I've owned 3 Volkswagens. They are incredibly reliable if you take care of them properly and will be on the road for a long time.
Their 4 cylinder turbo's especially. So long as you aren't red-lining it constantly.
I had:
2006 Jetta GLI (sold it) but ran great
Currently Have:
2004 Jetta GLI (my baby, currently garaged at the moment - will probably take it out in summer for a couple of months). I've done a ton of work to this car myself. Tuned, straight downpipe, upgraded turbo inlet, diverter valve - all the fun stuff. What a joy to drive. Has 125,000 and runs like a champ. Plan on doing some more work/turbo upgrade to it at some point down the line.
2009 Jetta SE (2.5 - NA). I have 188,000 on this car and it drives like I just drove it off the lot. Upgraded big brakes on the front, seasonal snow tires and summer wheels. I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to maintenance (oil every 2k) but since doing an oil change myself costs about the same as a 1/4 tank of gas, F it. I expect this car to last me for many years to come. It's my daily driver.
Wife Has:
2021 Tiguan SE-R line. Gorgeous car, 4 cy turbo. Giant sunroof. Incredible leg room, can fit 3 big dudes in the backseat and be perfectly comfortable. Drives like a dream.
4 Cylinder turbo's in general get a bad rep, from the early years where they weren't as dependable. But the tech has come a long way, that Passat if properly taken care of will last well past 200k. Plus if you go get an ECU tune you can add another 25-35 HP. It'll void a warranty on a new car, but given this passat has 112k on it I don't suspect that would be an issue.
just an FYI I am not as familiar with the passat's. My uncle has one, but it's the 2.5 inline 5 cylinder. I know some of the 4th and 5th gens had some issues with their V6. But that was ages ago. The German's make a darn fine vehicle.
High maintenance costs for german cars are generally siloed to BMW and some of the other 'overly engineered luxury lines'. I find it incredibly easy to work on mine and do almost all the work myself.