Passat Alltrack: The Everyman's Allroad

Volkswagen must see a need for a cheaper A4 Allroad to compete with vehicles like the Subaru Outback because it will be introducing a Passat Alltrack in 2012 that lifts the Passat wagon up slightly and adds all-wheel drive. The Alltrack is meant to merge the form of a wagon with the utility of an SUV. 

The exterior of the Alltrack has some minor changes over the standard Passat Estate. It has flared fenders, under-body guards, protective body panels around the edges of the car, and it sits higher than a Passat Estate to give it better approach angles. 

The Alltrack is available with a choice of two petrol engines and two diesels. The petrol engines produce either 160ps or 210ps, and the diesels make either 140ps or 170ps. Both diesels come with start/stop and regenerative braking. All-wheel drive comes standard on the 210ps and 170ps cars, but it is an option on the 140ps version, while front-wheel drive is standard. The most powerful versions also come with a transverse differential lock and dual-clutch transmission. The 140ps diesel uses 5.7l/100km and produces 150g/km of CO2, and the 170ps diesel uses 5.9l/100km and produces 155g/km of CO2. 

Volkswagen is aiming the Alltrack for real off-road duty. All cars come with a steel under-body guard that protects the engine, gearbox, oil sump and the front of the exhaust. They also come with ABS, Hill Descent Assist, Electronic Differential Lock and specific programs for the DSG when going off road with elevated shift points. 

While the chassis is the same as the Passat Estate, the Alltrack sits 30mm higher at 165mm. This allows the front approach angle to increase to 16 degrees from 13.5 degrees and the rear approach angle to increase to 13.6 degrees from 11.9 degrees. While the ramp angle, which keeps the car from bottoming out when going over a hill, has increased to 12.8 degrees from 9.5 degrees. 

The Passat Alltrack is already available in some European countries like Germany and will be rolling out to the rest of Europe of the next few months. In Germany, a front-wheel drive 1.8 TSI Passat Alltrack starts at €33,450 while a 170ps 2.0 TDI with DSG tops out at €40,075.