A Modest Proposal is a new feature where we advocate for more exciting variants of existing cars. Unlike other columns that do the same, we’ll take a look at products that actually stand a chance of making the business case, and how that can be met. I know, I know, not as fun as asking for cab-over rear drive vans and station wagons. If you want that, you’re in the wrong place. -DK
With the introduction of the MKV Volkswagen Jetta, VW re-introduced the much-loved GLI as a full member of the range (rather than the late cycle special edition of the MKIV). But in Canada, it took the GLI a full model year to be introduced. Canadian customers got a model dubbed the 2.0T that featured the same 2.0T engine, a sports suspension and 17″ wheels. Among from the 2.0T were the the 18″ wheels, low profile tires, bodykit and plaid fabric seats, all of which came on the GLI. It was basically a “normcore” GLI, and it ended up being the car that replaced my father’s 2003 BMW 530i.
In retrospect, it couldn’t have been a more perfect car for my Dad. It had all of the GLI’s sport bits (suspension, engine, the option of a DSG gearbox), but nothing overly juvenile (hard ride, big alloys, aero kit). It was astonishing value, costing thousands less than an equivalent Acura TSX, while offering performance more akin to the Subaru Legacy 2.5GT – but without the spartan interior.
Driving the Golf Sportwagen, particularly the 1.8TSI version, made me long for a version like the 2.0T. It would have just enough power and handling capabilities to be a a lot of fun in spirited, everyday driving. At the limit handling would be dialed back due to the need for a bit more comfort than you’d get from a GTI or Golf R, not to mention longer-wearing tires, but the stock chassis and suspension setup is most of the way there. The old 2.0T, at least in the first few years, was only available fully loaded. You got your choices of colors and transmissions, but that was it. In return for spending big bucks on a Jetta, you got everything VW had to offer at the time. This kind of packaging presumably cut down on assembly complexities and let VW make money on a smaller car by loading it with margin-rich features. I think the same formula would work on the Sportwagen as well. The 1.8TSI engine is adequate for the Sportwagen, but if you want more real world grunt, you have to step up to the diesel – and that’s not always an appealing option for American consumers.
Why not just go all out and make the case for a Golf Sportwagen R? Well, this is called “A Modest Proposal”. We’re here to discuss combinations and variants that stand a chance of making it into the lineup with minimal fuss and maximum payoff for the auto maker. A Golf R is a lot closer to $40,000 than the $30,000 price tag of a loaded up TDI Sportwagen. No matter how many people on the internet are clamoring for one, it pales in comparison to the number of people that would buy one. On the other hand, a 2.0T variant that doesn’t need all-wheel drive, can be built in Mexico and sold for somewhere just south of $35,000? Not nearly as exciting, but a lot more realistic.
There was a MKV 2.0T Jetta Sportwagen in the US for a few model years. The problem was that it was as bland as a refrigerator as far as looks go for my 24-years-old-first-real-job self. I bought a GTI instead. 32 year old dad of 1 would be tempted by a sportwagen.
It also didn’t sell worth squat judging from how short its lifespan in our market was. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one on the road. I agree that looks were a problem, and the MkV front fascia looked terrible on the wagon.
This dad of 2 would be very tempted by a 2.0T Sportwagen.
Yea, there is like 1 with a 6MT on cars.com. Very rare. I loved the look of my MKV GTI but that look did not work on the Jetta sedan and sportwagen…. especially the big chrome grille shield. I think the MKVII GTI style would look great on a Sportwagen. It is more horizontal styling than vertical. The MKV vertical styling made the wagon look tippy.
I have a 11 tdi wagon with the DSG , a 2.0 wagon at about 35 k would be a very rich premium over a oil burner, if the new golf wagon tdi maxes around 30 k I do not know how many takers you would get, and it would eat into GTI sales
A Jetta GLI goes for $24,535 MSRP so I don’t see how a wagon version would go for 10k more. I do think it would cannibalize some GTI sales but would also pull down some A3 buyers and possibly some others who want a smaller performance wagon but won’t buy a hot hatch.
I don’t think sales would be off the board but I could see a GLI Sportwagon being a moderate sales success and a brand builder.
I agree with you there. $35k is too much, not only a big premium but also closing in on the allroad pricing for Audi. Because lets be honest at 35-42k most people are financing and that’s not a huge jump in payments
At 28-32k (a tad above TDI price) this could be exactly as you describe. A solid halo model and brand builder
I dunno.
Wouldn’t it be competing with the Allroad, then?
Can even Volkswagen support that many … wagons, in the US?
(As a wagon fan, it’d be nice!)
(On another note, does anyone know why it’s now a Golf Sportwagen, not a Jetta Sportwagen?
It’s the same size as the old JSW – I checked.)
It’s called a Golf because it is a Golf. The Jetta is now built on a different chassis. And actually, it’s about an inch longer inside than the JSW.
As for the Allroad – jacked up ride height and plastic machismo cladding make it a competitor to the Audi Allwhatever, the Subaru Outback and the Volvo XC70 rather than an actual car.
It’s a Golf in Canada, Jetta in the US.
No, it’s a Golf in both now. But a Sportwagon in Canada, Sportwagen in the US.
Set me dreaming… of an Uno R 1,6 16v. C’mon Fiat do Brasil. The engine exists, the suspension can be derived from Palio and Punto and voilà, the undisputed king of small cars.
OK, here’s a few low-volume variants that would be fairly easy for makers to create:
Ford Fusion Sport. Plunk the new Edge Sport’s transverse 2.7TT V6 (with AWD) into the very closely related Fusion. Done.
Honda Accord Sport V6. Combination of the 18″ wheels, midrange equipment level, and tighter suspension of the four-cylinder Accord Sport with the V6 powertrain. Bonus points for a manual transmission, but that’s a harder business case.
Lexus CT300h. A CT200h with a Camry Hybrid powertrain. Would make the car’s power match its handling and looks, and make the whole thing much more attractive.
Subaru Outback 2.0XT. The new, incredibly good 2.0L FA turbo in an Outback, with similar mild suspension tweaks to those you get on a turbo Forester. Would be a far more compelling drive than the 3.6R.
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Again, a RAV4 with a Camry Hybrid powertrain. Would suit the character of the RAV4 well and give city dwellers a hybrid CUV option below the huge and expensive Highlander. (Honda could also do a CR-V Hybrid with the Accord Hybrid powertrain to equal effect.)
Luckily, I am at lunch, because you’ve got me drooling, especially over the Honda Sport V6.
If you’re going to be in the 10% of Accord buyers with a V6, Honda is going to take advantage of that. 6MT? okay, you get a couple with navigation.
Toyota did something similar with the Highlander Hybrid, you can only get it in the top line trim for almost $50k.
Good call on the Fusion, but I’d use the 2.3 liter four with AWD, and just call it a Fusion ST. Of course 6MT needs to be available. The Fusion apparently has excellent handling as is, so why not push it over the top for a budget-friendly A4 killer? Also, because Lincoln doesn’t make sport sedans, a Fusion ST wouldn’t cannibalize sales of Ford’s upscale brand, the way high end VW’s could possibly take sales from Audi.
I’d second that. 2.3T in a bit stronger tune would fit the Fusion ST mission perfectly.
2.7TT would almost be overkill in my mind
Well the 2.3T is already capable of more than 300 hp…I think somewhere around 310hp is plenty enough for a FWD sedan.
I’m looking for the easiest possible engineering here. The 2.7TT and its AWD system has already been fit into a car on the Fusion’s platform, while the 2.3T hasn’t (yet).
There’s already a long line of people seeking to implore VW to bring cars stateside that they already offer elsewhere (Sciroccos, please). Wait your turn Mr K!
Source at VW AG told me “I took my product guys over to the Mustang stand and ask them how Ford built that when we built that piece of shit Scirocco”. Grass is greener and all that…
There are already a lot of Jetta variants. It gets to a point that adding more models just cannibalizes the lineup and reduces profitability. Perhaps they have reached this point, and it may make more sense to figure out how to sell more of what they already have than it does to add to the series.
We’re talking about a Golf Sportwagen, not a Jetta
Put the manual back in the Legacy.
BMW should offer bare bones variants of the 328i and 335i similar to what is offered in Europe and on the 320i. Manual seats, no extra storage, the inexpensive trim, even cloth seats and cloth/alcantara sport seats.
Charge $35k+ for it by extolling the return of the no-nonsense Ultimate Driving Machine. They’d get away with it, too.
Plaid seats, ugh. I had an ’87 GTI, it didn’t have plaid seats. When did GTIs get plaid seats, and when will they go away?
“When did GTIs get plaid seats?”
Around 1980, I think.
That’s VW’s secret. You have to pay for leather to make them go away.
If I brought home a GTI with plaid seats my wife would send it to the junkyard for crushing. If I didn’t set it on fire first. They are the ugliest thing available in a mass-market car interior in 2015.
I’d be hugely interested in a GTI wagon. The extra space and general rarity/quirkiness of the thing on American roads would probably get me over the hump of reliability concerns.
I agree that a R version is extremely unlikely here. While not as practical as a wagon, or as frugal as the EA888, at $40K+ you’d be competing against full size bruisers like the Scat Pack Charger. A Golf R wagon may be a better driver’s car, but you’d have a hard time separating Americans from their cash vs. a Charger/300.
Only a tiny number of buyers spending $40k on a non-CUV car are buying full-size American iron. The vast majority of them are buying lease-special A4s, 328is, and C250s. And even more than that are buying CUVs.
I’d be first in line for a 2.0T Golf wagon, well if I had the means to buy one. Right now (recent college grad, first job, athletic stuff) 28k is a bit rich for me
That said I am planning on purchasing a base 1.8T/5speed car as soon as they’re released next month. Been told it should show up around June if ordered mid April…
I’d be first in line for a 2.0T Golf wagon, well if I had the means to buy one. Right now (recent college grad, first job, athletic stuff) 28k is a bit rich for me
That said I am planning on purchasing a base 1.8T/5speed car as soon as they’re released next month. Been told it should show up around June if ordered mid April… So hopefully 5-6 years from now this exists and I can go buy one as my upgrade
VW did sell a 2.0T Jetta sportwagen for one year only in 2009 after the redesign. It was discontinued in 2010 when you you could either get the 2.5 boat anchor, or the 2.0 TDI expensive boat anchor. The 2.5 model came with less options, and if you wanted a car that wasn’t stripped like a Pinto, you got the TDI. I believe VW sells the model this way so that you basically have to get the TDI if you want to upscale the car.
For reference value, VW did have the 2.0T – and manual- in the previous (and better) gen Passat wagon- and it was friggin fantastic. I owned one for two years and adored it. the drivetrain of a GTI shoved into a wagon with more interior room than a McMansion, and it weighed about 3100 lbs. It was, in my humble opinion, the best car in the history of VW. In the history of cars. In the history of history. I drive a 2015 S4 with a stick right now, and would trade it in a heartbeat if VW (or the morons at Audi) would offer something like that Passat wagon.
I have the said diesel boat anchor in my wagon. Yes, there is some more weight on the front axle than I’d like. But about the 2.0T, I don’t know. In both the A5 and Tiguan forms, my opinion of it may have been altered for the worst by the automatic transmssion. It was bland to be honest. Not all will agree, but if you are to have a turbo, it better come with the rush and the sounds of the little turbine. With the 1.8 and the TDI already in the lineup, a 2.0T offering would have to stir up enthusiats with more that a little extra shove.
This is a great idea. My modest proposal: A Chevrolet Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel, Touring Edition.
I have a Cruze Diesel and really like it. My proposed model would (as the trope demands) be a wagon, like Chevy sells in Europe. Two tailpipes, better badging, fog lights, and a version of MyLink that works properly with Apple products.Why should VW drivers have all the fun?
not sure how well the 2.0t golf wagon would sell but it would be a decent upgrade in power from what we get now.
from what i see the 2009 golf wagon (jsw) 2.0t came with 200hp, the 2014 jsw 1.8t has 170hp similar to the old 5 cylinder but with much better gas mileage, while the 2014 jetta gli tops out at 210hp.
getting 210hp in the new golf wagon would be fun. however, assuming the epa estimates were similar for the golf wagon vs. the golf sedan not sure if i would spring the extra cash for the extra 40 hp and a 4 mpg gas penalty. sales price would have a lot to do with it.
If they sold the 1.8t manual at higher trim levels I’d get that and throw a modest stage one tune on it. Gti+ power and mileage.
The 2.5 is an engine in search of a performance gear ratio. Drive one that’s had a six speed swapped in and WOW the difference.