Volkswagen is one of the oldest and largest car manufacturers in the world. Over nearly nine years, the brand has weathered the early dominance of the Beetle, emerged as an automotive giant through the acquisitions of Audi and Porsche, and most recently, the Dieselgate scandal. Volkswagen’s modern vehicle lineup includes compact cars, SUVs, crossovers and electric vehicles like the Volkswagen ID Buzz, which has the best vibe of any new car on sale. With such a huge lineup of cars, specs and features vary, but how reliable are Volkswagens?
According to Consumer Reports’ (CR) 2025 Dependability Survey, which ranks 26 different major brands, Volkswagen ranks 16th. The Golf GTI is the most reliable model in the current Volkswagen lineup, while the compact Tais is the least reliable. These numbers put the Volkswagen just below average. RepairPal gave Volkswagen a reliability score of 3.5 out of 5.0, ranking it 12th out of 32 different brands. These numbers can tell you some things, but they can’t tell you everything. Individual car performance can vary greatly, so buyer beware: choosing the right Volkswagen model is important.
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Volkswagen’s reliability ratings are complicated
Close-up of the Volkswagen logo on the vehicle. – Advertising Photo/Shutterstock
The ratings provided by CR are based on real owner experience over the past 12 months. Specifically, CR collected data from 380,000 vehicles and divided the data into 20 different failure areas, including engines, transmissions, in-car electronics, body hardware and electric vehicle components. According to CR, the Taos is “less reliable than other cars of the same model year.” However, Volkswagen’s ratings are not all bad.
RepairPal is an independent automotive data company whose reliability ratings are modeled on millions of real repair invoices, historical statistics and predictive data. According to their assessment, the Jetta, Golf and Passat were “above average” in reliability, while the Tiguan and Golf GTI were “average”. To further complicate matters, the situation is slightly different when looking at used cars. In another 2025 CR used car reliability study, Volkswagen ranked 13th out of 26 brands.
This ranking isn’t exactly a game-changer, but it’s a bit better than Volkswagen’s ratings of new cars. Another blow to Volkswagen came from a reliability study by JD Power, which tracked reliability ratings of cars up to three years old, showing Volkswagen ranked last among all brands, with an average of 285 problems per 100 vehicles. However, the Volkswagen Jetta’s reliability was rated “Excellent,” while the Golf GTI’s was only “Fair.” The Taos—one of the least satisfying SUVs you can buy—is also “average.”
Volkswagen’s market share and maintenance costs
Aerial view of an outdoor parking lot filled with Volkswagen cars. – Eugene_Photo/Shutterstock
Volkswagen is a major player in the U.S. car market and consistently ranks among the best-selling car brands. More than 10 years after the “Dieselgate” PR disaster, Volkswagen sold 316,504 vehicles in the United States in 2024, a 19.4% increase year-over-year, showing that despite poor projected reliability and past scandals, Volkswagen remains the top choice for buyers.
Volkswagen’s most popular models with U.S. buyers are the Tiguan, Atlas and Jetta. The benefit that Volkswagen generally enjoys over its German counterparts is that it offers German engineering at a cheaper price. While there are some higher-end models, VW can’t match Mercedes, Audi, and BMW in terms of luxury, but it does share some platforms with Audi. This means that the Volkswagen, while not as high-end as a Mercedes or BMW, won’t suffer the costs typically associated with luxury brands.
According to RepairPal, the average annual cost to repair a Volkswagen is $676. Compared to premium brands like BMW ($968) and Audi ($987), the Volkswagen seems like a practical choice, especially if you’re worried about long-term repair costs. In terms of finances, the average annual maintenance cost for Toyota, the best-selling passenger car brand in 2025, is $441.
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