Today we are driving a Volkswagen Passat Alltrack for a review. It is a very famous car from the house of Wolfsburg, but reinterpreted in a new version to be discovered. To better test this station wagon with off-road qualities we went to the top of Monte Senario, in Tuscany.
Volkswagen Passat is a car born in 1973 and over the years, generation after generation, it has become a best seller with as many as 30 million units sold. Today we are driving the eighth generation, in particular its restyling. The aesthetic changes are limited, in fact we find a redesigned chrome grille, new LED headlights and renewed bumpers. The color, in our opinion is beautiful and it is called Metallic Bottle Green.
Inside the Volkswagen Passat Alltrack there is plenty of high quality materials. The finishes are very accurate, to the point of finding the door pockets equipped with noise-reducing carpet. Finally, the multicolored ambient lighting makes the passenger compartment very welcoming and aligned with the latest tendencies even at night.
Space is not lacking, as it is logical to expect from a Passat. The trunk is in fact has a capacity of 640 liters. At the center of the dashboard we find the Discover Pro infotainment system, offered as standard, based on the new system called MIB3. The 9.2-inch capacitive screen is always fluid and clearly visible, it also offers LTE connectivity and voice commands which can also be accessed by voice using the keyword “Hello Volkswagen”. It is also compatible with CarPlayed Android Auto (also wireless). To complete this system there is the 10.25 inch Digital Cockpit.
The engine is the now proven 190 horsepower 2.0 TDI used in many cars of the group, combined with the 7-speed DSG and 4Motion all-wheel drive. Thanks to a torque of 400nm, despite the weight of just over 1700kg, the car has an excellent recovery. The credit is also due to the excellent DSG gearbox, which is always a certainty. Shifting is fast and so smooth it’s almost unnoticeable.
Volkswagen Passat Alltrack is not a sports car, it is a car for traveling kilometers in the most comfortable and safe way possible; in fact, the car is very stable and immediately instills safety. Given the high center of gravity, the roll in curves is present but the electrically adjustable suspension does an excellent job. The DCC, an optional € 1185 equipped on the car under test, is absolutely to be considered when purchasing this Passat Alltrack. With the 18-inch wheels you can have a really very good absorption of roughness, without sacrificing the aesthetic side. If desired, 19-inch wheels are also available as an option.
In Offroad mode, also thanks to DCC, Volkswagen Passat Alltrack transforms and is ready even when the going gets tougher. The ground clearance is also sufficient to be able to tackle even rough paths. For a car designed also for long journeys, consumption is very important, which is absolutely excellent given the type of car. On the highway at 130 km / h it is possible to have a distance of 5.5L / 100km, while in the city it goes down to 7L / 100km. The overall average of the test stood at 6.2 liters per 100km.
In the restyling of the Passat, all driving assistants are also updated, introducing the Travel Assist. This system is the union of Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Assist. Its operation is always precise, gradual and never too abrupt. Moreover, thanks to the steering wheel with capacitive sensors, the application of a force on the steering wheel is no longer required to keep the assistants active, but just keep your hands supported.
Driving safety also includes an advanced night lighting system, the car being tested is equipped with the € 2,500 Light package which includes, in addition to the interior ambient lighting, also the IQ LED matrix headlights. LIGHT. These headlights, thanks to the LED matrix, are able to keep the high beams always active even when another car is arriving in the high lane. In order not to annoy the other drivers, in fact, the headlight turns off the LEDs so as not to illuminate the opposing cars.
The Volkswagen Passat Alltrack, equipped with the 2.0 TDI, DSG gearbox and 4Motion all-wheel drive, starts at 49,000 euros. A car equipped as the one in the test reaches € 54,000. A balanced price for a car with these qualities. Furthermore, it must also be taken into account that the competitors to the Passat Alltrack are very few. In a market where SUVs are often preferred to more classic station wagons, Passat Alltrack manages to blend the best of both worlds, thus creating a car that does not disdain off-road routes, but with significantly better efficiency and behavior on the road than a SUV.
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