Instrumented Test
All we really want from any vehicle is for it to do its job well. It’s a deceptively simple criterion that guides our reviews of everything from burly off-roaders to thrifty subcompacts to ludicrously capable exotics. We’re hard-pressed to think of a vehicle that fulfills its mission better than VW’s Golf SportWagen—maybe the lunar rover.
The VW is comfortable, looks good, hauls a ton of stuff, is reasonably priced, is one of the best highway cruisers available anywhere, and can more than hold its own if you decide to assault a local back road. On top of all that, it even gets decent fuel economy with the 1.8-liter TSI turbo four tested here. We got 26 mpg over 850 miles of mostly urban commuting, which is only 1 mpg over the EPA city rating—the car is rated at 35 mpg highway—but let’s just say that our driving style won’t win us any plaudits from the friends of John Muir. And if you want better mileage than the TSI engine can offer, VW sells a TDI diesel automatic wagon rated at 31/42 mpg; we managed 38 mpg in a manual-transmission one of those.
No matter the engine, the Golf SportWagen handles and rides like a premium car, with well-damped suspension motions, tightly controlled body movement, and, with the larger wheel-and-tire package of our SE test model, crisp turn-in response to inputs from the pleasantly weighted steering. As we noted in our test of the regular Golf hatchback with this powertrain, the 1.8T is nicely mannered, with a pleasing sound and enough torque—199 lb-ft—to feel stronger off the line than its 7.8-second zero-to-60-mph time might suggest. The only powertrain demerit is a transmission that can feel out of step with what your right foot is requesting, sometimes struggling to decide on the right gear when pulling away from a stoplight or at lower speeds.
As in every other Golf we’ve tested, the interior quality and design of this wagon tops that of every other compact car save for the Mazda 3. The materials are a class above, the gaps are tight, the gauges highly legible, and the layout of the controls makes finding and operating them easy. The front seats are perfectly contoured for all-day driving, and the rear seat will hold a couple of adults with no complaints. The biggest flaw is a finicky, sometimes slow touch-screen infotainment system that’s frustrating on first use and rises only to tolerable with familiarity. Also, as of this model year, VW still forces buyers to purchase proprietary cables to have USB or iPhone dock or Lightning-cable connectivity. Thankfully, the 2016 model will bring actual USB ports, likely alongside VW’s new MIB II infotainment setup. (And then 2017 may bring support for gesture controls.)
The gas-powered Golf wagon starts at $22,215, but our test vehicle was the $27,815 SE. For the extra $5600, you get the six-speed automatic, 17-inch “Dijon” wheels (spicy!), a panoramic sunroof, rain-sensing wipers, heated washer-fluid nozzles, automatic headlamps, fog lamps, heated front seats with power recline, and proximity entry and start. There’s also a 5.8-inch touch screen for infotainment, a Fender-branded audio system, Bluetooth connectivity, and satellite radio. Our test example was further upgraded with the only two factory options available on the SE: the $995 Lighting package (interior LED ambient lighting, footwell lighting, swiveling bixenon headlamps) and the $695 Driver Assistance package (forward-collision warning and front and rear parking sensors). The total came to $29,505.
There may be only one way to improve the SportWagen’s usefulness, that being an all-wheel-drive system for all-weather capability. That could yet be added to the regular wagon’s options list soon, but the SportWagen Alltrack—essentially a Subaru Outback–ish version of this vehicle—will pack VW’s 4MOTION all-wheel drive when it arrives next year as a 2017 model.
Thanks to most Americans’ disdain for station wagons—you’re clearly among the enlightened, if you’re reading this review—the population of Affordable Compact Wagonville is one. This car. And it does its job very, very well.
