Passat Alltrack availability in Australia?

[Marakai]

Hello all,

New to the VW forums and only starting out on the quest to become a Passat owner late in 2012 or early 2013.

Some background:

Wife and I fell in lust with the Passat ever since we visited my folks in Germany and had a chance to ride with my step-dad, a fanatic Passat owner for over 15 years. I still remember sitting next to him, thinking his board computer was faulty, because we were going 200km/h on the Autobahn yet his Bluemotion was sipping around 5l/100km He's now on his fifth Passat and never had an issue.

What really got us excited was a) the announcement that Bluemotion tech would finally come to Aus and b) the announcement of the new Passat Alltrack.

So, WHEN is that wonder-vehicle available on our shores? If later this year, the timing could be perfect, but we'd like to get a chance to test drive it and also expect that the delivery times are going to be in the 6-9 month range. If it won't be available until whoknowswhen in 2013, it would be a bummer as our options are then somewhat limited.

There don't seem to be many alternatives: either theres's no TDI frugal engine (every Aus and almost every import car), or no 4WD (e.g. the "normal" Passat), or out of our price range (e.g. Audi Allroad Quattro) - or surprisingly uncomfortable for our very tall frames (we're both >6footers) (e.g. Subaru).

We have no interest in going "full" SUV, but a "sportwagon" may be just what we require for our lifestyle. Said lifestyle includes the need to occasionally haul a horse-trailer about (*). That means the Alltrack, with 2200kg up to 12%, while otherwise still offering a nice roomy, yet sporty vehicle with room for dogs and riding gear sounds just like what we need.

Concerns are some of the stories about reliability, especially the whole "injector saga". Friends who own VWs of various models have been similarly enthusiastic in their praise, so I'm not sure what to make of statistics...

If you're a dealer reading this feel free to post if you have any "official" information. I do understand that so far the announcements have been limited to press releases. However, on volkswagen.de you can already download specs, prices and order it, so it's not a vapourwagen.

Sorry for the lengthy "stream of consciousness" post, just wanted to show that we'd been pondering this for a while and this is/was sort of the decision process.

Cheers
Mike

(*) I feel the need to add:

If there are people with experience in towing horses whose hair is standing up at the thought of a non-SUV towing a massive 2-horse trailer (which can go up to 2500kg): yes, I would agree. Thus let me emphasize that we envision only 2 reasons to do this:

a) a single horse needs to go to the vet or similar, or a new horse was purchased and we bring it home. At estimated <2000kg that's safely within the towing capacity
b) in a life or death emergency which requires transport of 2 horses, such as a bushfire that requires evacuation in which case a temporary exceeding of maximum weight is the least of our worries

A full-bore petrol-guzzling SUV for those rare-if-ever occasions is just not wise in our estimate. Most of the time we just need lots of space for riding gear and carrots.



We don't envision casual hauling about of 2 massive warmbloods just for the lulz.

[richdave]

Your wait will not be too long according to this article It appears to be essentially the passat version of the Subaru outback et al. Why not juts get a Skoda Scout? They are available now and quite cheap too...

[Marakai]

Your wait will not be too long according to this article It appears to be essentially the passat version of the Subaru outback et al. Why not juts get a Skoda Scout? They are available now and quite cheap too...

Hi there! Thanks for the reply. My wife actually ogled the Skoda - it looks like a twin of the Passat in many ways.

My concerns are that it's "more nichy", i.e. support, service and spares could be an issue, now or long-term. As well as the fact that quality-wise, the Passats I know are still Made in Germany (unlike other VWs and unlike Skodas, AFAIK). Maybe a bit of left-over chauvisnism. I've owned and driven German, American, Japanese and Australian cars, but apart from the Mazda 626 Coupe years ago in Germany, I've never been happier with a car than when it was an Audi, BMW or VW.

EDIT: whoops, hit the post button too soon. Also, we're not in the market right now. We've almost got the house paid off and then we plan to pay cash for the car. No intention to borrow or lease.

---------- Post added at 06:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 PM ----------

Your wait will not be too long according to this article It appears to be essentially the passat version of the Subaru outback et al. Why not juts get a Skoda Scout? They are available now and quite cheap too...

Just checked the spec on the Scout. It's not in the league of a Passat and its towing weight is only 1600kg. That's an empty 2-horse trailer. Wont do. The Superb just seems to be a 2WD sub-Highline Passat, with an even lower towing weight of 1500kg (even the higher 2WD Passats manage 1700-1900).

[entice]

We have a 2 yr old outback and its phenomenally good at what its intended purpose is. Seats are suprisingly good on long trips, not as good for the short stints. From day 1 i've been waiting for the horrible Yoko Geolanders to give way but at 35,000km's they're still over 50%. they are the worse part of the car.

in a few weeks (maybe even months) we'll be receiving a replacement for this, and that's the Passat TDI. the level of fit and finish and refinement is completely different, but then again so too is the price.
Oh, and the Outback diesel is a manual only item. But, it is a brilliant tow vehicle. We took a tandem trailer from brunswick to Bairnsdale, went out to the bottom of a paddock, winched up a car from a shed, and drove it back up the paddock, and all teh way back to reservoir. The thing didnt struggle going uphills in 6th, and returned less than 8L/100KM for the trip. And remember, we were towing, with the A/C on!

So, dont discount the subie if you're on a budget and want something that is really HUGE. I mean the rear legroom is massive, and teh boot is huge! But you'll have to have a manual, and have to settle for japanese build "quality" and fit and finish, but phenomenal reliability.

[team_v]

The All-Track is expected to be released in Australia by March, then you can test-drive it.
Ordering would usually place you 4-6 months later unless they bring on in that you are happy to purchase.

See here: http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/foru...tor-65328.html

[phaeton]

According to http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25799000224D0A GoAuto Alltrack is scheduled for August release 2 months after revised CC arrives in June.

[Marakai]

According to Volkswagen 2012 Up - Volkswagen goes Up in 2012 | GoAuto GoAuto Alltrack is scheduled for August release 2 months after revised CC arrives in June.

That timing could work out perfectly, allowing for delays and for dealers to get test drive stock in, etc.

Many thanks!

---------- Post added at 09:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 AM ----------

We have a 2 yr old outback and its phenomenally good at what its intended purpose is. Seats are suprisingly good on long trips, not as good for the short stints. From day 1 i've been waiting for the horrible Yoko Geolanders to give way but at 35,000km's they're still over 50%. they are the worse part of the car.

in a few weeks (maybe even months) we'll be receiving a replacement for this, and that's the Passat TDI. the level of fit and finish and refinement is completely different, but then again so too is the price.
Oh, and the Outback diesel is a manual only item. But, it is a brilliant tow vehicle. We took a tandem trailer from brunswick to Bairnsdale, went out to the bottom of a paddock, winched up a car from a shed, and drove it back up the paddock, and all teh way back to reservoir. The thing didnt struggle going uphills in 6th, and returned less than 8L/100KM for the trip. And remember, we were towing, with the A/C on!

So, dont discount the subie if you're on a budget and want something that is really HUGE. I mean the rear legroom is massive, and teh boot is huge! But you'll have to have a manual, and have to settle for japanese build "quality" and fit and finish, but phenomenal reliability.

Not really discounting it - the wife did at one point some years ago (were still living in the US) seriously consider it. So much so, IIRC that she had her heart set on it and was almost disappointed when she just couldn't come to like it. May have been some friend recommended it or such. The main issue was that the seat surface was too short and didn't offer enough thigh support for long-legged people like us. It caused fatigue even during the relatively short test drives. Plus the price of the vehicle back then (mid 90s in California) with decent features on our budget then it was quite steep. I won't tell the story of how she then ended up with some Ford which is probably still on her list as the most hated car she ever drove. A major reason she wouldn't be caught dead in a Ford/GM/Chrysler/Holden/etc.

Also, as you said, the Diesel is manual only. Not an option for a yank wife who never drove a stick since her very first car in high school. I wouldn't mind, in fact I prefer them, unless you're talking really annoying city stop'n'go. DSG is our compromise, you could say.

Cheers!

---------- Post added at 09:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:02 AM ----------

While I'm at it, has there been any indication what the Alltrack will cost semi-loaded? At this point I can only look at RRPs for the usual Passats and am sort of hand-waving the pricing based on the top version of the Passat Highlines. That and download the German RRP pricelists in Euro and gulp, then multiply by about 1.5.

[entice]

Like you I can only guess it will be around 5-10K more than a similarly specced Passat TDI.

or, look at the Skoda Scout, and add 5+K perhaps. so make that around 55-60K On the road???

[Marakai]

Like you I can only guess it will be around 5-10K more than a similarly specced Passat TDI.

or, look at the Skoda Scout, and add 5+K perhaps. so make that around 55-60K On the road???

That wouldn't even be too bad, seeing as base list price is 40K Euro for the 125kW TDI DSG plus extras/options coming to 50K Euro. Would have expected in the 70K range loaded, barring a good deal/haggling.

[richdave]

Quote - Pricing will be unveiled closer to the launch date but it will be cheaper than the $57,990 of the Passat 4Motion wagon and more than the existing front-drive $45,990 2-litre diesel version.

[team_v]

Quote - Pricing will be unveiled closer to the launch date but it will be cheaper than the $57,990 of the Passat 4Motion wagon and more than the existing front-drive $45,990 2-litre diesel version.

Artciel is up on drive:
First drive - Volkswagen Alltrack

They are saying base model 125TDI will be 50k + on road costs.

[Marakai]

Artciel is up on drive:
First drive - Volkswagen Alltrack

They are saying base model 125TDI will be 50k + on road costs.

Thanks for the link. So we're talking a $65K car once you add in options and "on road costs" (aka government price gouging and whoever else has their hand in the till )

[Inego]

I have a Scout (and am very happy with it following an Outback). But, being tall and with two growing boys, the Alltrack is firmly in my sights as a next car (well, until I can convince my wife on an allroad ).

However, don't discount the Scout if you're currently looking. It's a fine car, and Skoda regularly beats VW in euro quality surveys. There is an A4 allroad in the UK/Europe, and the view of the UK motoring press is that the Scout is the better ownership proposition.

That said, the small Skoda dealer network in Oz is a problem (especially with the inner Sydney chopping and changing).

[Marakai]

I have a Scout (and am very happy with it following an Outback). But, being tall and with two growing boys, the Alltrack is firmly in my sights as a next car (well, until I can convince my wife on an allroad ).

However, don't discount the Scout if you're currently looking. It's a fine car, and Skoda regularly beats VW in euro quality surveys. There is an A4 allroad in the UK/Europe, and the view of the UK motoring press is that the Scout is the better ownership proposition.

That said, the small Skoda dealer network in Oz is a problem (especially with the inner Sydney chopping and changing).

Yeah, the dealer/service network has been a concern from the first time we saw that otherwise the Skodas are quite attractive cars. It's self-fulfilling, I know - not enough Skodas means not enough service/dealers means not enough Skodas...

That said, from looking at the specs the Scout doesn't quite meet our needs. As you note, not ideal when you're tall (and being two people above 6feet that's a prime concern ) and the load volume in the back is smaller somewhat and finally the tow weight is significantly lower. I would indeed place the Scout at A4, where the Passat seems to sit somewhere between the A4 and the A6.

I would love the A6 Allroad but that thing falls out of the budget, not the least because you pay probably another huge chunk in "luxury car tax".

[richdave]

Agree the Skoda is a great option and good value for money. Servicing, resale, and interior quality/finish are the big concerns for me though. I have a friend in Checz republic who has an Octavia wagon with over 160K on the clock and running strong so reliability seems solid