Top Safety Pick +

2013 Volkswagen Passat

midsize car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles built after October 2012

2013 Volkswagen Passat 4-door sedan — 2012 Volkswagen Passat shown

Crashworthiness

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

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle	Not available

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.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2013-15 models built after October 2012

Tested vehicle: 2012 Volkswagen Passat S 4-door

The Volkswagen Passat was redesigned for the 2012 model year. Beginning with 2013 models built after October 2012, the side curtain airbags were reprogrammed to deploy in small overlap frontal crashes to improve occupant protection. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.) The tested car was retrofitted by Volkswagen engineers with a new airbag computer identical to that used in the modified production cars.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved 12 cm to the right, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward side structure. Additionally, the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the dummy’s head and torso. The side curtain airbag deployed but does not have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with forward side structure and outside objects.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.

During the crash, the dummy's head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off to the left as the steering column moved to the right. The seat belt allowed the dummy to move too far forward, as is evident from the gap between the seat back and the dummy's torso. The side curtain airbag did not extend far enough forward toward the A-pillar.

Except for door hinge pillar deformation, intrusion into the driver's space was reasonably well controlled, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1232
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	16
Footrest (cm)	9
Left toepan (cm)	1
Brake pedal (cm)	3
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	4
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	3
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	9
Upper dash (cm)	10
Lower instrument panel (cm)	11

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1232
Head
HIC-15	307
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	2.1
Extension bending moment (Nm)	16
Maximum Nij	0.36
Chest maximum compression (mm)	21
Femur (kN)
Left	4.2
Right	0.0
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	0
Right	0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	2
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.50
Right	0.33
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	1.4
Right	1.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	51
Right	49

About the small overlap front test

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.