Sometimes, car reviews become a personal thing for Consumer Reports. Even though their numbers tell us the Japanese make cars that are a lot more reliable, their editors put a very positive spin on the all-new VW Golf Alltrack.
That's partially because Tom Mutchler and one of his co-hosts are fans of wagons, having owned Passats in the past. There's an undeniable charm to the Alltrack, but while it is well built, it doesn't have that much relevance.
By the end of 2016, Subaru will have sold well over 150,000 Outbacks in America. Volkswagen USA as a company cannot even compare to that. As for the Alltrack itself, the big issue is price, something we pointed out when it was announced.
And while it's got a much larger, more usable trunk than the Golf or Tiguan, the Alltrack is still just a compact. Subaru's Outback has more head and knee room for noticeably less money.
But the jacked up Golf does play into Volkswagen's remaining strengths. Its interior is of a superior quality to most competitors, plus the 1.8 TSI engine balances 170 horsepower, 199 lb-ft or torque and 30 mpg highway. No matter where you look, there isn't an AWD crossover or SUV that does all that.
So it's all about what you want, space or quality and fun handling. The Alltrack starts at $26,950, over $2,000 more than the Outback. A six-speed manual transmission will be available early in 2017 on the S and SE trim levels. When that does become available, the price will drop to $25,850. But we think an automatic is the way to go for most crossovers and SUV.
Consumer Reports is reviewing an SE model that starts off at $30,530 before destination and packs a standard panoramic roof and automatic headlight activation. But it misses out on blind spot monitoring, a powered tailgate and powered seats. At that kind of price, it's hard to take it seriously without convenience features.
But we don't want to be too, though. Together with the Golf R, the Alltrack is the only truly competitive car VW USA has until the Atlas SUV arrives. Big job, huh?
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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