Volkswagen CC vs Ram Promaster City: which is more reliable?
The Volkswagen CC and the Ram Promaster City are level on the federal record — 76/100 against 73/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Volkswagen CC
- 7 model years scored
- 604 owner complaints on record
- about 5 complaints per year on the road
- 33 recall campaigns, 23 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (89/100) · worst 2012 (36/100)
Ram Promaster City
- 8 model years scored
- 234 owner complaints on record
- about 3 complaints per year on the road
- 19 recall campaigns, 9 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (93/100) · worst 2016 (44/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: CC against Promaster City
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Volkswagen CC
- Air Bags — 279 complaints
- Fuel/Propulsion System — 119 complaints
- Engine — 119 complaints
Ram Promaster City
- Engine — 78 complaints
- Electrical System — 69 complaints
- Power Train — 57 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the CC's complaints concentrate in Air Bags, the Promaster City's in Engine. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Volkswagen CC — avoid: 2012.
Ram Promaster City — avoid: 2015, 2016, 2017.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Volkswagen CC prices at about $21,800 and a Ram Promaster City at about $34,200 — the Volkswagen CC is roughly $12,400 less, and they return 25.0 against 24.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Volkswagen CC or the Ram Promaster City more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Volkswagen CC scores 76/100 against the Ram Promaster City's 73/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Volkswagen CC and Ram Promaster City years should I avoid?
Volkswagen CC: 2012. Ram Promaster City: 2015, 2016, 2017. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Volkswagen CC and the Ram Promaster City?
The largest complaint group on the Volkswagen CC is Air Bags (279 complaints); on the Ram Promaster City it is Engine (78).
Is the Volkswagen CC or the Ram Promaster City cheaper to own?
A recent used Volkswagen CC prices at about $21,800 and a Ram Promaster City at about $34,200, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.