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View Full Version : Subaru Outback 3.6R vs Passat Allroad 190ps



ZacDaMan72
15-01-2016, 10:32 AM
Whoops, wrong title name.. Please excuse me.

Hi all,

We're looking to replace our Nissan X-Trail with a lifted wagon that can still do light off road duties (we go skiing each year so a good thing to have) and the main 2 cars on the short list are the Outback 3.6R Limited (cannot get the premium here) and the VW Passat Alltrack. The Alltrack is a lifted version of the Passat with body cladding, just like an Outback, but starts off cheaper ($57,990 vs $59,000). In New Zealand to option up the Allroad to meet (if possible) the spec of the Outback these options must be added:

- Driver's knee airbag, side airbags & seat belt tensioner in rear (Naughty VW!! Should be standard.) +$750
- Keyless Access + Electric tailgate +$1,500
- Driver Assist package +2,500 - All petrol Outback models in NZ have Eyesight
- ergoComfort 14 way seats with massage +$2,500. Stock they come with this stupid semi-electric seats - electric backrest & lumbar but manual everything else, for passenger side lumbar is manual too.
- Panoramic sunroof +$2,500

This makes the Alltrack in total cost $67,740, $7,740 more than the Outback for around the same spec. We'd take out the pano sunroof (VW dealership said if we go with them we'll get them included for no cost) because we don't care for the pano sunroof really (so actually for us $64,490).

NB: stock the Alltrack only has city emergency brake but this package adds adaptive cruise, BLIS, LDW, and lane change assist. That's around same spec as Eyesight. To only add adaptive cruise it's bundled up with adaptive suspension which costs $2,250 but that doesn't have the other safety toys.

Here are the pros that I see for each car:

Outback:

+ Cheaper
+ More power (191kw/256bhp vs 140kw/190bhp)
+ Faster (7.6s 0-100kph/62mph vs 8s)
+ More ground clearance (213mm/8.3" vs 174mm/6.85" - 39mm/1.5" difference!)
+ Better 4WD system (full time 4WD but can send torque around right?) - dunno what the VW is like but I assume its a FWD based Haldex system.
+ Better stereo (the HK was good in the dealership, but not great. I don't see an unbranded VW system beating it though...)
+ HID headlamps - Passat comes stock with halogen but no HID's optional. LED's cost $3750.
+ More airbags standard. Very stupid decision on VW's front for having optional extra airbags. All should be standard IMO.
+ Crossbars standard - while this may be good if it fits we use Thule roof bars and racks and we don't want to get another ski rack if we don't need to.
+ Bigger display (7 vs 6.5) - we don't really care about the difference, we use our phones and GPS for navigation.

Passat Alltrack:

+ More torque (400nm/295lb-ft vs 350nm/258lb-ft)
+ Tows more (2200kg/4850lb vs 1800kg/4000lb) - we've only had to tow maybe half a dozen times at most in the last 8 years of owning the Nissan.
+ Better seats (14 way with massage vs 8 way) - As said earlier this is an option but I'm trying to compare with similarly equipped vehicles.
+ More boot space (639L/22.5 cubic feet vs 512L/18 cubic feet)
+ 3 year roadside assist (Subaru bundles it with service plan)
+ Apple Carplay
+ Way more fuel efficient (5.2l/100km vs 9.9l/100km) - This engine is not affected by Dieselgate in NZ.
+ 40/20/40 rear seats - when transporting thin long goods like our skis when they're not wet we put them in the car. Does the Outback have a pass through? I know it's a 60/40 split but our X-Trail is listed as 60/40 but has a pass through
+ BLIS (not available in NZ for MY16 but haven't confirmed with dealer)
+ 3 zone air con - we usually have someone in the rear half the time and this is a nice feature to have. In New Zealand both don't have heated seats which isn't ideal (for winter) but oh well.
+ Better deals - with dieselgate we heard that people were getting discounts of almost $10k on VW because dealerships were failing to hit quota which is good for us, and it's not unheard of people getting under invoice. Subaru here is much more conservative. Even demo cars only get around a $5k discount. I believe this will even out the prices.
+ Less frequent routine servicing (yearly vs 6 month) - per service Subaru servicing is 1/2-3/4 the price of VW's servicing but obviously per year it's about equal.

Opinions?

Scott K
15-01-2016, 10:51 AM
Tough decision. If you aren't doing many miles the subaru would be my choice. As soon as you do a lot of miles, the cost of fuel will soon eat up the lower purchase price. I haven't driven the alltrack but I had a rental passat for a week in Austria last year and it was lovely. Very roomy and a great cruiser. On 20000k pa the fuel difference is going to be $2500 annually (I think).
Get the electric tailgate and forget the keyless entry if you can. Get a better discount and then decide.

rowdy-999
15-01-2016, 10:56 AM
Have you driven either?
Facts and figures aren't the most important issues. You may love to drive one, but hate the other.