2002 Volkswagen Passat Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: Owner Pros and Cons by rfoster369

We have a 2001 B5-generation Passat wagon, which shares the size and configuration of your B5.5. It is simply the best-sized, best-configured car ever offered in the American market, which is why we selected it and plan to keep it as long as we reasonably can. I am royally bummed out that it is so hard to find a non-SUV, non-minivan, sport sedan based wagon in this country. Our only hope for an eventual replacement is that the Jetta/Golf Sportwagen and the BMW 3-series wagon keep growing in size. In another model generation or two one or both should approach the size of our beloved B5/B5.5 generation Passat wagons.

Our 2001 has been only average, at best, in reliability, but my sons and I keep repair costs under control by doing much of our own work. (They drive a 2000 Audi S4 and a 2002 A4, and I have a 1996 A4, all of which have a similar platform to the B5-generation Passats.)