Photo: Kolesa.ru
There's a saying that if you put black plastic on the outside of a hatchback, Americans will buy it, thinking it's a crossover. But has that really worked for Volkswagen?
To be fair, that's not really what happened. The Golf Alltrack came out in 2014 and looked like a new idea, but it was based on a concept that predates the modern crossover. In Europe, normal cars like the Golf and Polo got off-road packages almost 20 years ago, and some say they were inspired by the legendary Audi allroad quattro.
Maybe people just didn't believe that the Golf Alltrack was a crossover worthy of their $30,000 (for a good one, that's obviously not the base price). But we think the concept could have been executed better.
For example, the drivetrain seemed to have been built for speed instead of robustness. Some of the people who tried to off-road the Alltrack saw overheating or failure of the AWD system. Also, it may not have looked the part.
This rendering by the Russian website Kolesa tries to make a new super-rugged VW Golf, this time out of the Mk8 model that just came out. But instead of using the wagon, they apply the cladding to a hatchback, and that's a whole lot of cladding.
With giant wheels and tires, the Golf looks more like an overland adventure vehicle than an Autobahn stormer. High suspension and off-road tires affect the handling, but they sure make the Golf look cool.
If we remember correctly, VW's Spanish sister brand SEAT did try to promote a lifted hatchback with what was essentially a Golf R powertrain. Also, the guys at Ford do offer a mountainous body kit for their Focus, but it's not matched by any AWD enhancements.
Of course, this rendering is base on one of VW's older, forgotten projects. The Golf Country was based on the Mk2, built exclusively in Austria and fitted with Syncro four-wheel-drive.
We know a few people who have lifted their Silvias or Miatas. Do you guys respect a move like that? Let us know in the comments.
Maybe people just didn't believe that the Golf Alltrack was a crossover worthy of their $30,000 (for a good one, that's obviously not the base price). But we think the concept could have been executed better.
For example, the drivetrain seemed to have been built for speed instead of robustness. Some of the people who tried to off-road the Alltrack saw overheating or failure of the AWD system. Also, it may not have looked the part.
This rendering by the Russian website Kolesa tries to make a new super-rugged VW Golf, this time out of the Mk8 model that just came out. But instead of using the wagon, they apply the cladding to a hatchback, and that's a whole lot of cladding.
With giant wheels and tires, the Golf looks more like an overland adventure vehicle than an Autobahn stormer. High suspension and off-road tires affect the handling, but they sure make the Golf look cool.
If we remember correctly, VW's Spanish sister brand SEAT did try to promote a lifted hatchback with what was essentially a Golf R powertrain. Also, the guys at Ford do offer a mountainous body kit for their Focus, but it's not matched by any AWD enhancements.
Of course, this rendering is base on one of VW's older, forgotten projects. The Golf Country was based on the Mk2, built exclusively in Austria and fitted with Syncro four-wheel-drive.
We know a few people who have lifted their Silvias or Miatas. Do you guys respect a move like that? Let us know in the comments.
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