Top Safety Pick

2012 Volkswagen Passat

midsize car / 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2012-22 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 Volkswagen Passat S 4-door

The Volkswagen Passat was redesigned for the 2012 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Volkswagen.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1104
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	3
Left (cm)	7
Center (cm)	6
Right (cm)	6
Brake pedal (cm)	4
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	0
Right (cm)	0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	-5
Rearward (cm)	-3
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1104
Head
HIC-15	167
Peak gs at hard contact	34
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm)	12
Maximum Nij	0.24
Chest maximum compression (mm)	34
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	0.3
Femur force - right (kN)	0.8
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	0
Maximum tibia index - left	0.33
Maximum tibia index - right	0.71
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	2.7
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	1.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	86
Right	134

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2012-22 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 Volkswagen Passat S 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Volkswagen Passat was redesigned for the 2012 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Volkswagen.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS1104
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-16.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1104
Head HIC-15	413
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.0
Compression (kN)	0.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	32
Lateral force (kN)	1.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	36
Average deflection (mm)	33
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.00
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.50
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	2.4
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.7
Combined force (kN)	4.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.3
L-M moment (Nm)	56
A-P moment (Nm)	149

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1104
Head HIC-15	127
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.3
Compression (kN)	1.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	27
Lateral force (kN)	1.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	30
Average deflection (mm)	27
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.78
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.47
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.4
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.6
Combined force (kN)	1.6
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	2.0
L-M moment (Nm)	189
A-P moment (Nm)	46

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2012-22 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 Volkswagen Passat SE 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,256 lbs
Peak force	20,592 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	6.32

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Power leather seats
Geometry
Backset (mm)	24
Distance below top of head (mm)	20
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	12.6
Head contact time (ms)	60
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	19
Max neck tension (N)	548

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.