THE largest estate car in the Volkswagen line up is getting the ‘go anywhere' treatment with the arrival of a new Passat Alltrack.

Beefed up to sit more than an inch higher than the conventional Passat estate and with extra body protection including underfloor panels, the Alltrack is designed with action families in mind.

It's arriving in Britain in November and is priced from £30,885 for a 2.0-litre manual diesel rated at 150ps or £33,935 for a more powerful 190ps version fitted with a six speed DSG semi automatic gearbox.

That makes the Alltrack almost £3,000 more than the GT grade Passat estate on which it is based but it comes with a Haldex all wheel drive system and some off road electronics including hill descent control.

As such it is set up to be a capable soft roader with a towing ability of 2.2 tonnes and a ground clearance of almost seven inches putting it in the same league as other leisure-oriented estates such as Audi's A4 allroad, the Skoda Octavia Scout and the Subaru Outback.

Despite its tough image the Alltrack is - like all other models in the new Passat range - very stylish and it comes with lashings of brightwork at the front, pronounced wheel arches and sills, matt metallic finishes to the roof rails and discreet Alltrack badges front, side and rear.

There are also reshaped bumpers accommodating underbody protective panels, twin exhaust ports and the car sits on 18-inch alloys.

It looks posh and the theme continues inside where sat nav and a 6.5-inch colour touchscreen are standard and so are special Alltrack kick plates and trim inserts.

Although the car rides higher and is a fraction longer than other Passat estates it has the same wheelbase and the Alltrack's pumped up status has no significant impact on handling or noise levels.

As with all other Passats variable drive modes are available changing suspension and throttle feel from eco to more responsive sport settings while an additional off-road mode remaps the accelerator to give more extra control at low speeds in rough conditions.

The off-road mode also changes the ABS braking system to accommodate poor surfaces and allows for hill descent to be engaged automatically. On the DSG models the gear shift points are modified to hold lower ratios for added performance over poor terrain.

In normal use the Alltrack is predominantly front wheel drive but the Haldex system can switch power to any of the wheels in an instant and includes an electronic differential lock to maximise grip.

It is highly effective and operates unobtrusively. The only perceptible differences when venturing off road are changes to the feel of the accelerator and brakes.

With off-road mode engaged an extra instrument display is available in the centre display screen showing an altimeter, compass and the angle of the front wheels.

Both engines are fine performers with the 190ps DSG set up reacting smoothly and purposefully although the Alltrack felt more at home with the lesser powered manual configuration.

On paper the 190ps engine is quicker with a 0 to 60 time of 8.0 seconds and a top speed of 136mph compared to 127 and 9.2 seconds for the 150ps, but with mid-range pull coming in slightly lower down the rev range there was more usable urge through the gears.

Real world fuel consumption was also better at 49.5 mpg compared to an average of 43 from the DSG version while VW claims an official return of 54.3 for the 190ps model and 57.6 for the manual.

Emissions are rated at 137 and 130g/km respectively which given the extra weight of the Alltrack - at 2.26 tonnes its some 250 kilos more than the regular estate - is a fair return. It also comes with a proper spare wheel.

The Alltrack also loses a tiny amount of boot space but at 639 litres it remains hugely capacious with a wide, flat loadbed. Maximum capacity is huge at 1,769 litres and it can be fitted with a range of accessories including a roof box and cycle rack.

Of the two Passat body styles the estate is the more popular in the UK accounting for almost 60 per cent of sales.

By definition the Alltrack is going to be a niche player, expected to account for around five per cent of that, but it's an impressive all rounder for those who need a little more out of their cars.