Photo: Newspress USA
Dieselgate seems to have knocked all the macho out of Volkswagen because everything they've brought to the New York Auto Show seems dorky. This starts with the BUDD-e electric van that Google employees might drive and continues with the Golf Alltrack that your chemistry professor wants.
We already know what the Alltrack looks like because VW brought a European model to New York last year. Have they changed anything? If they did, we can't tell.
But what's really striking about this wagon is that, if you look closely, it's like a GTI with raised suspension and a big trunk. At the front, you get that honeycomb grille design, while the red paint certainly screams "hot."
The interesting bit is at the back, where the exhaust system comes out on either side of the bumper, just like on a GTI. We took a quick look underneath, and it's not one of those fake systems where they take a pipe from the left muffler. No, this is a classic 4-1-2 setup, and it should sound great with the help of a 1.8-liter TSI turbo motor.
No performance figures are available, but based on the European model, we can tell you the Alltrack should hit 60 mph in about 7.5 seconds. That's almost too fast for a family car, so there might be an FWD version with the 1.4 TSI coming along since the TDI diesel plan has been scrapped (wild guess).
On the outside, changes compared to the standard 2016 Golf SportWagen are visible. There's new plastic body cladding along the sides and the wheel arches, and a skid plate (more like a faux skid plate). The suspension has been raised by 0.8 of an inch and roof rails make installing cross-bars much easier.
There will be three trim levels available. The S and SE have 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels while the top SEL trim has 18-inch wheels. Pricing is not available right now, but we expect at least $24,000, considering AWD and a 6-speed DSG come standard.
But what's really striking about this wagon is that, if you look closely, it's like a GTI with raised suspension and a big trunk. At the front, you get that honeycomb grille design, while the red paint certainly screams "hot."
The interesting bit is at the back, where the exhaust system comes out on either side of the bumper, just like on a GTI. We took a quick look underneath, and it's not one of those fake systems where they take a pipe from the left muffler. No, this is a classic 4-1-2 setup, and it should sound great with the help of a 1.8-liter TSI turbo motor.
No performance figures are available, but based on the European model, we can tell you the Alltrack should hit 60 mph in about 7.5 seconds. That's almost too fast for a family car, so there might be an FWD version with the 1.4 TSI coming along since the TDI diesel plan has been scrapped (wild guess).
On the outside, changes compared to the standard 2016 Golf SportWagen are visible. There's new plastic body cladding along the sides and the wheel arches, and a skid plate (more like a faux skid plate). The suspension has been raised by 0.8 of an inch and roof rails make installing cross-bars much easier.
There will be three trim levels available. The S and SE have 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels while the top SEL trim has 18-inch wheels. Pricing is not available right now, but we expect at least $24,000, considering AWD and a 6-speed DSG come standard.
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