22 Most Popular Volkswagens of All Time
VW Dreaming
Volkswagen is no stranger to iconic automobiles, but its ID 4 all-electric SUV is driving toward an iconic history all its own. Where will it end up in Volkswagen's list of all-time greats? Cheapism took a look at Volkswagen's previous successes and found a few that have set a tough standard for the ID 4, including the beloved New Beetle.
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Volkswagen Beetle
Though it's drifted in and out of the United States, the Beetle (or Bug) has been a global presence since 1933. Despite U.S. flakiness over the iconic Beetle, Volkswagen has sold more than 23 million of them in more than eight decades. After a ceremony to mark the end of production in 2019 at its plant in Puebla, Mexico, the company sent the last of 5,961 Final Edition versions to a museum.
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Volkswagen Beetle (First Version)
Yes, it was commissioned by Adolf Hitler. But it was also designed by Ferdinand Porsche and made to be a cheap, utilitarian, easily repairable "people's car" that could carry two adults and three kids. When the factory was nearly destroyed at the end of World War II, British army officer Maj. Ivan Hirst took control of it and convinced the British military to buy 20,000 Beetles. Out of darkness came the dawn of a far more optimistic era.
Volkswagen Beetle (1950 to 1979)
For an imported car to make it in the U.S. market, it has to have unique appeal and be adaptable. By the end of its first decade in the United States in the 1950s, it was selling 100,000 units a year and kept adding features such as more powerful engines, larger lights, chrome bumpers, and more. DDB Advertising's "Think Small" ad campaign helped, but genuine love of the car helped Volkswagen sell more than 21 million through 1980. Even then, the Beetle still sold in Mexico until 2003.
Volkswagen New Beetle
If you don't remember what 1998 looked like for small vehicles, it's easy to sum up: boxy and cheap. Volkswagen had been just as guilty as other automakers of fueling that trend, but it opted to turn that around by taking its Golf platform, building a Beetle body on it, and putting a flower vase in the dashboard. The New Beetle revived Volkswagen; nearly 20 years later Volkswagen opted to put it down for good.
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Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia
From 1955 to 1974, Volkswagen didn't change so much as a door handle on Italian design firm Ghia's masterpiece. This wasn't a performance car by any stretch — getting all of 43 to 60 horsepower from its rear-mounted engine and topping out at 93 miles per hour. Its shape did show off Volkswagen's playful side. Considering that Volkswagen Group also makes Audi and bought Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti, and Bentley all within the past 20 years, the Ghia had clearly left its impression on Volkswagen.
Volkswagen Polo
There are a lot of "hot hatch" sporty budget subcompacts that aren't available in the United States. The Polo, built for drivers looking to cut costs without diminishing the driving experience, has been a huge success around the globe. While we are offered the larger Golf, the rest of the world has bought more than 12 million Polos.
Volkswagen Golf
For many U.S. families, this was their first introduction to a hatchback. First brought into the country as the Rabbit, the Golf became Volkswagen's bestselling vehicle of all time by selling more than 30 million units since 1974.
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Volkswagen Jetta
The Volkswagen Jetta was a de-hatched Golf when it first debuted in 1979, but this sporty little sedan found a global following. It sold 10 million vehicles worldwide just by being a fun, affordable, stable vehicle.
Volkswagen Golf GTI
In 1982, with the United S.tates coming out of a decade of oil crises, nobody wanted a 1.8-liter, four-cylinder, 110-horsepower hatchback. Even the sporty-looking GTI version was still a boxy two-door compact with no space. It sold so poorly that it forced the closing of an assembly plant in Pennsylvania. Motor Trend named the GTI its Car of the Year in 1985, but buyers still liked the Jetta better (mostly because of the trunk). Its performance became legendary in Europe and among tuners here, and it only grew more beloved among fans of the hot hatch since.
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Volkswagen Passat
First sold in 1973, the Passat has been known as the Dasher, Quantum, and CC here. Now built in Chattanooga, Tennessee, it has held on as a full-size vehicle in the U.S. market, but has sold more than 16 million units worldwide thanks to a strong presence in China.
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Volkswagen Type 2
From 1950 to 1979, the Volkswagen Bus with its kitchenette and curtains became a family staple for all sorts of families. Yes, it's known as the hippie wagon built for the Summer of Love set, but it was also an ambulance, work van, truck, and camper. The Westfalia package even gave families pop-up tops, stoves, and other camping equipment to work with. While production for the United States lasted only 30 years, the last Volkswagen Bus didn't roll off the line in Brazil until 2013.
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Volkswagen Vanagon
These haven't been sold new here since the early '90s, but these Volkswagen vans were built for conversion. Some factory models were flat-out campers with a refrigerator, two-burner stove, stainless steel sink, cabinets, and heaters. You can still find multiple versions on used-car sites such as Autotrader, and replacement parts, including the Westfalia pop-up mesh top, are available on sites including GoWesty.
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Volkswagen Corrado
The Corrado isn't a household name, but this sports couple's 2.8-liter VR6 — a cross between a V6 and an inline 6 — had 178 horsepower and was one bad beast. Fast and stylish, it stuck around only from 1989 to 1995, but the Karmann-built vehicle was highly coveted among tuners and speed enthusiasts alike.
Volkswagen Golf R
The GTI is sporty and all, but it isn't going to give you 292 horsepower or a 4.9-second zero to 60. It also doesn't come with standard all-wheel drive that helps it take turns and hug terrain. It fattened up for a bit after its debut in 2003, but switching to a four-cylinder engine helped it slim down a bit.
Volkswagen Scirocco
From 1974 to 1998, this was "The Racing Volkswagen" in the United States. Named for its success in the Scirocco/Bilstein Cup series, it would later excel in category 1 Trans-Am races and help Volkswagen transition from air-cooled engines to water-cooled. It is by no means as lovely as the Karmann-Ghia, but it paved the way for the GTI by getting people thinking about VW as a sports brand.
Volkswagen Cabrio
For a generation, a certain Nick Drake song escaped its darker context and, thanks to Volkswagen, became the soundtrack to a lovely stargazing trip with the top down. This drop-top version of the Golf/Jetta was introduced in 1979, but left an indelible mark on the '90s with that one image.
VW-Porsche 914
From 1970 to 1976, long before VW actually owned Porsche, the two collaborated on this vehicle that had a lovely Porsche body but a four-cylinder Volkswagen engine under the hood. Though sold as Volkswagen-Porsches elsewhere, they were sold only as Porsches in the United States and actually outsold the Porsche 911 for a stretch after being named Motor Trend's import car of the year in 1970. It didn't last, but Porsche liked the engine enough to use variations of it in the 912 and 924.
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Volkswagen Routan
If you drove a Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Caravan minivan built between 2008 and 2013, you drove a Volkswagen Routan. Built for Volkswagen during a partnership with Chrysler and designed to help get Volkswagen a corner of the U.S. minivan market, the entire family of minivans sold 12 million vehicles during the Routan's lifetime. The bad news for Volkswagen is that only about 18,000 of those vehicles had the Routan name on them. It's one of the most popular vehicles that Volkswagen has even had a hand in building, even if it wasn't all that popular a Volkswagen.
Volkswagen Tiguan
We'd say the Tiguan has had a surprisingly successful run in the United States, but no small crossover SUV has "surprising" sales here. Looking to cash in on the success of the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape, and other successful small SUVs, Volkswagen introduced the Tiguan in 2008 and watched sales increase steadily each year. Though there was a drop-off in 2017, that was largely thanks to the introduction of an all-new Tiguan with a longer wheelbase.
Volkswagen Touareg
Named for a nomadic people of the Sahara, the Touareg was developed by Volkswagen Group, Audi, and Porsche as an off-road vehicle that could handle like a sports car. The Audi Q7 and the Porsche Cayenne wound up being far more popular than Volkswagen's version. That isn't entirely surprising, as the V6 and V8 Touaregs that came to the United States carried features and pricing a bit higher than what folks expected from VW. Though it was discontinued here in 2017, it had been in the market since 2003 and helped acclimate the States to the idea of a luxury SUV ... even if Volkswagen wasn't the brand to do so.
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Volkswagen 181
Conceived as Europe's answer to the Jeep and derived from the World War II-era Kubelwagen, the 181 was sold briefly in the United States as the Thing and made a cameo as a beach wagon in the 1970s. From 1968 until 1979, it served proudly during the Cold War until something better could come along.
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Volkswagen Atlas
Volkswagen can connect with a U.S. audience when it wants to, and made that clear with ads for the Atlas set to Simon & Garfunkel's "America." Meanwhile, introducing a bigger, connected SUV never hurts, either. A U.S. car-buying base that turned increasingly toward SUVs helped boost sales of the Atlas in 2019 but those numbers dropped dramatically post-pandemic.
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