It would be a little farfetched to say that the Volkswagen Golf Alltrack is VW's answer to the Volvo V90 CrossCountry because they're not in matching segments and because there's also a Passat Alltrack, but the two models do share the same principle.
They are the automotive equivalent of that guy we all know who likes to wear trekking shoes everywhere he goes. And you have to admit that even though they might look out of place in some situations, they are pretty versatile and prove useful under many circumstances. So that guy might be on to something.
The same with off-road capable station wagons. The Golf Alltrack is rather small, but it can offer all the space needed by a family of four. Go over that number, and you'll find yourself in large SUV or minivan territory, but for anything under, a Golf Alltrack should suffice. But unlike the standard Variant station wagon, the Alltrack brings added protection, higher ground clearance, and a standard 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system.
What that means is that the Volkswagen wagon isn't afraid to go off the beaten track every once in a while, something these two new commercial series make a very good job of communicating. There is a total of four 15-second spots split into two main directions.
The first one tries to be deceiving, but even though it fails to do that, it's no less smart: with a camera mounted just above a snowboard or the handlebar of a mountain bike, we're led to believe we're watching some footage of people performing these two sports. In reality, both the bike and the board were resting on the roof rack of a VW Golf Alltrack. Simple, yet effective. However, it's our humble opinion that for the sake of continuity, the product shot of the mountain bike one should have featured a few mud splashes on the car.
The second pair of spots is no less clever. It opens with an empty road while the voiceover introduces the car. With the VW refusing to show up, the man clears his throat and tries again as the filming car slows down, as if the Golf was lagging behind. Instead, the Alltrack jumps into view from outside the road, crosses it and continues its off-road journey unabated. Nothing spectacular, but really well thought out and executed. Much like the car itself.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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