Photo: newspressusa.com
American is just now getting its VW Rabbit replacement, the seventh-generation Golf compact being about a year and a half late compared to Germany. This next car could help them make up for lost time, the 2015 Golf SportWagen, a fancy German name for a compact wagon replacing the Jetta SportWagen.
Is that a good thing? Definitely! The Jetta and its wagon cousin are old news. This thing though is based on the MQB platform and is thus lighter and more efficient.
Wagons have fallen out of favor with American buyers and Volkswagen believes this could be the model to claw back lost territory from the SUVs: "This new SportWagen is even more appealing, offering nearly 10 percent more cargo room with the rear seats folded than the outgoing model. Essentially, the Golf SportWagen provides a sportier alternative to compact SUVs."
The cargo area is completely flat and there's no load lip, so you can get very large items in or load it up with fishing gear for the weekend getaway.
Now, we know what you're thinking "but even small SUVs have all-wheel drive!" The Golf wagon has that too… rather it will have that too, since the model shown in New York is only a prototype. With a brand new 2.0 TDI making 150 horsepower available DSG gearboxes and optional 4Motion all-wheel drive, the SportWagen promises drawback-free motoring.
What we don't like about this car is still the looks. VW have given it a bright coat of expensive blue paint and some large wheels, but it's still the sort of thing that would look contemporary… in 2010.
Still, because the glasshouse is really tall and simple, visibility is really good, unlike in most SUV and the shooting brakes that have been popping up left and right.
Wagons have fallen out of favor with American buyers and Volkswagen believes this could be the model to claw back lost territory from the SUVs: "This new SportWagen is even more appealing, offering nearly 10 percent more cargo room with the rear seats folded than the outgoing model. Essentially, the Golf SportWagen provides a sportier alternative to compact SUVs."
The cargo area is completely flat and there's no load lip, so you can get very large items in or load it up with fishing gear for the weekend getaway.
Now, we know what you're thinking "but even small SUVs have all-wheel drive!" The Golf wagon has that too… rather it will have that too, since the model shown in New York is only a prototype. With a brand new 2.0 TDI making 150 horsepower available DSG gearboxes and optional 4Motion all-wheel drive, the SportWagen promises drawback-free motoring.
What we don't like about this car is still the looks. VW have given it a bright coat of expensive blue paint and some large wheels, but it's still the sort of thing that would look contemporary… in 2010.
Still, because the glasshouse is really tall and simple, visibility is really good, unlike in most SUV and the shooting brakes that have been popping up left and right.
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