Surprisingly Unsafe, then Surprisingly Safe: The Volkswagen Passats of 1990-1994 and 1998-2005

For the car industry as a whole, the 1990s was a time of rapid safety gains, but those varied heavily from model to model. Some models made significant improvements, but others, such as the Volkswagen Passat, made an absolutely massive jump in safety over the decade.  Just like the Chevy Lumina, we have another case of a vehicle that jumped from the bottom of its class to the head of its class on safety over the course of the 1990s. 

The Volkswagen Passat started the ’90s fresh off of a 1990-model redesign, but even for its time, its safety was a bit lacking. Here’s a look at injury risks in a NHTSA 35-mph full frontal crash test on 1990-model midsize sedans. 

Ford Taurus: 15% / 11%
Honda Accord: 19%  / 8%
Buick Regal: 22% / 7%
Mazda 626: 22% / 17%
Plymouth Acclaim: 23% / 10%
Toyota Camry: 21% / 23%
Mitsubishi Galant: 25% / 21%
Subaru Legacy: 28% / 14%
Buick Century: 18% / 31%
Nissan Stanza: 39% / 14%
Hyundai Sonata: 40% / 26%
VW Passat: 43% / 14%
Chevy Lumina: 43% / unknown
Chrysler LeBaron: 7% / 91%

The Passat is 3rd-worst in the class of 14, definitely not in “death trap” territory for the era but quite significantly below average. And, as time went on and other vehicles were redesigned and/or got airbags, the Passat fell further behind. By 1994, the Passat, Chevy Lumina, and Hyundai Sonata were the only remaining midsize sedans without an airbag. 

Given the Passat’s somewhat premium reputation over those two, as well as the fact that German cars were considered some of the safest on the market, and early airbag adopters – all USA-market Mercedes, BMW, and Audi models had at least one bag by 1990 – it likely surprised consumers to learn that the ’94 Passat, or even the ’93 or ’92, had no airbag. And given that the 1990-1994 Passat did have structurally sufficient performance in the NHTSA test, as well as good front passenger protection, the solution was obvious: a driver airbag.

The 1995 Passat was based on a heavily revised version of the 1990-1994 platform, but featured airbags for both driver and passenger. Here’s the corresponding injury risks for 1995-model midsize sedans in the same NHTSA 35-mph full frontal crash test. The Passat is smack-dab in the middle of the pack. However, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety started a new offset crash test that year, and the Passat ended up being one of the first vehicles tested. Unfortunately, the aging structural design wasn’t able to cope with the test, and it earned a Poor rating; still, with no major head or chest injuries recorded on the dummy, it ended up near the boundary of Poor and Marginal, putting it midpack for its time here as well. 

(’95 model NHTSA and IIHS test results – NHTSA in percentages, then IIHS offset rating)

Chevy Lumina: NHTSA 9% / 13% – IIHS Good
Subaru Legacy: 12% / 15% – Acceptable
Mazda 626: 17% / 10% – unknown
Buick Century: 14% / 17% – unknown, likely Poor due to its vintage-1982 design
Mitsubishi Galant: unknown / 16% (unknown is likely 4-star, 11-20%) – Poor
Ford Taurus: 19% / 10% – Good
VW Passat: 19% / 18% – Poor
Pontiac Grand Prix: 15% / 22% – unknown, likely Poor due to its vintage-1988 design
Toyota Camry: 15% / 22% – Acceptable
Honda Accord: 18%  / 24% – Acceptable
Nissan Altima: 13% / 24% – unknown
Hyundai Sonata: 25% / 20% – Poor
Dodge Stratus: 30% / unknown – Poor

So, it seems, a couple of airbags did the Passat a lot of good. But it would continue to improve relative to its class. The Passat’s 1998 redesign introduced a much-improved structure, good enough to garner a Good rating in the IIHS offset. IIHS noted that the 2000 Passat, in the third year of its design, still sat atop the rankings for midsize 4-door cars. Let’s compare the new 1998 Passat to its ’98 competitors. 

VW Passat: IIHS Good – NHTSA front 5 star/5 star – NHTSA side 4 star/4 star
Toyota Camry: Good – 4/5 – 3/3
Ford Taurus: Good – 4/4 – 3/3
Chevy Lumina: Good – 4/5 – 4/3
Pontiac Grand Prix: Acceptable – 4/4 – 2/3 (NHTSA ratings as 2001, which was on the same body style)
Honda Accord: Acceptable – 4/4 – 4/4
Chevy Malibu: Acceptable – 4/4 – 1/3
Mazda 626: Acceptable – 4/5 – 3/3
Subaru Legacy: Acceptable – 4/4 – 3/NA
Nissan Altima: Marginal – 3/2 – 3/3
Hyundai Sonata: Poor – 3/4 – 1/2
Mitsubishi Galant: Poor – 4/4 – 3/2
Dodge Stratus: Poor – 3/4 – 3/2

The Passat is one of only 4 Good-rated vehicles in the offset test, and NHTSA reports are just as glowing: it was the only midsize sedan that year to get the full 5 stars for the driver in the NHTSA full-frontal test, and also had the joint-best side impact rating with 4 stars for both front and rear occupants (no midsize sedans this early got the full 5 stars). In fact, the ’98 Passat was in the company of vehicles like the Volvo S70 on safety, rather than its mainstream midsize competition. 

Over time, the Passat’s competitors would begin to catch up. Good ratings in the IIHS offset became more and more common, comprising a majority of vehicles in the class by the last years of this Passat body style’s run. But Volkswagen would stay one step ahead of the competition, fitting side curtain airbags as standard to the Passat during the 2001 model year, several years before they even became an option on most competitors. 

Between the New Beetle, Jetta and Passat all getting Good ratings in the IIHS offset and Volkswagen’s early adoption of side and curtain airbags, it’s obvious that they were putting some serious attention into safety as the turn of the millennium neared.