Volkswagen Passat vs Buick Encore: which is more reliable?
The Buick Encore is ahead of the Volkswagen Passat on the federal record, 79/100 against 71/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
Volkswagen Passat
- 11 model years scored
- 2,372 owner complaints on record
- about 17 complaints per year on the road
- 58 recall campaigns, 32 safety-critical
- best year 2019 (95/100) · worst 2014 (26/100)
Buick Encore
- 10 model years scored
- 598 owner complaints on record
- about 7 complaints per year on the road
- 22 recall campaigns, 16 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (94/100) · worst 2015 (61/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Passat against Encore
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 Passat
- Air Bags — 1,181 complaints
- Electrical System — 370 complaints
- Engine — 311 complaints
Buick Encore
- Engine — 221 complaints
- Electrical System — 84 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 69 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Passat's complaints concentrate in Air Bags, the Encore'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 Passat — avoid: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015.
Buick Encore: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020….
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 Passat prices at about $23,600 and a Buick Encore at about $23,600 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 28.0 against 26.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Volkswagen Passat or the Buick Encore more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Buick Encore scores 79/100 against the Volkswagen Passat's 71/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Volkswagen Passat and Buick Encore years should I avoid?
Volkswagen Passat: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. Buick Encore: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Volkswagen Passat and the Buick Encore?
The largest complaint group on the Volkswagen Passat is Air Bags (1,181 complaints); on the Buick Encore it is Engine (221).
Is the Volkswagen Passat or the Buick Encore cheaper to own?
A recent used Volkswagen Passat prices at about $23,600 and a Buick Encore at about $23,600, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.