unflawed review of alltrack vs Subaru

[nyc863]

Drive - Volkswagen Passat Alltrack | Subaru Outback Diesel Review

A 4-1 win to the Alltrack.
"A powered tailgate will win fans at Westfield but the car loses marks with serious drivers for having a space-saver spare wheel."

The "space saver" spare wheel remark might put people off but when you look at it, it doesn't look anything like the skinny space savers we all know and hate. It looks like a pretty hardy and wide tire fitted to a steel rim of lesser diameter
a 215/55 ZR16 97W bridgestone Turanza (rated for 270kmh according to mytyres.co.uk)
(that said, the overall diameter will be very slightly less than the stock tire?).

[Amalgam]

The "space saver" spare wheel remark might put people off but when you look at it, it doesn't look anything like the skinny space savers we all know and hate. It looks like a pretty hardy and wide tire fitted to a steel rim of lesser diameter
a 215/55 ZR16 97W bridgestone Turanza (rated for 270kmh according to mytyres.co.uk)
(that said, the overall diameter will be very slightly less than the stock tire?).

+1.36% rolling diameter difference between stock and spare tyres

Tire Size Calculator - Tire & Wheel Plus Sizing

[nyc863]

yeah. That's not too bad, right?
I wonder if a 100% stock tire on a rim would fit in that space. Must be close..

[Marakai]

Heh, I assume the "nyc" in the first comment is you?

[nyc863]

yeah. I would be put off, reading space saver..

[Inego]

Thanks for confirming that spacesaver issue - so, just like the Scout then. No concern whatsoever then in the backblocks.

[nyc863]

By the way has anyone noticed that the Alltrack price is the almost the same as the UK price when converted?

An australian car without sports pack or panorama costs 53,265 drive away.. including the easily diminished 3k dealer delivery fee.
A UK car needs quite a number of options (RNS510, rear cargo net, heated seats, park assist, leather, tailgate etc etc) to be the same car. And at that stage comes to:

34790 British Pound Sterling equals
51418 Australian Dollar

I've not done a definitive survey but this must be the closest ever an Australian retail price euro car has come to its price in the UK.

[Marakai]

By the way has anyone noticed that the Alltrack price is the almost the same as the UK price when converted?

An australian car without sports pack or panorama costs 53,265 drive away.. including the easily diminished 3k dealer delivery fee.
A UK car needs quite a number of options (RNS510, rear cargo net, heated seats, park assist, leather, tailgate etc etc) to be the same car. And at that stage comes to:

34790 British Pound Sterling equals
51418 Australian Dollar

I've not done a definitive survey but this must be the closest ever an Australian retail price euro car has come to its price in the UK.

What personally shocked me even more was when I saw the German prices! Thanks to the weak Euro, compared to the Aussie, the Alltrack is significantly cheaper here than if you took the German price for an identical configuration and converted it.

Just look at the price of the base model for the AWD DSG model (*), 40K Euro (roughly $52K), with fewer options than a base model here, which starts at $47K. That said, 19% VAT in Germany isn't helping compared to 10% GST.

[nyc863]

the uk reviews often end up with, nice car but tough to choose over the soft roaders like the evoque or x3, it is hard to justify the price.

well, yes, give me a non poverty spec x3 or evoque, and I also would hesitate!

[Inego]

I think I would - in terms of real estate, how can you compare a Passat wagon to a titchy evoque or X3? Maybe if you only use the front seats....

[nyc863]

You're either after a wagon or you are not. But just like here, in the UK wagon appreciation is falling off as fast as soft-roader is rising. Over there a sexy new SUV was typically more expensive than a wagon, so the alltrack reviews would remind people that the alltrack wagon is so many more pounds that you're into desirable SUV territory.

[Cossor]

But re fitting the spare tyre, what about the tyre monitoring system?
Providing only a short trip to nearest tyre station, OK BUT look out for computer
generated warnings due to small diferance's of tyre external diameter.

[nyc863]

you reset the tire warning system after you fit the space saver to the rear (swapping with front if necessary), then it will warn if there is yet another puncture because you reset it to get used to the new rates of rotation. Just like you can set it for uneven psi..

Given its width and speed rating I'd not travel slowly to the nearest tire station, I'd treat it pretty much as a full sized spare.