This
review first appeared in the February 2017 edition of the Northern & Central
California Cruisin’ News published
out of Folsom, California – mg
Motor Trend magazine calls it a
sport-utility vehicle. I don’t
agree. Volkswagen calls it a derivative
of the Golf SportWagen. Well, OK. Fellow
auto reviewers have called it a high-riding station wagon. Uh, that doesn’t quite cover it, in my view.
It’s not like this is new. Subaru has been playing this game for
years. But I digress.
Here’s what I didn’t expect out of my 2017 Volkswagen
Golf Alltrack TSI S w/4Motion (yeah, say that four times fast): It’s a peppy
performer.
How so?
Well, I made a fool out of myself just driving it out of the parking lot
for the first time. I stepped on the gas
expecting an easy coast into traffic, and instead, I found myself hanging on to
a rapidly accelerating car seemingly ready to jump the opposite curb and keep
going.
Thankfully, only a handful of witnesses saw
this humiliating performance. Snatching
up the owner’s manual, I quickly saw that the power plant was a turbocharged
1.8-liter, four-cylinder spitfire with 170 horsepower and 199 foot-pounds of
torque.
OK, that explains things.
Over a week’s time, the Alltrack and I
learned to get along, but I was consistently impressed with how quickly the
vehicle dished up power with very little asking.
No, I did not take it off-road, but I did
have fantasies of me chasing fleet woodland creatures through the backwoods in
the wilds of Northern California .
So, here’s the thing: Yes, it looks very much like a wagon with
serious off-road capabilities. But it’s
more than that. I could see myself
happily using an Alltrack as a daily commuter/driver, never leaving the paved
flatlands. Seriously.
It steers with the ease of a midsize
sedan. Engine noise is comfortably
controlled. The 360-degree view from the
driver’s seat is superb.
Another bonus: With the rear seats folded, the
Alltrack’s interior cargo space measures 66.5 cubic feet, a serious number that
I would have guessed to be hopelessly overinflated when I first viewed the car.
The list of standard safety features is
impressive (the feds gave the Alltrack a maximum five-star overall safety
rating), as are the number of standard comfort/convenience features. Hard to argue with the price: a reasonable
$26,950 to start, and that included no extras on my ride.
Gas mileage is pretty good as well: 22 miles
per gallon in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.
Volkswagen seems to advocate that it’s OK to
treat this Alltrack roughly, because, well, it can take it. I’m good with that, but frankly, I felt better
mashing the accelerator and dusting off roadway crawlers.
Nothing wrong with that, right?
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