Volkswagen Sharan MPV (2010-2022) - Reliability & safety

Reliability and safety are vital characteristics of any family car – especially one designed to carry seven people. Fortunately, the Sharan scores well in both areas – particularly safety, where it was rated very highly by testing body Euro NCAP and boasts a wide range of standard and optional protection equipment.

Volkswagen Sharan reliability

The Sharan has been on sale for almost a decade now and uses many proven VW Group parts and engines, so overall it’s a tried-and-tested product that shouldn’t develop many problems. The model itself didn’t feature in our 2021 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, but the Volkswagen brand overall dropped to 17th out of 29 manufacturers. Buyers rated the brand for build quality but, worryingly, its worst category was reliability with 15.2% of owners reporting a fault in the first year, which is odd for a manufacturer who usually prides itself on durable models.

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Safety

The Sharan is one of the oldest models in the Volkswagen model range scoring five stars when it was crash tested by Euro NCAP back in 2010. It was retested again in 2019 against the newer, far stricter testing criteria, earning only four stars - scoring 89% and 78% for adult and child protection respectively.

The line-up of standard safety kit is extensive and includes anti-lock brakes, curtain airbags, knee airbags, electronic stability control to help prevent skids, ISOFIX child-seat mounts, tyre-pressure monitoring and a seatbelt warning buzzer. All models also feature a post-collision braking system, which applies the brakes after a crash to prevent another one happening. You can also add integrated child seats, auto-dipping headlights, lane-keeping assistance, parking assistance and a rear-view camera from the options list.