners give the Tiguan top ratings for...

When was the last time you can honestly say that you’ve driven a full-size car with 140 horsepower and it has been more than adequate?  Maybe the 1986 Ford Taurus with the venerable Vulcan V6?  Well, I was given the opportunity for some seat time with a 2012 Passat TDI clean diesel and it is Volkswagen’s newest sedan to hit American soil, err, actually be built on American soil.  While the styling may not be anything to get excited about at first glance; like a jelly donut, it’s what is inside that counts.

There are a few Volkswagen models that seem to resonate highly with women.  One was the ‘New Beetle’ that was an instant hit.  Maybe it was the flower pot?  Maybe it was the cartoonish styling?  The second was the Volkswagen Cabrio.  I hate to stereotype here but I’m going to.  The Cabrio was a chick’s car.  An anemic powertrain and powder puff looks had me thinking back to the last time I rode in one in college.  Oh and that picnic basket look was just a major eyesore.  Urban Dictionary even calls the Cabrio the Bitch Basket.  It was embarrassing, noisy, and not something I wanted an encore of.  So, is the Eos an improvement over the defunct Cabrio with better styling, powertrain, and design or is the Eos still the [...]

In car design, the redesign of an icon is always a challenge. The 2012 beetle, in showrooms this October, will be a test of just how far styling changes and overall sophistication can take a vehicle that’s original appeal was its retro character.