Volkswagen Passat Alltrack (2015 – 2020) Review

The Volkswagen Passat Alltrack competes in the small but fiercely competitive 4x4 estate market. Based on the standard Passat estate, the Alltrack boasts extra ground clearance, four-wheel drive and some protective body armour to enable it to go places the standard Passat models cannot reach. Rivals include the Audi A4 Allroad and Volvo V60 Cross Country. Few will mourn its passing, but many are missing out on a highly accomplished estate car.

The Volkswagen Passat Alltrack is one of the best estate cars you didn’t buy. Built to rival the likes of the Audi A4 Allroad, Volvo V60 Cross Country and Subaru Outback, the Passat Alltrack offers the practicality of an estate car, the ruggedness of an SUV, and the driving characteristics of a family SUV.

Sounds like the perfect recipe, doesn’t it? So it’s bewildering to think that so few people bought a Volkswagen Passat Alltrack in the UK. Notice the use of the past tense; as of summer 2020, the Passat Alltrack has been removed from the UK range. Last chance to buy, etc.

What did it do wrong? Nothing, really. The Passat Alltrack is another victim of the buying public’s fascination with crossovers and SUVs. The jacked-up premium estate car market has decreased in size to such an extent that Volkswagen has pulled the plug on the unpopular off-road wagon.

Let’s look at the positives. The Alltrack is based on one of the most practical family estate cars you can buy, with an image and level of quality closer to the premium players than the volume manufacturers. Don’t think of the Passat as an expensive rival to the Ford Mondeo and Skoda Octavia, consider it to be an affordable competitor to the Audi A4 and Volvo V60.

To create the Alltrack, Volkswagen has taken the best bits of the standard Passat estate, then added some bits to ready it for the great outdoors. Increased ground clearance, raised by 27.5mm, is the most noticeable change.

The Alltrack also boasts off-road suspension, unique front and rear bumpers, underbody protection, wheel arch protection, 18-inch alloy wheels and ‘Summit’ cloth upholstery. It also comes with some of the best bits from the Passat options catalogue.

The boot is huge – large enough to carry whatever paraphernalia is associated with your weekend activities. Whatever you can’t fit in the boot can be added to the optional roof bars. An Alltrack looks a little naked without a surfboard, kayak or mountain bike on the roof.

The cabin is a class act, offering the kind of quality you’d associate with a car wearing a premium badge. Although Volkswagen positions the Alltrack as a five-seater, it works best as a spacious four-seater with the fifth seat reserved for occasional use.

Predictably, the Passat Alltrack majors on comfort. The raised ride height helps to cushion you from any imperfections in the road, regardless of whether you’re travelling on asphalt or something rougher. For rutted tracks, grassy hills and green lanes, the Passat Alltrack is the ideal off-road estate car.

Which begs the question: why did so few people buy one? Partly because it was too expensive when new – £40,000 is enough to secure a seriously impressive family SUV. It’s also because so many people have migrated to SUVs and crossovers.

We liked it as a new car, but it’s even more desirable on the used car market. Prices start from less than £15,000, which makes the Passat Alltrack one of the second-hand bargains of 2020. 

It’s a smooth and relaxing car to drive, whether you’re on a motorway, a rutted track or a slippery field.

This is a car for driving in straight lines, on or off the road. The lofty stance of the Passat Alltrack means that the car leans when cornering, although there’s plenty of grip, so it never feels anything other than safe and assured.

That said, the Passat Alltrack is nicer to drive than the vast majority of SUVs – and you even get a slightly raised driving position, so you can ‘lord it’ over other estate car drivers. With a set of winter tyres, the Passat Alltrack will be a faithful companion when the temperatures drop. Enjoy the standard-fit heated seats.

The 2.0-litre TDI engine is perfectly suited to the Passat Alltrack, offering a brilliant blend of performance and economy. The 400Nm torque means it makes light work of off-roading, while 190PS means it’s powerful enough for road use. It’s also remarkably efficient, with the ability to return up to 46.3mpg on a combined cycle.

Power is transmitted to the wheels via a seven-speed DSG transmission, with paddle shifts on the steering wheel for increased control, which will come in handy when you’re driving off-road. The DSG transmission can be frustrating at times, especially at low speeds, but its relaxed demeanour seems to suit the Passat Alltrack.

A 150PS version of the 2.0 TDI was available in the past. Performance is adequate, but the key difference is that it was paired with a six-speed manual gearbox. We actually prefer the smaller engine – it’s a shame it was removed from the range.

The Volkswagen Passat saloon was awarded a five-star safety rating when it was crash-tested by Euro NCAP in 2014. Although the estate wasn’t tested, we’d expect the rating to be the same.

Standard safety equipment includes multiple airbags, post-collision braking, electronic stability control, pre-crash preventive occupant protection, tyre pressure monitoring and two Isofix points on the outer rear seats.

There’s also a suite of driver assistance systems, including adaptive cruise control, city braking, driver alert, hill-hold, automatic headlights, lane assist, traffic jam assist, front and rear parking sensors, and automatic wipers. You also get the reassurance of Volkswagen’s 4Motion four-wheel-drive system.

The Passat Alltrack provides excellent towing capabilities, offering a maximum towing weight of 2200kg. The combination of four-wheel-drive, a kerbweight of 1725kg and a torquey diesel engine means it’s suited to towing a caravan or large trailer.

The Volkswagen Passat Alltrack offers the kind of practicality you won’t find in the majority of family SUVs. Although the boot isn’t quite as cavernous as the standard Passat, we suspect you’ll find 639 litres of space is large enough to cope with whatever you throw at it. The rear seats split 40/20/40 to provide the kind of space you’d associate with a van.

You can fit three adults along the back row, although the Passat Alltrack works best as a spacious four-seater. The middle seat sits higher than the outer pair, while legroom is restricted by the transmission tunnel and a storage box. There are Isofix mounting points on the outer seats.

An electric tailgate is fitted as standard, as is a full size spare wheel, which could come in handy if you venture too far off the beaten track. Only a lack of clever storage solutions stops the Passat Alltrack from being the ultimate enemy of the SUV.

A clever use of soft-touch plastics in key areas and a leather-trimmed steering wheel leave a great first impression, while the ‘Summit’ cloth seats feel upmarket and hard-wearing.

It also helps that the Passat Alltrack is loaded with a generous level of standard equipment, which goes some way to justifying the relatively high price. It’s not quite up to the high standards set by Audi and Mercedes-Benz, but the Passat Alltrack runs the premium players very close.

An eight-inch colour touchscreen infotainment system is fitted as standard, which is superior to the 6.5-inch screen found in lesser models. The display is crisp and sharp, while the logical menu system makes it easy to operate on the move.

Highlights include satellite navigation with European mapping, eight speakers, DAB digital radio, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, voice control, USB charging and telephone connectivity.

You also get a three-year subscription to We Connect Plus, which provides services for traffic info, route calculation, petrol stations and car parking. We’d recommend the excellent 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, which replaces the traditional dials with a customisable display.

Although the Passat Alltrack was officially axed from the UK range in summer 2020, it’s still possible to buy a new car while stocks last. It’s not a cheap car.

It costs, as near as makes no difference, £39,500, which makes it one of the most expensive models in the Passat range. For some context, that’s roughly the same price as the GTE plug-in hybrid, and around £12,000 more than the entry-level Passat estate.

The expense is justified by the generous level of standard equipment, the bespoke appearance and the four-wheel-drive system. It’s also better value than the R-Line and R-Line Edition models, which can cost up to £45,500.

Of the 2500 Passats for sale when we looked, just 37 were Alltrack models. Of these, just 22 were the current version. You’ll be joining an exclusive club.

Prices start from around £14,000 for a 2016 model, which is exceptional value for money when you consider how much the cars cost when new. Even a 2017 car could cost as little as £16,000, with the remainder of the original Volkswagen warranty. The most expensive Passat Alltrack we could find cost £20,000. Make no mistake, this is a used car bargain.

PCP deals start from around £265 a month for a 2016 example, rising to £450 a month for a 2018 model. Buying one of the new Passat Alltrack models in stock could mean you can negotiate a more favourable PCP deal. But be warned: heavy initial depreciation means that it will be more cost-effective to buy a popular family SUV.

If the initial depreciation is scary, the running costs should help to soften the blow. Fuel economy of 42.2mpg to 46.3mpg is respectable for a large estate car with a four-wheel-drive system. This makes the Passat Alltrack more economical than the small petrol variants, while even the 1.6-litre diesel isn’t significantly more economical.

These figures are based on the Passat Alltrack with a seven-speed DSG transmission. In the past, the Alltrack was available with a manual gearbox, but the economy figures were sourced using the less reliable NEDC testing formula. The claimed 57.6mpg should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Thanks to an insurance group rating of 25, the Passat Alltrack will be less expensive to insure than the R-Line Edition (group 33). It should also be cheaper than an Audi A4 Allroad (groups 26 to 41).

Buy a Passat Alltrack registered on or after 1 April 2017 and you’ll pay £150 a year for Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). The rate should be the same for cars registered before this date, but owning a Passat Alltrack with a manual gearbox could save you £25 a year.

The Passat Alltrack could be called the ‘Highlander’ – because there is only one. It offers the excellent standard specification you’ll find on the R-Line, albeit in a more rugged, outdoor flavour. Raised ground clearance, off-road suspension, 18-inch ‘Kalamata’ alloy wheels, Alltrack styling and ‘Summit’ cloth upholstery are just some of the hallmarks.

If you live at the end of a rutted track or in a region of the country where the weather is less than friendly – Wales, Scotland, Lake District or Dartmoor, etc – the Passat Alltrack is the ideal winter wagon. More spacious than an SUV, better to drive and, subjectively, better looking.