VW Passat Estate

I think you will find the 5 seat Kodiaks e.g the 190PS 4X4 version has a noseweight limit of 100kg - it's only the 7 seat versions that have the lower 75-80kg according to Skoda.

Trouble is BB (as I have just found out) no Kodiak that has the higher 100kg limit can have even a space saver tyre fitted. I will never buy a towcar that can only use goo.

To me it's bonkers and should have ruled it out of even being considered as Towcar of the  year.

Now I am thinking I will keep my current car and as proper towcars are creeping towards £40k (some over that of course) it might be a Motorhome next.

Didn't know that, how odd. FWIW our Alltrack has a full size spare.

Why cannot the club give the tow ball height and the clearance between the tow ball and rear of the car with the caravan hitched to the tow car when they carry out a tow car test ??

The items loaded in the car as part of the  TCOY test will have a specific weight .  The car and van are ballasted and the tow ball height and van hitch height are already measured unhitched as part of the TCOY evaluation so why not measure tow ball to bumper clearance ?

Publishing these figures with the additional measurement of the hitched height of the tow ball would provide a valuable insight which would help members evaluate the various Tow cars.

Most manufactures appear to hide behind the EU regulations and are unwilling to provide figures. 

One thing I am wondering, how can a factory towbar have the right height and bumper clearance between all the different models?

They cant - at least not from VW's sister Audi. The Westfalia detachable swan neck bar sits too close to the bumper on the S-Line models to fit an Alko hitch onto! We had literally had 2-3mm space!

To cut a long story short - we learnt the hard way when we ordered our new Audi.. but Audi were extremely helpful in getting it all rectified for us. We've got a Tow-trust detachable swan-neck bar which has a lot more reach - so the Alko hitch sits nicely on the ball with plenty of room to manoeuvre. 

Not had any issue with the height at all.. the outfit sits very level.

Sorry to bring this one up again. 

I am still unable (after all these months) to get a VW dealer to tell me what the clearance is between the bumper on a 2018 Alltrack and the factory fitted tow ball. I have not seen an Alltrack on any site I have been on this winter.

Does anyone have one that would be prepared to measure it and tell me? 

To me, its a very easy basic question any caravanner might want to know but to the (several) dealers I have approached, not one could tell me or could/would find out for me. Most Salesman looked appalled at such a question. Most had no idea at first what I was even talking about!

I would get in touch with VW.UK. and ask the question. Dealers just want your money and nothing else.

All i can say is the clearance on the previous gen Alltrack is fine. The bumper profile is the same for alltrack/non alltrack but with different trim and underbody psuedo protection. Try and find an Alltrack in stock with a towbar, it is a popular option so there is a reasonable chance of finding one. 

The Mercedes Benz E All Terrain comes with a factory fitted tow bar as standard that has clearance. Just saying  Nice V6 diseasel too.

Good deals available 

Many thanks to all.

e.mailed VW some days ago and still waiting for their reply. Totally agree about the stealers. Got so fed up in fact with them all, if I do get one, it's going to be purchased via Broadspeed or Drive the Deal as I have had my fill of car dealers in general now.

Been looking for one FC (tape measure in pocket) but have only been able to see an Alltrack (a 2016 model) in Motorpoint and that did not have a towbar on. If you know of one, do let me know. I am Yorkshire based

Not sure how that's helping but thanks anyway Keefy . It a nice car though and one I have looked at.

cheers

Fysh