Used Volkswagen Passat GTE 2015-present review

The VW Passat Estate has been around in various guises for more than 50 years and eight generations, making it a staple of the used car market.

In that time, it’s grown noticeably bigger and gone deliberately upmarket, so much so that this latest version is nearly large enough to house another Passat within its capacious boot and plush enough to rival the best from BMW and Mercedes for luxury.

This is the hybrid model of the Passat, the GTE, which offers you the option to plug it in, meaning you can use it on electric power alone for – Volkswagen claims – as much as 31 miles in the earlier models. Enough, in other words, for you to avoid using any fuel at all on short trips around town. And with its subtly sporty styling, the GTE will also happen to suit those looking for a Passat with a bit more pep.

The Passat GTE has had a bit of a chequered history, though. Launched in 2016, it went off sale in 2018 due to a bottleneck in getting cars certified for new emissions standards, only to emerge again in 2019 with a larger battery good now for a quoted range of up to 34 miles.

You can buy the GTE in standard form, in which it gets triple-zone climate control, a colour touchscreen with sat-nav, LED front and rear lights, front & rear parking sensors ad heated front seats, or you can upgrade to the GTE Advance, which adds larger alloy wheels, an upgraded sat-nav with a larger screen, a panoramic sunroof, a digital dashboard and leather seats.

Both share the same engine and gearbox: a 154bhp 1.4-litre turbo petrol allied to a 113bhp electric motor, the combination of which is able to produce a maximum of 215bhp, driving through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic.

All GTEs come with adaptive suspension, which smooths out the ride, though even then you still find there’s some sharpness over the roughest of roads. And as long as you don’t expect the sort of sportiness to match the Passat’s looks, you’ll find it a decent enough thing to drive – honed and involving it is not, but it’s still composed enough to be satisfying to whirl through a few high-speed bends. You’ll also find the GTE’s remarkably quiet – especially when running on electric power alone.

Inside, things are fairly similar to the standard Volkswagen Passat, with a smart-looking interior hewn from the sort of materials that make you wonder whether it really is worth paying any more for a premium brand. Ambient lighting gives the GTE’s interior an even more upmarket demeanour, while all of the controls are logically placed and intuitive to use.

The touchscreen infotainment system is a little less so – especially after 2016, when a new system was introduced that uses touch pads instead of physical buttons for the shortcut keys, which make it harder to press them without turning your eyes away from the road – but it’s still one of the better systems out there and blessed with intuitive and responsive software.

Whether you’re in the front or in the back of the Passat GTE you’ll find there’s loads of space. The battery packs mounted below the boot floor do rob some room, but as the boot in the conventional Passat is voluminous, you still end up with a respectable amount of space – and a boot that’s still usefully shaped.

£11,000 is the starting price for one of the first Passat GTEs these days – though that’ll likely buy you an older, higher-mileage example. For a 2017 or 2018 GTE with average miles, expect to pay at least £12,000 to £15,000, while an Advance model will set you back at least £20,000. Post-2019 models will set you back nearer £25,000.

That depends greatly on how you use it – or, more to the point, how you fuel it and charge it.

If you plan to run it on petrol alone, you’ll find the GTE a thirsty beast – while it will charge itself up a little via regenerative braking, the effect isn’t enough to overcome the weight of the battery and electric motor, so you’ll be hefting them around for little to no reason. However, if you have access to a charging point or three-pin socket where you can charge your GTE up on a regular basis, your fuel consumption will drop dramatically, at which point it makes a lot of financial sense.

And if you can find a GTE registered before 1 April 2017, the good news is you won’t pay a penny to tax it, thanks to its super-low CO2 emissions figure. After that date, the tax figure rises to £190 a year – and an extra £410 a year if your car’s list price was more than £40,000, a dead cert if you choose the GTE Advance model.

Servicing costs are pretty reasonable on the GTE, though – prices should be around the cost for a standard Passat. Keep in mind, though, that some specialists might not feel comfortable working on it, though, so you might find yourself restricted to Volkswagen dealerships later on in the car’s life, which might make it more costly to maintain than a conventionally-powered Passat.

Given the tax implications, we think the standard GTE, preferably one without any of the options boxes ticked, is the best version to go for. The Advance gives you more toys, but buy one registered after April 2017 and it’ll cost you the earth to tax.

Our favourite Volkswagen Passat GTE: VW Passat 1.4 TSI PHEV GTE

The Mercedes C350e Estate is the most obvious rival to the Passat GTE, but it’s not quite as spacious nor as comfortable, and it won’t go as far on electric-only power.

There are relatively few other plug-in hybrid estates, but if you don’t need a plug-in, you could also look at the Toyota Auris Hybrid. It’s smaller than the Passat and consequently, you can fit less in the boot, but it is efficient around town, reliable and well-equipped. if your money can run to it, the Auris's replacement in 2018, the Corolla, is a much better drive and can go further on a charge.

Or try the Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid. It's quiet around town, quite quick, well equipped and can be cheap to run. It isn't quite as good to drive as the regular non-plug-in hybrid, though.

Likewise the similar Kia Niro plug-in hybrid is quick, decent to drive, has a great range and is, despite being an SUV rather than the GTE's estate, relatively practical.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? Newsletter here