StinkyPantsMan
28-06-2017, 09:49 AM
Hi,
I thought I'd give an honest no BS review of a Passat Alltrack (late 2016) with the Luxury Pack option which includes the electric drivers seat that wasn't available in the early 2016 models.
Pros (in no particular order):
Great highway driving.
Very comfortable seats even on 6,000 km road trip.
Adaptive cruise control is awesome.
Large sunroof is awesome.
Plenty of boot space.
Plenty of rear leg room.
Great for family of 4.
Has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
3 zone climate control is great for the kids.
Visibility is very good.
Cornering headlights are awesome.
Engine has sufficient power but a 6 cylinder would be nicer.
Cons (in no particular order):
DSG is terrible, woeful, jerky, annoying in normal low speed, city type driving in "D" mode. There are insufficient bad words to describe this. In "S" mode, taking off is fine but it's meant for aggressive driving so it's not a laid back. "D" mode needs to be adjusted so it's not jerky.
Terrible (x100) for reversing up moderately steep driveways.
Chassis is not rigid enough. Excessive creaking when entering / exiting my driveway (it's only a very moderate incline).
Consumes Adblue at 2-3x the rate that the onboard computer says.
Suspension is only good for good roads. It really needs to be softened a bit for Australian roads. Remember ppl, this isn't a Golf GTI, it's a family tourer.
Rear Traffic Alert is crap. It doesn't detect cars far enough so you see them in rear view camera before the alert even fires up. And it also has a tendency to apply your brakes as your reversing past a perpendicular parked car.
Auto Hold park brake is terrible. I don't care about it holding on the flat. Just make it like a normal hill holder please!
Auto Stop Start is irritating. No it's not fast enough. It's too slow to engage in traffic. I wish there was a way to make it off by default.
Head unit has intermittent flickering while showing reversing camera view. Dealer can't find a problem even though I showed them a video of the flickering.
Engine has stalled 3x in slow reversing. This happened on the flat in a shopping centre car park. Dealer can't find a problem.
Engine has taken excessive amount of time to fire up. This only occurred once and it was summer. Dealer can't find a problem.
Steering has become very stiff at full lock. Occurred 3x on the flat. Feels like faulty power steering. Dealer can't find a problem.
Driver's seat memory function does not return the seat to the exact position is was set in. It always returns the seat in a higher position. Dealer says they fixed it but it's obvious it's not fixed. FYI I tested another Passat and that one didn't have this issue therefore mine must be faulty.
Driver's seat moves laterally very slightly when the car turns a corner. Thoroughly irritating on windy roads. Dealer can't find a problem.
No factory Hayman Reese style towbar. So I have to go aftermarket.
Advertised fuel economy of 5.4 litres/100km is lies, lies, lies. I get approx 7.2-7.5 litres/100km on the highway at 100km/h on cruise control with just me and an empty car. Strangely enough I get the roughly the same fuel consumption with 2 adults, 2 kids, boot full of gear, roof pod full of gear and a mountain bike.
Summary:
I bought this over the Subaru Outback for these reasons:
Subaru Eyesight system is noisy and irritating. It would beep everytime a car would pull in front while adaptive cruise control was active. The salesperson didn't know how to deactivate this beeping.
Subary head unit was too slow for my liking and it lacks Apple / Android systems.
Subaru diesel engine is woeful. Whoever tells you that the Subaru diesel is great to drive doesn't appreciate driving. They view cars as A to B vehicles and therefore their opinions don't count.
Subaru 6 cylinder petrol is awesome but fuel consumption is too high for the size of the fuel tank so it's not really suited as a long distance tourer.
Would I buy another Passat Alltrack?
No. Maybe if it were $40k, but not $55k+.
Would I buy the Passat Alltrack over the Subaru Outback?
For my usage and my personality, I'd buy neither.
I'd wait and save up the extra $20-30k and buy the next gen Touareg, BMW X5 or Jeep Grand Cherokee instead.
I actually regret selling my 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD for the Passat Alltrack.
Would I ever buy another DSG for a family tourer?
No way. Never ever ever.
I thought I'd give an honest no BS review of a Passat Alltrack (late 2016) with the Luxury Pack option which includes the electric drivers seat that wasn't available in the early 2016 models.
Pros (in no particular order):
Great highway driving.
Very comfortable seats even on 6,000 km road trip.
Adaptive cruise control is awesome.
Large sunroof is awesome.
Plenty of boot space.
Plenty of rear leg room.
Great for family of 4.
Has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
3 zone climate control is great for the kids.
Visibility is very good.
Cornering headlights are awesome.
Engine has sufficient power but a 6 cylinder would be nicer.
Cons (in no particular order):
DSG is terrible, woeful, jerky, annoying in normal low speed, city type driving in "D" mode. There are insufficient bad words to describe this. In "S" mode, taking off is fine but it's meant for aggressive driving so it's not a laid back. "D" mode needs to be adjusted so it's not jerky.
Terrible (x100) for reversing up moderately steep driveways.
Chassis is not rigid enough. Excessive creaking when entering / exiting my driveway (it's only a very moderate incline).
Consumes Adblue at 2-3x the rate that the onboard computer says.
Suspension is only good for good roads. It really needs to be softened a bit for Australian roads. Remember ppl, this isn't a Golf GTI, it's a family tourer.
Rear Traffic Alert is crap. It doesn't detect cars far enough so you see them in rear view camera before the alert even fires up. And it also has a tendency to apply your brakes as your reversing past a perpendicular parked car.
Auto Hold park brake is terrible. I don't care about it holding on the flat. Just make it like a normal hill holder please!
Auto Stop Start is irritating. No it's not fast enough. It's too slow to engage in traffic. I wish there was a way to make it off by default.
Head unit has intermittent flickering while showing reversing camera view. Dealer can't find a problem even though I showed them a video of the flickering.
Engine has stalled 3x in slow reversing. This happened on the flat in a shopping centre car park. Dealer can't find a problem.
Engine has taken excessive amount of time to fire up. This only occurred once and it was summer. Dealer can't find a problem.
Steering has become very stiff at full lock. Occurred 3x on the flat. Feels like faulty power steering. Dealer can't find a problem.
Driver's seat memory function does not return the seat to the exact position is was set in. It always returns the seat in a higher position. Dealer says they fixed it but it's obvious it's not fixed. FYI I tested another Passat and that one didn't have this issue therefore mine must be faulty.
Driver's seat moves laterally very slightly when the car turns a corner. Thoroughly irritating on windy roads. Dealer can't find a problem.
No factory Hayman Reese style towbar. So I have to go aftermarket.
Advertised fuel economy of 5.4 litres/100km is lies, lies, lies. I get approx 7.2-7.5 litres/100km on the highway at 100km/h on cruise control with just me and an empty car. Strangely enough I get the roughly the same fuel consumption with 2 adults, 2 kids, boot full of gear, roof pod full of gear and a mountain bike.
Summary:
I bought this over the Subaru Outback for these reasons:
Subaru Eyesight system is noisy and irritating. It would beep everytime a car would pull in front while adaptive cruise control was active. The salesperson didn't know how to deactivate this beeping.
Subary head unit was too slow for my liking and it lacks Apple / Android systems.
Subaru diesel engine is woeful. Whoever tells you that the Subaru diesel is great to drive doesn't appreciate driving. They view cars as A to B vehicles and therefore their opinions don't count.
Subaru 6 cylinder petrol is awesome but fuel consumption is too high for the size of the fuel tank so it's not really suited as a long distance tourer.
Would I buy another Passat Alltrack?
No. Maybe if it were $40k, but not $55k+.
Would I buy the Passat Alltrack over the Subaru Outback?
For my usage and my personality, I'd buy neither.
I'd wait and save up the extra $20-30k and buy the next gen Touareg, BMW X5 or Jeep Grand Cherokee instead.
I actually regret selling my 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD for the Passat Alltrack.
Would I ever buy another DSG for a family tourer?
No way. Never ever ever.