YOU don’t have to rough it with a pick-up if you want a business car that can pull its weight and more in leisure activities, in fact you can have some class too as Volkswagen shows with the Passat Alltrack Towcar of the Year 2017.

Volkswagen is celebrating three class wins, and overall victory, in the annual Caravan Club Towcar of the Year Awards.

The 4MOTION-equipped all-wheel drive 150PS Passat Alltrack has been named Towcar of the Year 2017 while the Passat and its smaller sibling, the 4MOTION-equipped Golf Alltrack, took class wins.

In the respected awards, once again presented at the Royal Automobile Club in London, the Passat Alltrack won the £32,000-£35,000 category and also scooped the honours in the hotly contested All-Wheel Drive Under 1800kg group.

The Passat Alltrack then went on to take the biggest prize of all: Caravan Club Towcar of the Year 2017.  Meanwhile the Volkswagen Golf Alltrack triumphed in the £29,000-£32,000 category.

The driving dynamics and ergonomic efficiency of both Alltrack models were thoroughly tested by the judges, who praised the Passat as being “one of the classiest mid-range cars by a mile… it simply oozes competence.”  They added: “It pulls away strongly and exhibits excellent flexibility throughout the mid-range.”

For the outdoor type, how does it stand up as a company car against the £753-a-year benefit in kind (BIK) tax for a double cab pick-up for a 20% taxpayer?

Well at £1,620 – See the figures below – its company car tax BIK is more than double the pick-up’s, and more than the pick-up’s £1,506 including free fuel BIK for a 40% taxpayer.  For the Passat a 40% taxpayer will look at more than £5,500 car and fuel this year – over £4,000 more.

But which one would you prefer to turn up in for a top-level business meeting or family wedding?

In the Towcar awards the Passat Alltrack was singled out as the best of the best thanks to its combination of advanced technology and attractive affordability.  The car features permanent all-wheel drive with a Haldex coupling, which means the drive is sent to the rear wheels as soon as it is needed.

Meanwhile, the default is front-wheel drive which contributes to an impressive fuel consumption figure of 57.6 mpg on the combined cycle, with CO₂ emissions of 130 g/km.

The Passat Alltrack, priced from £31,215 differs from the standard Passat Estate in a variety of ways.  Perhaps the most obvious is the ground clearance which is increased by 27.5 mm to 174 mm.  It also features additional underbody and wheel arch protection, and has special front and rear bumper designs.

Matt chrome door mirror housings and anodised silver roof rails work with the 18-inch Kalamata alloy wheels to complete the Passat Alltrack’s rugged looks.

Versatility is another reason why the Passat Alltrack is Towcar of the Year 2017.  The car is available with a 150PS 2.0-litre diesel engine with a six-speed manual gearbox or a 190 PS2.0-litre diesel unit with a six-speed DSG automatic gearbox.

The configuration that won the Towcar of the Year award was the 150PS option, while both engines have a braked towing capacity of 2,200kg and an unbraked capacity of 750kg – a useful configuration whether you want to tow a caravan, horsebox or boat trailer.

A host of other technological features add to the driving experience offered by the Passat Alltrack.  As an example, the EDL (Electronic Differential Lock) system reacts to a wheel slipping by directing the drive power to the wheel on the opposite side within fractions of a second.

Furthermore, XDSPlus brakes the wheels on the inside of a bend during fast cornering and thus perfects the steering response and improves traction.  The driver can also select ‘Off-road’ mode, which adds Hill Descent Assist to give more progressive accelerator control.

A particularly pertinent option for caravanners of all grades on the Passat Alltrack is Trailer Assist.  This ingenious system helps to control the reverse guidance of the car and trailer, thus making manoeuvring considerably more straightforward.

A visual display in the infotainment screen shows the steering angle and how alternative steering inputs would affect the route of the car and trailer.

This is the third time in eight years that Volkswagen has taken top spot at the Towcar of the Year Awards.

Lowdown on Volkswagen Passat Estate 2.0 TDI SCR Alltrack 150PS BMT 4MOTION

…..and what it costs