How reliable are Volkswagens? Here’s what Consumer Reports says – Jalopnik

Volkswagen is one of the oldest and largest car manufacturers in the world. For nearly nine decades, the brand has seen the early dominance of the Beetle, and its rise as an automotive giant through the acquisitions of Audi and Porsche, and, more recently, Dieselgate. VW’s modern car range includes compact cars, SUVs, crossovers and electric vehicles like the Volkswagen ID Buzz, which has the best vibe of any new car on sale. Within this wide range of cars, specifications and features vary – but how reliable are Volkswagens in general?

According to one Consumer Reports (CR) 2025 Reliability Survey ranking 26 different major brands, Volkswagen ranked 16th. The Golf GTI is the most reliable model in the current VW range, while the compact Taos is the least reliable. These figures place VW slightly below average. RepairPal ranks VW’s reliability ratings at 3.5 out of 5.0, putting it 12th out of 32 different brands. These numbers tell you something, but not everything. Individual cars can perform very differently, so be aware: choosing the right VW model is important.

The ratings CR provides are based on real experiences from owners over the past 12 months. Specifically, CR collected data on 380,000 vehicles and divided that data into 20 different problem areas, including the engine, transmission, in-car electronics, body hardware and EV components. According to CRthe Taos is “less reliable than other cars from the same model year.” However, it’s not all bad reviews for Volkswagen.

RepairPal is an independent automotive data company that bases its reliability ratings on millions of real-world repair invoices, historical statistics and predictive data modeling. Based on their ratings, the Jetta, Golf and Passat are “above average” in reliability, while the Tiguan and Golf GTI are “average.” To complicate matters further, the picture shifts slightly when we look at used cars. In a separate 2025 CR survey of used car reliability, Volkswagen ranked 13th out of 26 brands.

That placement isn’t a complete game changer, but it’s a bit better than VW’s new-vehicle rating. In another hit for VW, a reliability study emerges JD power which tracks reliability ratings for cars up to three years old, placed Volkswagen at the bottom of all brands, with an average of 285 problems across 100 vehicles. However, the VW Jetta’s reliability is rated “Great”, while the Golf GTI is only “Average”. The Taos – one of the least satisfying SUVs you can buy – is also “Average.”

Volkswagen is a major player in the American car market and is consistently among the best-selling car brands. More than a decade after the Dieselgate PR disaster, Volkswagen sold 316,504 vehicles in the US in 2024 – up 19.4% year-over-year – suggesting that despite disappointing expected reliability and past scandals, VW is a strong choice among buyers.

VW’s best-selling models among American buyers are the Tiguan, Atlas and Jetta. The usual advantage that VW enjoys over its German counterparts is that it offers German engineering at a lower price. VW cannot match Mercedes, Audi and BMW in terms of luxury, despite some more expensive models, but it does share some of its platforms with Audi. This means that while Volkswagen isn’t as premium as Mercedes or BMW, it doesn’t suffer from the costs typical of luxury brands.

According to RepairPal, the average annual repair cost for a VW is $676. Compared to premium brands like BMW at $968 and Audi at $987, Volkswagens seem like a practical choice, especially if you’re concerned about long-term repair costs. On the economic end of the spectrum, Toyota, the brand with the best-selling passenger car of 2025, has an average of $441 in annual repair costs.