2023 Volkswagen Passat Alltrack review

The 2023 Volkswagen Passat Alltrack is VW’s self-described “adventurous all-rounder”. 

One of the few bona-fide wagons still in existence, the Passat Alltrack takes Volkswagen’s medium passenger offering and raises its ground clearance.

The Passat Alltrack is like the automotive equivalent of those businesspeople who wear running shoes for their commute. Slick, stylish – but ready for action. 

It answers the call of consumers who still want a car that drives like a car, but need the flexibility of a big boot and an off-road-friendly stance. 

The question is: can the Passat Alltrack achieve both without compromising? 

Currently in its sixth generation, the Volkswagen Passat Alltrack recently swapped a diesel powertrain for a petrol one.

Offered in two specification grades, the Passat Alltrack is now powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine outputting a peak of 162kW and 350Nm. 

This is paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that sends power to all four wheels via Volkswagen’s ‘4Motion’ all-wheel-drive system. 

I’m testing the base Passat Alltrack, which is priced from $50,790 plus on-road costs and offers cloth seats, 18-inch alloy wheels and LED headlights.

The Glacier White metallic paint it’s wearing adds a hefty $900 to the purchase price, bringing the total as-tested price to $51,590 before on-road costs. 

Opting for the higher-spec Premium variant will cost you a full $12,000 more and will add features like a 360-degree camera, a large infotainment screen, a panoramic glass sunroof, 19-inch alloy wheels, leather-appointed seat trim and a premium Harman Kardon sound system. 

The entry-level Passat Alltrack is actually $6400 cheaper than the regular Passat, which boasts the same engine but is only available with front-wheel drive. 

Very few hit the same criteria as the Passat Alltrack: wagon, under $100,000, with off-road-friendly styling and all-wheel drive.

With that combination in mind, its two key rivals are the Subaru Outback and the Volvo V60 Cross Country. 

The Outback offers a bigger range, with pricing starting at $42,690 plus on-road costs and topping out at $55,990 plus on-road costs – making it more affordable than the VW Passat Alltrack across the board.

Meanwhile, the Volvo V60 Cross Country is even more limiting with only a single specification grade priced from $69,640 plus on-road costs. 

In that context, pricing for the Passat Alltrack offers a nice mid-point.

If you’ve got more money to spend, you could also look at the Passat’s more premium big sister, the Audi A4 Allroad, priced from $79,700 plus on-road costs. 

The top-spec Skoda Superb Sportline is also equipped with all-wheel drive and is priced from $66,590 plus on-road costs, but does without the raised suspension and light-duty off-road aesthetics of the Passat Alltrack. 

In the cabin of the Passat Alltrack, Volkswagen has done a nice job of fancying up a base package so that you never feel robbed of a premium feel. 

The ‘7 Summits’ seat trim is actually a combination of fabric, faux suede and faux leather that’s far superior to the usual cloth trim. 

The seats themselves offer manual adjustment (with electric lumbar support for the driver) and there’s no heating or ventilation available. 

Meanwhile, the steering wheel and gearstick are finished in a lovely soft genuine leather that further elevates the cabin. 

The dash has a clean, neat understated feel, with a small 8.0-inch touchscreen serving as the focal point.

There’s no wireless phone charger, but there’s a rubber-lined storage tray that will comfortably accommodate your smartphone, plus a 12-volt outlet and two USB-C ports in the centre console storage box.

Front seat storage consists of two cupholders, a second, smaller rubber-lined tray near the parking brake, a sunglasses-holder above your head and long, narrow door bins. 

The tri-zone climate-control system is managed via a strip of touch buttons beneath the infotainment screen that were intuitive to use. 

I’m aware the Passat Alltrack offers a lifted ride height compared with the regular Passat, but it still feels low compared to your average SUV. As a result, getting in and out of the car takes a bit more of an effort than is required in my own car, the Subaru Outback.

Once inside, I had loads of headroom, and legroom in the back seat is good but could be reduced with taller front seat occupants. 

However, the raised section of flooring in the middle of the second row means back seat occupants will experience reduced legroom. 

There are ISOFIX tether points on each of the rear outboard seats, plus three top-tether attachments at the back of the second row.

My child seat was easy to install and allowed adequate space for two other back seat occupants, but left the middle seat somewhat cramped. 

In terms of second-row storage, there are small door bins and a stiff centre armrest with two cupholders.

Back seat occupants also get their own strip of climate controls and two air vents at the back of the centre console. 

Helpfully, the rear seats fold in a 40:20:40 configuration allowing for maximum flexibility with child seats installed. 

The boot of the VW Passat Alltrack is one of its strongest suits by offering a whopping 650L of cargo space with all seats in place. That’s a bigger boot than the one available in VW’s Tiguan medium SUV. 

There’s no power tailgate on the base grade, but there are levers to remotely lower the second row, plus storage hooks and a 12-volt outlet. There’s also a retractable cargo blind, but it runs on a track that I found could prove pesky for functionality.

When removed, it stores away neatly in a designated area under the boot floor, while still allowing room for the Passat Alltrack’s full-size spare – which is a huge win for practicality. 

The 8.0-inch touchscreen that features on the base-spec Passat Alltrack is small, with simplistic black-and-white menu icons, FM, AM and DAB digital radio, and a fairly basic in-built satellite navigation system.

Interestingly, all other Passat wagon grades receive a larger 9.2-inch unit with gesture and voice control and a 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system – the base Alltrack is the only grade that misses out. 

In my base-spec Passat Alltrack, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring was available through both wireless and wired connections.

I’d suggest you favour the latter, at least for CarPlay, because the wireless connection took me several attempts to initiate and then was prone to dropping out at inopportune moments. 

In terms of infotainment, the Passat Alltrack feels like it does the minimum but doesn’t strive to impress. 

Provided you avoid wireless CarPlay, you won’t encounter issues with functionality, but it’s arguable the entire system could use an upgrade.  

The latest-generation Volkswagen Passat range, including the Alltrack variants, is unrated by ANCAP.

When this generation Passat was first introduced in 2015 it carried a five-star ANCAP result, but that rating has since expired (in December 2022) with no subsequent retesting. ANCAP's evolving criteria mean that older results aren't comparable to current ratings. For the previous test results, click here.

As standard, all Passat variants feature driver and front passenger airbags, a driver’s knee airbag, driver and front passenger side airbags, outer rear seat passenger side airbags and curtain airbags in the front and rear.  

All Passat wagon variants receive Volkswagen’s full suite of IQ Drive assistance features, including adaptive cruise control with adaptive lane guidance, driver fatigue detection, front and rear parking sensors and a speed limiter.

There’s also a self-park function that can handle all the manoeuvring for parallel parking and is remarkably precise. 

This is a comprehensive offering, but I had a few gripes.

The cruise control wasn’t particularly intuitive to manage through the steering wheel controls, but it worked well to take the stress out of longer freeway stints, without completely taking over like more advanced systems I've encountered.

I also found the parking sensors were quick to escalate and didn’t provide enough accuracy for effectively judging distance from obstacles.

Finally, the reverse camera was a little low-calibre for my taste. In lieu of the 360-degree unit available on higher grades, I would have appreciated a crisper resolution or a wider field of view. 

Every new Volkswagen comes with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and one year of free roadside assistance.

Volkswagen offers prepaid Care Plans that lock in servicing costs upfront and offer a discount on the typical servicing prices.

For the Passat Alltrack, a three-year Care Plan costs $1450, while a five-year Care Plan costs $2900.

If you opt for pay-as-you-go servicing, you’ll pay $1798 over three years, or $3909 over five years.

Prepaid servicing for the Passat Alltrack is marginally cheaper than prepaid service costs for the Volvo V60 Cross Country, which are $1750 for three years, or $3000 for five years. 

Meanwhile, the Outback is slightly cheaper to service at $1387.25 for a three-year service plan, or $2674.64 for a five-year service plan. 

The VW Passat Alltrack will cost $1357.73 to insure annually based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

That’s fairly affordable given the Volvo V60 Cross Country, which returned an annual cost of $2412.56 based on the same comparative quote. 

The Passat Alltrack has a 66L fuel tank and must be filled with premium unleaded fuel with a minimum octane rating of 95, which has a slightly higher price than regular unleaded.

The Passat Alltrack’s fuel economy is far better on the freeway than it is around town.

For the Passat Alltrack, VW quotes combined fuel consumption of 10.1L/100km for urban driving, 7.0L/100km for extra-urban driving and 8.1L/100km on a combined driving cycle.

My final real-world figure was 9.5L/100km overall, but when I was just driving short distances in traffic it hit 10.7L/100km. 

That higher urban consumption, combined with the minimum 95RON requirement, could result in more frequent – and costly – trips to the service station. 

The VW Passat Alltrack has a distinctly car-like feel on the road, offering good dynamics and a lovely sense of quiet refinement in the cabin. 

The steering feel is fluid and direct and acceleration is sporty, with a proper kick when you need it courtesy of the dual-clutch transmission. This is particularly noticeable in sport mode, which dials up the car’s overall punchiness for a more exhilarating driver feel. 

Unfortunately, this also means it doesn’t feel quite as “adventure-ready” as advertised.

Despite having a raised ride height compared to the regular Passat wagon, the Passat Alltrack still feels low to the ground.

As a result, the car feels like it can be thrown off balance over uneven surfaces, and while the suspension dulls most edges, you might find there’s a sharpness to the ride that isn’t an issue in a full-blown SUV. 

Similarly, manoeuvres like mounting a kerb or driving over a pronounced road edge didn’t feel as effortless as I’d hoped. 

Another element that didn’t inspire confidence in the Passat Alltrack was the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

While the car is surefooted, courtesy of the 4Motion all-wheel-drive system, the transmission shows hesitation from a standstill and is inconsistent at low speeds.

For example, when I needed to take off quickly from a standstill to merge onto a main road, I’d experience a lag, and it would take the transmission a few beats to move from reverse to drive when manoeuvring.

On several occasions I experienced some roll-back while stopped at an intersection on a hill, almost like I was driving a manual car. 

The trade-off for that patchy performance at low speeds is sharper acceleration at higher speeds, with the Passat Alltrack offering proper enjoyment and abundant power at higher speeds.

Overall refinement is also one of the Passat Alltrack’s strong suits, with minimal tyre and wind noise penetrating the cabin. Even when engine noise becomes apparent under heavy acceleration, it’s a satisfying growl rather than a dull drone. 

Meanwhile, firm and effective brakes contribute to an overall sense of sharpness and driver dynamics. 

The Volkswagen Passat Alltrack is an elegant, refined wagon with the surefootedness of all-wheel drive and the convenience of extra ride height and a huge boot.

With its punchy performance, crisp refinement and comfortable cabin, it feels like the perfect companion for a long-haul road trip and an ideal tourer. 

However, around town, patchy performance from the dual-clutch transmission can prove troublesome, while high urban fuel consumption could cost you at the bowser. 

Even with its more off-road-ready stance, the Passat Alltrack can’t quite match the 'go anywhere' versatility of an SUV, with limits to its ground clearance, ride height and visibility. 

Still, if you crave a car that feels like a car, with a boot that can accommodate all your stuff and then some, the Passat Alltrack nails the brief.