GRR Garage: Welcome, VW Passat Alltrack!

Why would we be getting so excitable about such a car I hear you ask? Well, it’s because the nice people at Volkswagen have handed one over to us for our exclusive use for the next six months. That’s right, the Volkswagen Passat Alltrack is GRR’s new long-termer.

Over the next half-year the team will be bringing you weekly updates on our exciting (and sometimes vaguely mundane) adventures with the Passat, but for now let us just introduce ‘our’ car to you.

We at GRR are all members of the ‘Estates are cool’ brigade, we’ve got badges and everything, so switching from a crossover to a big waggon has left us all pretty excited. 

We’ve gone for the toughened, lifted, Alltrack option, because we work at a country estate and sometimes find ourselves not on the road, and because it lugs loads like not many other things can.

Under the bonnet is a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, pumping out just under 190bhp, which is mated to Volkswagen’s excellent six-speed DSG gearbox. It’ll do 0-62mph in just 8 seconds and carry at least four of us and our video and photography equipment in a lot of comfort.

We’re looking forward to bringing you its story… we’ve already trundled it round the rally stage.