Test drive VW Passat Alltrack
Triathlon, kitesurfing and downhill skiing - being boring in the business world has long been out of fashion. Cars are forced to pull up ...
Now is the time that in the world of business it is not fashionable to be boring. Top managers of large companies rush headlong into triathlon, billionaires cross the seas on kitesurfs, and probably every second person has skis and snowboards on the shelves. And business-class cars are forced to catch up to meet new demands. They should already carry with comfort not only to the office, but also to the sea, and to the mountains, and not to the parking lot of a five-star hotel, but closer to the thick of things. Volkswagen has its own answer to the demands of extreme businessmen - the new Passat Alltrack all-terrain wagon.
Outwardly, of course, the Passat Alltrack no longer resembles a formal suit, but if the body is not painted in an exclusive bright orange color, then the ski overalls are not seen in the car. Here is an accent, there is an accent ... As on a wrist watch with a barometer, showing from under a cuff with cufflinks, only knowledgeable people recognize a colleague-diver in a businessman, so in the Passat the extreme essence does not stick out, but is easily determined if you know what look.
Pumped up biceps through the sleeves of the suit look through the extended wheel arches - they rest on wheels that are larger than those of standard cars. All-terrain trade wind wheels are at least 17-inch, and when assembled with tires, they are 15 mm larger in diameter than a regular Passat, and 10 mm wider. This, by the way, dictated several features of the car. Firstly, thanks to the enlarged wheels, it was possible to raise the ground clearance. Secondly, the changed wheel alignment angles and their size led to the need to install even on gasoline cars with an engine that produces 220 hp. and 350 Nm of the strongest DSG box available, the DQ500, which can withstand up to 600 Newtons.
As a result, even the weakest diesel version with a two-liter engine with 140 hp. the maximum torque reaches 340 newton meters. And the most powerful Passat Alltrack flaunts a 240 hp turbodiesel. and 500 Nm - more "newtons" Passat has not yet seen. This choice of power plants is not accidental: the creators decided that regardless of the engine chosen, the new Alltrack should be able to tow a trailer weighing up to 2200 kilograms.
It rides with such Alltrack engines as expected perfectly - proven by German unlimited autobahns. There is enough moment everywhere and always, and it doesn’t matter which gearbox and which engine: the only difference is whether the Passat will accelerate well or very well, and most of all this is noticeable closer to the mark of 220 kilometers per hour. By sharply pressing the gas pedal on a car with a junior diesel engine and “mechanics”, you will feel a push in the back regardless of the initial speed, even if you feel like accelerating sharply from 180 kilometers per hour. Each next motor is simply even more frisky and dynamic. From the older 240-horsepower version, there are sports car sensations at all.
The petrol car is quieter and accelerates more smoothly than the diesel versions, since the DSG “robot” has to change gears less often. Surprisingly, the engine sound of the diesel Passat is even better than that of the gasoline ones - juicy, deep and no chirping.
What you first expect to see on the move from the car, which was additionally raised above the ground, is the swinging in the corners. In the case of the off-road Passat, unforgiving physics has had its say. But only if you do not touch the DCC active suspension settings, leaving it in Normal mode. Switching to Sport mode solves the problem of excessive roll at the root, after which the huge station wagon with 174mm ground clearance begins to write arcs on the twisting paths with the agility of a hot hatch. This is assisted by the XDS + system, which brakes the inner wheel when cornering, additionally screwing the car into the corner. By the way, since the Passat Alltrack has four-wheel drive, XDS + works on both axles.
Unfortunately, there were no cars with conventional spring suspension in the test, but the engineers say that they have tuned the active suspension so that its medium mode matches the character of a car with conventional shock absorbers. In addition to the sporty one, there is also a comfortable suspension mode, with which the Passat Alltrack turns into a very comfortable barge on the waves of the sea.
Despite the abundance of options, in Russia, most likely, it is the gasoline Passat Alltrack with the DSG “robot” that will enjoy the maximum popularity. Such a car accelerates to 100 km / h in 6,8 seconds, can reach a maximum speed of 231 km / h and consumes only 6,9 liters of gasoline in the combined cycle. However, the top “diesel” overshadows these results: it shoots up to “hundreds” in 6,4 s, “maximum speed” is 234 km / h, and consumption is only 5,5 liters per 100 kilometers. With a tank volume of 66 liters, these figures mean more than 1000 kilometers on one tank. At the same time, one cannot fail to note a curious fact: the maximum torque of the gasoline engine is already developing at 1500 rpm - earlier than all diesel versions, and its “shelf” of torque is the widest.
Of course, not only the exterior design and technology of the new Passat Alltrack differs from a fellow without extreme manners. Inside the car, too, there are exclusive features: the seats here are finished in Alcantara with color stitching and Alltrack embroidery on the backs, steel pedals on the pedals, and on the multimedia system screen there is a special off-road mode that displays a compass, altimeter and wheel angle.
Off-road mode, of course, is available not only for the multimedia system, but also for the chassis of the car. And it includes not only special settings for shock absorbers, but also the response to pressing the gas pedal and even the anti-lock system. The latter in this mode works a little later, and the duration of the braking impulses and the time between them increase. This is necessary when braking on loose ground - the wheels blocking for a short time gather a small hill to help slow down.
Unfortunately, the off-road test drive program was limited to unauthorized trips to gravel tracks in the vicinity of Munich, on which one could understand only one thing: the rear wheels come into operation really quickly and imperceptibly. It is unlikely, of course, that Passat Alltrack will be able to compete with real SUVs in more severe conditions, but this is not required of him. Passat Alltrack will fulfill its main task - with equal ease to deliver the owner for negotiations or with skis to a remote chalet, for a business lunch or with a surfboard directly to the beach - Passat Alltrack will fulfill it without giving a second to doubt its belonging to the business class.
