Should You Buy a VW PASSAT CC? (Test Drive & Review 2013 CC 2.0TDI) 

It's aged like a boss this car.

I owe a 2010 cc, 2.0 TDI, 140BHP. Love the comfort and the look. If it's maintained well over the years, no unexpected issues will surprise you. Planing to drive it until it rolls.

I always imagine that Passat diesels will be one of the few cars still running when the government finally bans IC engines, at some time in the dystopian future.

I have a 2016 184bhp TDI which I’ve had since new. Love it, does everything and is such a good looking car. Never gone wrong either.

I own the 2013 CC VR6 4Motion Executive and I LOVE this car. Much better than the Mercs I owned previously. Stupid fast, handles amazingly and I have gotten more complements on this car than any other I've owned

I have a 2012 VW CC 2.0TDI GT - had it 3yrs - love it. Best car I've owned. Amazing mpg and the DSI gearbox is great too. Boot is HUUUUUGE and plenty of space in the back for my kids.

Got a 170bhp Tdi DSG. Great car. Will eat miles all day long and still looks better than most stuff on the road. About to hit 100k and just had one glow plug go. One to do before winter. I thought of changing but couldn’t find anything I liked enough that I could afford. Much underrated car. I chose it after going through about 25 different VAG company cars. This was my pick for a 1 year old car.

Certainly hit the nail on the head with this review. I currently own a 2011 gen 1 Passat CC. It’s a very middle of the road car, but a little more special than the average Passat or Mondeo. I have always wished that they would have given the opinion to have the 3L V6 TDI. To make stand out even more above the middle of the road cars and bring it in line with the other 4 door coupes. I have, had mine over two years now, been very reliable but due to being boring I want to change it already. Anyway, keep up the great work.

I Drive a 2017 R-Line Executive and I just love it so much! I’ve literally put 18k miles in my first 8 months and it’s ready to keep hauling! Very unique, elegant, and fun to drive car.

Thanks for the review... I own a CC since 2020, a 2016 model, 2.0 TDI, manual, 184 bhp. It is still a Passat inside, some might say it is boring. Personally i like it, fairly good materials in it, all the comands are "in reach", cluster instrument for sure very stylish, so is the steering wheel. Plenty of confort in the front seats. About the exterior design is only one word to say: EXCEPTIONAL! Amazing shape, good proportion. I could not find any lack in design. It drives very nice too, gearbox works very smooth, and in Sport Mode the driving becomes pleasure. I did 220 km/h (there was room for more) and the car behaved perfect. No shake, no vibrations and engine noise acceptable. To conclude: a good car, reliable, stylish! I do not regret any euro spent on it!

I do like it Matt, great review as always

I bought in 2018 a Vw CC 15 on reg 2.0TDI and I'm happy with my car. It's very confy and very economical. I've done a remap on it, from 140bhp to 172bhp just for a better fuel economy and the car still drives great.

I love an “old mans car”. Give me comfort over sport any day. Interesting car , great video as always Matt 👍🏻

Interesting car this one. Originally the car that I wanted to pick up for a first buy. I still think they are pretty stunning looking cars to this day. The 3.6 l VR6 engine looks and sounds pretty good.

I own a 2013 gt bluemotion...and I absolutely love the way it looks and I love driving it..one of the best cars I have owned, and I have had audis, bmws, Saabs etc etc...

Love my ‘13 CC LUX (US). Long time Vdub fan going back to my ‘81 diesel Rabbit. My only complaint related to the CC is the tire cupping. Unfortunately there’s no fix for this issue and all you can do is get an alignment every 5k miles and rotate the wheels to minimize the premature damage to the tires.

I have the 2010 CC Sport 125kw TDI and really love it. Loaded with so many standard features that are options on other cars. Traction control, Optical self parking, sensors front and back, rear camera, 3 suspension settings at the push oF a button, GPS maps and directions, Bluetooth phone connection, heated seats all around, tyre pressure sensors, sun roof, tinted windows, CD player with hard drive storage and fantastic economy 1250 to 1300 kms from 68 litres.

I've had two, and I thought the older model was slightly better quality, but the new one is better looking. Look out for the adjustable suspension option which has three settings, soft isn't but hard is pretty stiff

Love my manual cc. Got it blown up. Rebuilt the motor. Stage 2 light weight clutch and flywheel. Holy shift short shifter. Ecs shift knob. Cold air intake and turbo pipes. Boost gauge. Redone interior(headliner and all). Drilled and slotted breaks. Refreshed suspension. Poly bushings for trans dogbine mount. Rev nine coilovers. Audi a3 18 inch wheels. Led lights. The roof has a carbon wrap and same with part of the grille. Arm motorsports down pipe to a 2.5 inch borla exhaust. The car just sounds really good and handles a dream. I love my cc and I've only got about 8 grand into it. With the suspension dialed in, this big German boat handles like a dream, and with the little Bolt ons I did to the motor the 2.0 tsi was really woken up

Got an uncle that used a 2.0 tdi version as a minicab in London. Done 240,000 miles and been going well

Thanks again for your efforts Matt 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Great reviews of many cars that buyers would usually overlook. Nice to own something a bit different. Chrome bright work helps to set a level of presence and class to the car and highlight the sleek profile.

I have an 09 passat cc 3.6 VR6 version and its a great car all round because of that engine, dsg box and the 4motion system. it turns quite a few heads and leaves most cars at the lights. it's be no means boring at all. Being in the UK also i haven't seen another VR6 on the road ever so its a rare treat really.

I've got a cc 3.6 awd over here in Australia. Always get compliments on the looks of the car, and 0-100 in 5.5. Definitely can't get anything better for $10k Aud, loads of fun and very good for long drives. Nice review!

I own a 2013 Sport Plus & coming from someone who has driven over 25+ cars. This is the best car ever made. Unless you're 6Ft 7 or something this car is amazing inside & out.

I love my CC, 256,000 miles and seen 48/50 US states with it. The best and most reliable car anyone in my family has owned

I have a 2012 and I love it to death even though it’s a pain in the ass. And it is very sporty unlike others say it handles like a dream and it’s very quick for a stock car.

Colleague at work had one. It did look pretty good i have to say.

He needs to try the 170GT instead. With the different suspension settings you can easily cruise along or switch it up enough to surprise other saloons around twisties. (It's no hot hatch but that's not why you buy it) I'm well impressed with mine

Looked at these when our 2nd child was born. Ticked all the right boxes but servicing and also parts in general were much cheaper bizzarely on a Merc CLS. So we went with the CLS in the end. Has been absolutely solid as well to be honest over our 6 year ownership.

Yes you should absolutely buy one, I have a 2009 passat CC 2.0 TDI as a daily driver alongside an S4, no complaints whatsoever, absolutely reliable af

Been driving my dad's 2016 Passat Estate (GT 190hp remapped!) for the last few days. Love the tech, active cruise control and the feeling that it would be rock solid in a straight line at 350mph. But absolutely hate the complete disconnection between wheel and road, and the feeling that I'm driving a barge whenever I hit a proper bend. Feels like quality though. A Volvo 240 for the modern age.

great review! got 2009 model at the moment, love it to death!

Always liked the look of these. Nice they're quite affordable now.

Another good review. Keep them coming

Had an 11 plate when they were still called the Passat CC ,great spec and looked great but still a Passat so dull to drive ,I had the cream interior also and it was surprisingly easy to keep clean ,your model looks better with LED taillights…👍

My thoughts exactly, when I was hunting for my CLS.

cambelt is every 210.000km no time limit. Changed mine after 180.000 and 9 years due to a leaking waterpump and the belt looked still very good.

Ive always loved the look of these...

A friend of mine has the 3.6, to be honest, the only downside is, that is like any modern VW, over-engineered, expensive parts, apart from that it is a great all-rounder. In my opinion, one of a few modern VWs that are fun to drive.

i’m liking the full james may spec

My mate bought one he's very happy with it

I use to have the old 2010 and de facelift 2014 ... nothing special only the looks but very reliable cars ( went to Europa 2 times a year and no problems) Now I have a Touareg 262 🐎🐎 and I love it

I love mine - with the 3.6 (and an exhaust system) it definitely fills the 'substance' void! Best car I've owned so far

Great video. Just bought a 2012 CC Lux with 80k miles. Wonderful car. You do need to buy with eyes wide open cause repair costs could get you.

I have the 2014 V6 3.6 4motion sports with all the modern cons and all the extras, and it’s a road master here in the Middle East . Very fast and quick off the blocks

For what it's worth, I think the interior of this example is class. So much more interesting than the usual sea of black interiors of a lot of others, making them feel like the inside of a coffin! Great looking car I think. Top vid again Matt 👍

I've just traded my CC in for an Audi A6, i enjoyed it for the 3 years I had it, mine had the 208bhp 2.0T engine, it was quick enough, but it was definitely very VAG standard to drive.

I drive a VR6 4Motion CC and its like a rocket. Very sporty!

A really handsome car, refined and frugal. If/when I get off the treadmill of life I will buy something like this, keep it 20 years and be perfectly content.

Had one of these with the petrol engine as a courtesy car. I thought it was a great all round car and the interior space and boot capacity seemed revelatory compared to my XF.

4:50. Very amusing. As for svelte, I think you are being extremely generous. I am struggling to think of a VW that I would equate with that description :) PS - I notice you changed the signature music a while back. I thought the old 'toon' and the green logo was great.

I own this very same Brown car,it took a bit of getting used to but it’s great,it’s solid,reliable and looks great.

Love my 2010 CC VR6, thing gets up and goes. Messed with the exhaust so it sounds mean as well

I’ve had mine for about a year now and love mine

I've got a 2010 Luxury Plus "Executive" series CC. I'm a former Golf enthusiast: 2.5s to GTIs to Rs. Love my V-dubs. That being said, when I needed a replacement for my poor A-3 got killed by a cell-phone-zombie, I saw a CC. Loved it from the start. Thought about a 4-Motion, which was available, but the possible repair bills put me off the 4' and I snagged this CC. I love it. The 2.0 TSi is perfect. The ride's fantastic, even after swapping the stock wheels/tires for 19" and dedicated 'summer' tires. The increase in road noise was negligible, even with the windows down. I've used it for ride-shares and people love it. It's got a unique 23-gallon fuel tank and only two back seats: leather buckets, with a 'caddy' in the center for water and the WSJ or other papers/magazines, which my riders love. I get premium $$ for riders, so I mostly take business persons to and from airports or to meetings. They rave over it and wonder why they never heard of the CC. The performance is, literally, GTI-like. And because it's a shared engine, you can, as did I, take it to APR or ECS and swap the stock turbo for a bigger one and get a mild Stage 1 CPU and DSG tune and it'll rival a stock R. Some underbracing, also from APR/ECS, very inexpensive, and I can take the local right and left hand 90 degree jog at 65 MPH, while everyone else slows to 35 and I love the looks from Mushytang and Camaro and other 'performance' car drivers when I blaze by them with nary any body lean. I paid $5800 for the car. You can get them all the way up to '14-15s very reasonably priced, and put another $1500 into it for go-fast parts, including, an actual Go-Fast diverter valve. :D With the larger fuel tank, I average around 485 to 530 miles per tank, depending on how much I get into the boost. I've had truck drivers look over who've started fueling at the same time as I had, pulling the hose from their trucks going "How much fuel that hold?" Get a CC. One sharp car. Mine's now got 125K on it and it's never given me a single problem in the 65K I've owned it. Oh, mine's Dark Metallic Gray. Best color out there.

Well spoken Man ! I wish my English was that good!:(

I went into a dealership to test drive an insignia and ended up hating it. They had a super smart white car with lovely seats on the forecourt that I wasn't familiar with and was only slightly more expensive than the insignia I was looking at - it turned out to be a cc. White with the black sunroof, it looked fantastic. It had the 177bhp engine and was a manual. It wasn't a sporty drive but had plenty of shove. Very much not a VAG fan and so expectations were low, but I ended up loving it and it was a brilliant car for a year before I needed to get rid as was just outside age limit of car requirements for new job. It got a lot more compliments than my v60 II in fancy pants spec that has replaced it, despite being nearly 1/3 of the price.

Hey y'all, thought I'd throw in my two cents. I own an 09 CC VR6. She drives GREAT. Lots of fun. Something to be aware of, though, is the luxury items in the interior tend to break down and not work over time. Power windows suffer, moon roof sticks, radio is gone (had to add after market), etc. The rest is wonderful. Some things don't age well. Occasionaly a door wont unlock and I will have to unlock from a different door. If you can live with those things, it's awesome. Great audio. Great seats. Clean looking interior. Sport mode makes the car a blast.

Great review Matt my 2010 Passat gt has been great I’ve had a few issues with it had to replace the egr valve and rear shocks and bushes after I was getting a clunk after going over speed bumps that cured the problem the only other thing I had done is I got my 140 remapped to 170 which gives it more midrange grunt mines the six speed Manuel very happy with it now I haven’t found anything to replace it for the price cheers Matt.

Thats a very nice car and a honest assesment.

Lovely review. I own the same car 2016 manual and I can update your review slightly as a long time owner. 6 years no engine issues. Decent confort and space and impressive fuel consumption. The only thing I can complain aswell is that how you said the car is doll. Steering is loose and not engaging at all. I plan to add some horsepower and upgrade brakes and suspension(steering) . Some really bad points that are annoying to me are the frameless doors in the winter (freezing temperatures) and the body/weight ratio on snow or wet is really bad and I suggest having good tires. Regret buying the manual gearbox to be honest as it never felt right on changing gears. I will rate this. car on 7/10 over a 6 years ownership

Looking to get one of these around January time next year or a Audi A4. Leaning more towards the CC but will most likely go for the R-Line 177BHP and Manual.

I've got a 12 plate Passat estate with a very similar interior trim package, has all the same gadgets like park assist and cruise control but minus the sat nav and climate control, fine by me as I never liked built in sat navs and like simple heater controls. Mine has all the brown plastics and full brown leather seats. I hated it at first but it grew on me as the car has turned out to be outstanding. mine was the 140hp model that i had remapped up to about 190 and that really woke it up and made it so much more driveable. as for reliability, i've taken it from 130k to 150k in a year and not had a single problem with it at all, still early days though. Not even had an issue with the EPB although i think the B7 has a slightly revised design compared to the older ones that were problematic, even then i still leave it in gear.

Owning this car is like a love hate relationship, drives well but repairs and maintenance are pricey when your coming from the Toyota family. I always get compliments on it, people are very familiar with this car.

These are are super quiet inside, really nice.

Lovely review, always liked the look of these, shame vw discontinued the cc and the scirocco so soon

Guaranteed an excellent upload as per 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

I have a 2011 CC sport and I really enjoy it.

I have this CC too but mine has the DCC shocks. I feel like when the shocks and dsg are in sport mode it is actually very sporty considering how heavy it is. I timed mine from 0-60 on a flat road and I got 7.2 seconds, however my shocks burst a month after I bought it and it cost me. I get about 60mpg on the motorway but in the city I get around 40mpg. I love this car however if I could change one about it I would make it smoother over speed ramps 😂 I’ve gotten to 133mph in it and it felt like it had more in it, however I have noticed now when I’m going over 70mph my wheel is shaking a little bit and gets worse when I brake.

The 3.6 VR6 engine, combined with 4motion, definitely gives these cars plenty of substance to match the looks. 220kw, 0--100kph of 5.5seconds. I've had a 2015 in the same "black oak brown" car in your video, for a year. In sport mode, on a good road, it flies..In normal, on a highway, it wafts. New Zealand has a lot of great roads, which this car handles with ease.

I have seen zillions of Passat's around here in North Yorkshire but never a CC so a bit of a rarity. I like the CC, I would certainly consider buying one.

Wife's car is a CC, 5 years 50kmiles no issues apart from water pump, fact the clock is always 3mins slow even after resetting in garage and broken cup holder arm replacement was nearly £200.

The brown is fine looks smart with the wood. I'm not a fan of the silver plastic trim on the centre console VW insist on using, Handsome car from the outside.

Always liked these CCs, great 2 tone interior and totally reliable! Tough to find a petrol engined one

Brown. Mmmm? I wonder if avocado bathroom suites will make a comeback then😂

Mates dad in scotland had that very spec from new, it was amazing for a FW!😉👍

How odd. I own an XJ8..and found your XJR video. I am now looking for a replacement for that; a 2011 VW CC and here we meet again.

Best car I've ever owned.

Noo, I tought they didn’t sell it in Europe, I’m from Italy and never saw one. It was my car when I lived in the USA, a 2.0 l petrol manual very basic version. Paid 3.5k for it at 125k miles and sold it at 2.5k probably worth 10k now, crazy market. I loved the seats, never had better seats since.

If you have one of these I recommended getting it tuned by apr mines is a 3.6 vr6 twin turbo 280 stock but it’s in stage 2 so now has 375 hp

Been looking at one of these as an option recently - they nearly all have insane mileage !

People overplayed this "Boring" label VW Passat had. I'm well retired but used to have a construction job that took me up and down the UK. Flash mates would pitch up in BMs, but a few of us drove Sensible cars and oddly, we survived best in a hard game. People hired me because I was dependable and what you saw is what you got. Bit like my old Passat!

Non GTI VWs don’t get the paddle shifters on the steering wheel that come as standard on Audis. However if your VW has a multifunction steering wheel the ecu for it also has the functions for shifters built in. I bought a MK6 Golf 2.0tdi 140 GT and then sourced a steering wheel with the same multifunction controls but with the paddle shifters built in (this is the most difficult/expensive part of the process). I got my local VAG specialist to swap the steering wheel and then enable them with the VCDS software. This cost £30. Voila upgrade. You can also program a needle sweep on start up just to show off if you’re that way inclined.

you got a 👍🏾 just for your choice of car to review!

Love my CC and looking for another one

Well Nicholas Hamilton used his regularly “off road” in the BTCC for a few years, he had more crashes in it than triggers broom had handles and heads too so it N cap rating is beyond reproach 👍🏻

I really want this car. It is refurbished/recon?

We have the 2015 CC R-Line DSG and the last owner may have got it remapped because its very quick for a 2.0d. for its money its

I have a 2013 Volks Cc vr6 4 motion executive in all black. It is by far one of the best cars I’ve ever owned, and I’m 60. Maintenance is the key. There’s a reason companies have those schedules to follow. Performance parts are hard to find for this engine.

I looked at one of these in 2019 no parking sensors. VW use Wet or Dry DSGs depending on the Model&Engine.

Had one of these as a hire car, with the dreadful 1.6. Didn't like the huge space between the seat and the outer sills, kept treading on them getting out of it

I agree with everything you say about the CC. i enjoyed mine (a 2.0TDI 170) and replaced it with a Mercedes CLS Shooting Break which I loved.

Volkswagens are solid 👍over here in Poland I have a 2016 BMW 640i Gran Coupe but my daily is a 2002 VW Golf MK4 1.6 with LPG conversion. super reliable, efficient, and 100hp does the job to get around.the n/a 2.0 and the 1.9 TDI non-PD engines in these were also really good

Which is more comfortable CC or Tiguan?

Really nice interior in that car - nice change from today's almost compulsory black/grey, jazzed up with a splash of fake aluminium. The rest of the car looks good too, except for the privacy glass - since around 2013 that's also become almost compulsory bling too. Car buying's getting complicated.

I had a 63 Plate Night Blue GT 2.0 TDI 140 6 Spd Manual with the Pan Roof/Rear Elec Sunblind. Great car. Very reliable, great spec. I rate them.

I bought an ex demo from VW, but I just absolutely hated it and got rid after a year. The park sensors went off all the time, it pulled to the left and was just so boring to drive. Definitely style over substance. Good review

Is that the one that went into limp mode at 70, oil failure??

CC is a great car. Looks good, does most things well, composed, deceptively fast cruiser.