Volkswagen Passat long-term test: report 2

The car VW Passat 1.5 TSI eHybrid 204 DSG Life | Run by Max Eldeston, senior photographer

Why it’s here To see if the Passat’s reputation for comfortable and spacious transport endures in its latest generation

Needs to Function as a mobile office, have space for all my photography kit, and be comfortable enough to spend long hours at the wheel

Mileage 4925 List price £43,335 Target Price £43,335 Price as tested £45,160 Test economy 58.3mpg Official economy 755mpg 

20 February 2025 – Hot and cold

Eight of the 10 best-selling cars in the UK last year were SUVs, and having just stepped out of a pick-up truck, I can understand why many people like the high-up driving position such cars offer. However, I’m also enjoying being a bit lower in my Volkswagen Passat, because it’s proving to be a great place to spend time.

It helps that the seats are supportive, with a wide range of adjustment. And then there’s the massage function – something that’s standard on every trim and really welcome when you’ve spent a couple of hours behind the wheel.

I’m also a fan of the Passat’s infotainment screen, which can quickly be customised so that the features you use most often are easily accessible. At the moment, for example, I have the first set of widgets geared for navigation and communication, while swiping left reveals a second set for monitoring my car’s battery health and efficiency. The integration with Apple CarPlay is seamless, too, meaning I can keep in touch with my colleagues via WhatsApp.

Nothing’s perfect, though, and in the Passat it’s the lack of physical climate controls that I find most irritating. In the Ford Ranger Raptor that I ran previously, there were chunky physical controls to adjust the temperature, which meant doing so on the move – or indeed, while wearing gloves – was an easy job. In the Passat, by comparison, I need to either drag my finger along a touch-sensitive slider, or ask the car’s voice control system to change it for me. And, so far, both methods have been rather hit and miss.

I’ve also been stumped by Volkswagen’s in-car shop. As is becoming increasingly common, the idea is that I pay for the features that I want only when I want them, thus lowering the cost. However, when my car comes with those massaging seats, it feels odd not to have them heated as well. 

I can activate heating for £8 per month, or £81.90 per year, via the car’s touchscreen or smartphone app, or pay £329 to unlock the feature permanently. It just feels a bit odd to pay for my car, then pay for bits of it again. At the moment, I’m enjoying heated seats on a 30-day free trial.

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