This is Volkswagen’s Golf SportWagen concept, which the automaker will be bringing to New York’s Auto Show. The “concept” shown here is what we can expect when the car goes on sale in early 2015, save for two key details.
The upcoming Golf SportWagen is confirmed for the corporate 1.8T gasoline four-cylinder engine. This concept has a 2.0L TDI engine and all-wheel drive, satisfying the wishes of the Internet Product Planning Brigade by saving them from the horrific ignominy of having a front-drive, diesel wagon. And yes, it will have a manual gearbox and a DSG option.
Both the 1.8T and a front-drive TDI SportWagen seem like done deals. The prospect of an AWD version has been a long-standing rumor, with VW apparently looking at it as an alternative to the Subaru Outback.
Not available in brown? Fail.
Hysterical.
And true.
Of the most epic proportions.
If they offered this in brown for less than $18k I would pretend to “seriously consider” it before buying a used Saab 9-3. If not, I will proclaim my outrage at fascist oppression.
A 1.8t sportwagon should go for around $20k. Also consider the free maintenance for 2 years and 34mpg hwy. Is it getting hard to find part for Saab’s ?
Keep dreaming. The current 2.5L non-turbo FWD SportWagen starts at 21k. The FWD TDI starts at $26.5.
I can get a 2014 sportwagon 2.5l base for under $19k in Florida.
Sounds like a dealer got stuck with a model he can’t sell in his area and is giving it away. And it’s probably not brown. That’s how my cousin snapped up a ’73 AMC Gremlin with Levi’s interior!
I have an aunt up in Michigan with the same Levi gremlin. My cousin is restoring it this summer.
Actually they had about 16 of.them for around $18600
Brown is for Imperialist Wreckers.
True followers of the Group of Seventeen know that Correct Thought demands a wagon be Reed Green.
(I… actually really like reed green. And brown. But don’t want a manual.)
I think green is acceptable but it just has to be a manual… OK.
I’m fine with anything except for grey or silver… but green would be just about perfect.
(…he says, as his desktop background changes to a photo of a green Amazon wagon.)
Needs the 2.0L turbo from the GTI. Better yet, offer it with the motor from the TT-RS and I will be in line to consider one for myself.
Test drive the new 1.8t. It feels almost as good or better then the 2.0m
Which would be, in essence, an RS3 Sportback with a slightly bigger cargo area. Powerball odds or worse.
I wonder if we’ll actually get this car in the US, or if they’ll “Outback” it and only give us some ugly-ass jacked up plasticized thing, like the allroad replacement for the A4 Avant.
I saw a brown Sportwagen in a grocery store parking lot at lunchtime. And it had a temp plate on it, so someone else just became a member of the BCAS!
Would love to see an AWD version of the wagon available in gas and/or diesel from VW. The choices are basically Subaru or VW if you want an actual wagon and not a wagon on stilts. Maybe it would help VW’s sales since Subaru is perpetually beating them even with such a small model lineup.
Until the market it directly on Craiglist with 118k miles on a clock and aged accordingly, I refuse to purchase! /MREURO.
I’d buy this new, given that I live in a place with high gas prices and crappy weather. It will probably be expensive, but the 1.8T version is enticing as well.
Moi aussi. Plus, if you got the diesel the resale value would be insane.
Subaru who ? Great if the 4motion TDI can sell for under $30k. But the fwd 1.8t is one heck if an engine. Revs nicely and feels like it has way more then 180hp.
why is everybody comparing this to any Subaru? The Subes I look at…with turbo…all start at 30K.
And isn’t this going to be smaller than even the Passat pr Jetta wagons? Both of which have a turbo diesel or gas.
Maybe I missed somehting…but it IS a Golf, right?
Yes and no.
Everywhere else besides America, the Jetta Sportwagen is called the Golf Sportwagen (including Canada, interestingly) because in the US the Jetta has better name recognition. So they are one in the same, you are looking at the next Jetta wagon.
IIRC this generation will drop the Jetta labeling, to the chagrin of the marketers.
Actually, I think it is called the Golf Variant, not SportWagen, in most of the rest of the world. And yes, for 2015 it will be part of the Golf line, not a Jetta, here in the U.S.
This would be going squarely at Subaru, which has been 1) knocking it out of the park, particularly on the coasts and 2) conquesting VW better than anyone.
If this MSRPs for around $25k, I’m handing in the keys to my Outback. I don’t even need manual or brown color.
The $8k or so I’ll get for my Outback on Craigslist I’ll set aside to put my trusty independent VW mechanic on retainer, so I’m covered for a little while at least.
Don’t hold your breath. The current FWD TDI SportWagen starts at $26.5k.
Forester touring has more everything for 31K. When VW “gives away maintenance for 3 years” they mean “we’ll rotate the tires once and do up to two oil changes.
Unlike subaru, plastic bits will still be engineered to completely disintegrate at 37 months, as will probably the diesel exhaust system pieces that aren’t under a 10/100K warranty.
Still, probably faster than the pending cruze hatch diesel.
A little birdie flew down to my window pane and told me that Subies aren’t as reliable as they claim to be.
Set down that ice cold glass of Kool-Aid.
Oh yeah!!!!!!
Subaru does make some great cars. But there is still image of driving a Subaru. When you see two women driving a Subaru, you just know there is no shaving going on up in that.
Deodorant?
Well… what’s that?
alsori ; And what exactly kind of opinions do you think driving a VW engenders ?
Like a little taste ?
Too uninformed to know about VW-Audis abysmal reliability and customer service
Wishes he/she could of afforded a BMW / Mercedes but cant so bought a VW to at least have the pretense of driving German [ even though its made in Mexico ]
The ” Other Teams ” ( Seinfeld reference ) car of choice before the Subaru took over so the guy/gal driving the VW must not be keeping up with current trends
et al … ad infinitum !
And err …. btw my stereotype infused little wingnut ! Subaru is also THE car of choice for ; Skiers [ both Alpine & Nordic ] Ivy Tower professors – Architects – Outdoorsman not needing an SUV – Bicyclists – Well Educated and well heeled MD’s – New England , Colorado , New Mexico , Washington , Oregon et al upper middle class . Which is why if yer payin attention Subaru is the rising sales star while everyone elses falls of the 2010s . They appeal across the board !
Now seriously alsori … grow a real pair and drop the ignorant , insular , xenophobic stereotypes . Cause all bets are …. you no doubt fall into one or more yourself
What about the transient pot heads in Colorado?
They may reside in national parks, BUT, they want to be included just like everybody else, gtrslnger.
Damn you whine a lot. Fact is check out the females driving subaru’s. Then check out the females driving VW’s. There is a world of difference. Or just look for a rainbow sticker next to the Obama care sticker and you will find a Subaru. Excluding wrx models. And dude you need to try spell check.
My wife has a Subaru (turbo Forester, no less) and she’s hotter than any female who’s talked to you this year.
Oh, and (unlike me) she’s a Republican who’s no fan of Obama.
Time for some better stereotypes.
There is always the exception to the Subaru stereotypes. But I bet there some Melissa Etheridge or Indigo Girls playing at some point in your little Subaru. Hey, Subaru makes great cars and the XT Crosstrek might be in the tunning for our next auto. And if Subaru ever gets the balls to send their diesel to the states, there will one if not two little liberal autos in my driveway as well.
I have a TDI wagon, would never buy a bimmer not my type of car, people buy TDI wagons bc the need room want a car not an cuv , and want very good resale and great range to a tank and great mpg. No snob appeal with a VW but that is fine with me. If I wanted snob appeal I would have bought the Audi A3 TDI wagon with the same engine and tranny
Actually..gtrsl…… most BMW and MB come off being narcissistic and complete tools. This not a jealous thing as you love to protray. Its more of a knowledge in issue. Knowing you will be hanging out 2 to 3 weeks a year at your local BMW dealer and still needing that vehicle for security. Reliability is probably the last quality people are looking for in a BMW.
The more important question is whether VW will give this car the stupid 5-speed manual they put on most of their cars in North America, or will it get a 6-speed.
OK …. any bets gentlemen ? Here it is ;
Everyone here will wax on poetic … singing VW’s praises for bringing over a wagon of any kind … and especially a Diesel wagon .
Yet …. once the cars hit the showroom floors … well … languish there forever they will with VW down the road needing to offer deep discounts just to get them off the lots .
Any takers ?
Because in truth … everybody says they want a wagon . But when it comes to parting with their money … they all buy something else .
… your mother is calling you for dinner.
Well I put my money where my mouth is and bought a TSX SW. I looked at the VW but it reminded my too much of my beloved A3 and I wanted something different.
I’ll be damned… you were just talking about that the other day.
Nice choice. Reliability meets utility with Acura refinement. Good looking wagon, to boot.
Okay performance for a four… but they used to only come with automatic. Are they available with manual shift now for ’14?
No. If they were I might own one.
Oops I put my cash down , but do not worry next time I will let you advise me with your keen insight on what I should buy, to be fair I also will need norm’s insight as well
Funny, I have bought two new station wagons in the past five years. About $75K worth.
No shortage of wagons here in New England, in fact. VW dealers can’t keep them in stock. An AWD TDI wagon would sell like hotcakes. Baffles me it has taken this long.
And gtrslngr, please change your avatar. Your “prose” is causing Setright to spin in his grave like a F1 engine.
Please, lay off the ellipses.
No, the diesel wagon concept will sell Gtrslngr. The reason why this particular one, or won’t sell in significant numbers is because it is a VW. A lot of people are afraid of exploding HPFPs and turbos. Anyone who goes to TDI forum knows what I am talking about. Unfortunately the Japanese are not into diesel wagons so…it will not catch on in significant numbers. Not enough to make a dent in CUVs anyway.
What’s significant numbers? VW will sell every one they bother to import, probably at or above MSRP in New England. Maybe you could get a little discount on one down South, if you can find one. Every piece of this car is already being sold here, the marginal cost to offer it has to be peanuts compared to what the profit premium will be.
It isn’t going to sell like the Camry certainly.
Jetta TDI wagons go for about $5k off down here in Texas.
Mark my words. A Diesel AWD wagon will sell.
Only M-B has been successful with that concept. Maybe BMW but I don’t know current 3-series diesel wagon figures. At $50K though, it’s a different market.
I think to get the proper college professor vibe, this car must be offered with MB Tex like vinyl seats that feel like ice cubes in winter, and leave permanent burn scars in summer, a radio that can barely pick up a station, even if you’re parked in the stations parking lot, steel wheels that turn black with brake dust after the first day of ownership, and a quirk such as refusing to go into reverse without warming up for ten minutes. Then and only then would it be an adequate replacement for the VW Dasher diesel wagon my uncle, the college professor, owned in the early eighties.
Former Dasher Diesel wagon owner here…yup, that summed it up, although I had my tranny rebuilt once and it shifted a little better. However, I LOVED getting 50mpg as a starving poor college student! Never could tell if it would start in sub zero weather though. sometimes yes, sometimes no.
This is only the holy grail if:
1) Comes in brown
2) Gets 60 MPG and can go to 0 to 60 in under 5 seconds
3) Costs $12,000 sticker, with a $2001 rebate, and comes already lightly used with 30K miles put on it by a little old lady that did all of the service at the dealer with full records, and is CPO for no additional cost
4) Made out of 100% UPS truck brown unobtanium
#2 will be satisfied as soon as its Trifecta tune is released.
What vw doesn’t realize about internet fanboys is THEY DO NOT BUY NEW CARS. They wait for the used ones to hit the market and nobody buys them new so fail..ie Subaru brz.
Maybe if they jack it up a little, put on some body cladding and call it the vw Sahara or Congo or something people will buy it lol
Wheels are too big.
NO SALE VOLKSWAGEN!
vw dude said awd “under consideration” BS company speak for fu it’s not coming pay the extra 10k for a cheesy audi sedan
whats the difference between this and a jetta wagon?
The Golf badges.
This one sounds like a Golf!
Yep. I’m betting this is coming to America because we no longer get the Golf-based Jetta that was the basis of the current-gen wagon. If the Jetta were still Golf-based here, this probably would get much less attention because it’d simply be called the next-gen Jetta wagon.
I had a 2010 Sportwagen TDI. Hopefully they improved the driver legroom and seating comfort. Both were the worst I’ve ever experienced.
I currently have a 2010 Sportwagen. Driver legroom is fine for a compact car and the front seats are absolutely awesome. Seat comfort really is a matter of personal taste.
Don’t care about diesel, makes no damn difference in a small car.
Would like the AWD option, living in the Front Range.
The Audi Allroad is too expensive, this would be a nice, cheaper option. If not, there’s the new Outback coming out this fall.
The Jetta TDI SportWagon comes in Toffee Brown Metallic $26,565.00
People buy cu/ suvs for the space and 4×4, even if they don’t use those 2 attributes. VW sells the jetta wagon w/out the 4×4 because it does not want to break through with volume and apparently wants to stay a perpetual cripple in this market. Subaru cleans up as it sells what people want. Sad story that i just don’t understand.
When can we get the Passat or Audi A6 Avant again?
The only way a sane person would buy one of these is with a lifetime bumper to bumper warranty, and even then is it worth the hassle of dealing with the incompetent (and that is being kind) VW service. VW is notorious for being expensive to keep on the road, surly service, and slimy corporate oversight.
They do cooperate with unions though.