2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack | Road Test

The Golf Alltrack is a 5-door wagon that is a true all-weather, all-road runabout. We test how it handles the daily grind in Maryland.

[@Trendyflute]

I got an S with the brown interior and the 6-speed manual, put some shifter upgrades and an APR Stage 1 tune on it...love it! I keep pace with M3s on mountain roads for some reason :P And I do use it to go out on job sites and empty fields for work too! I love the offroad mode down steep slopes and it grips on steep sluffy crud well on the way up!

[@mcwendel8066]

Matt Clark that’s exactly what i wanted to hear!! I have a 2018 GTI and I’m thinking of switching over but i was worried I’d be losing a little performance. I drove a manual alltrack last week and i was surprised at how quick it was! The y’all shifter was my only complaint

[@hondamanvtec2894]

What m3 ?

[@MonsieurTarzan-g3m]

I own a 2019 Alltrack SEL with 29,400 miles on it. The sunroof drains were clogged, and this caused a leak which stained the headliner and the rear hatch carpet. The dealer says cost of labor to replace the headliner and carpet is $6,100 not including parts. The dealer will not honor the warranty, saying clearing drain tubes is part of regular maintenance. This doesn't seem right at all, particularly because there is also an extended warranty just for the sunroof. The extended maintenance schedule says the drains should be cleaned as part of the 20k mile service, which I had completed at another VW dealer. I am getting docs on that in an attempt to get VW to cover this. VW USA was not helpful either so far, but I can't see how they can deny warranty if I had the 20k service. I'm still working on this to get it resolved while car remains at dealer.

[@lloyd_3656]

This is a common thing with VW/ Audi pano roof models. For this reason i went with a S trim Alltrack. Cleaning the drains are not hard though, you can find some videos on youtube, $6,100 is crazy!

[@MonsieurTarzan-g3m]

@@lloyd_3656 Sued dealer and recovered most of the diagnostic fee. VW is just not honest about this problem.

[@SonOfTamriel]

Love this car, perfect Canadian winter-mobile. Need to pick one up!

[@aaronec91]

You’ll love it. Mine has seen light snow, dirt/mud roads, and twisty mountain driving, and handled every situation competently. They’re right about anything Golf being a fun and solid drive. The build quality alone was enough for me to choose it over Subaru, the German materials and solid feel makes a much more liveable and premium-feeling car.

[@justsumguy2u]

There's a market for this car. It may cost $4K more than the Subaru wagons, but some of those Subaru enthusiasts might pay that extra premium for a more refined driving experience.

[@mcwendel8066]

justsomeguytoyou my girlfriend has an 18 outback and it’s a great car but the alltrack is 10x more fun to drive and is much quicker

[@chuckers40]

I wish Toyota would have kept the Venza. It would give the Subaru Outback and Volkswagen Golf Alltrack a run for it's money.

[@meikelkneit4345]

1:19 In Germany the 1.8-Liter-TSI had 180 HP and was only available for the Golf Alltrack. Very rare here to find, if you want to buy a used car of this model. Most of the customers ordered the Golf Alltrack with a Diesel-Engine.

[@crownr0yalonice]

So sick of these German press cars with halogen headlights. Come. ON!

[@johnbcardin]

Interior looking dated? Not really.

[@moochercat]

I have a 2012 Sportwagen TDi I'm selling back on March 13th. This Alltrack is my leader for a replacement. I love my TDi and it's been a great car, but VW is giving me too much to pass on the buyback option. Test drove the Outback and CRV and hated how they drove. Like John Davis said, you can't beat how the VW drives. Why own a car you don't enjoy driving?

[@drwisdom1]

My wife had a 2009 Sportwagen TDI with manual which we did the buyback on and got her an Alltrack S (because we hated the panoramic sunroof) with manual. Its now got 70k miles and gets 29 mpg. I was jealous so when the diesel embargo go lifted in 2017 I bought a leftover 2015 Golf Sportwagen S TDI with manual and 80 miles on the odometer for $20k. Its now got 33k miles and gets 49 mpg around town and 55 mpg at 75 mph! For decades I have always driven GTIs and a Corrado VR6 but I love the Golf Sportwagen's manual transmission, low end torque, and chassis.

[@cbp1357]

One thing that I think very few people realize is that this car is very much a copy/look alike to the saab 9-3X in my opinion. I wish that the 9-3X was still around.

[@K03sport]

capang9555... If you mean it looks like a wagon, then yes; otherwise it looks like a VW...I don't think VW used Saab to inspire their design language...with that said I'm a huge fan of the 9.3 aero sportcombi and even the 9.5 too...some of the best land missiles made for effortless road tripping

[@NJW1973]

Do these Alltracks still have the tiny 13 gallon fuel tank?

[@andriolo]

Google answered 14.5 gal

[@mexifinn7830]

andriolo can confirm. Same fuel tank as a golf r. Slightly larger than a regular golf but not more range since the AWD system eats extra fuel.

[@rustlesee]

Wasn't the Golf/Rabbit a two door version of the four door Jetta? A way to show the difference between the two? Then they added two extra doors to the Golf.. which would basically be a Jetta hatch.. but still called it a Golf. Now this, a Jetta station wagon.. but using that Golf name still. Unless I'm completely off, maybe someone at VW doesn't know their own history.

[@jcullinan1718]

Russell C actually you have it backwards. Golf was the original. Jetta was a Golf with a trunk tacked on. Most other markets stuck with the Golf name for most variants except US.

[@FlowStateNewOrleans]

For 2017, the Jetta rides on an older platform. The Golf, Sportwagen & Alltrack are on the MQB. Jetta is based on that in 2018.

[@steveespinola7652]

Actually the Golf Wagon was the Jetta Wagon, they just changed the name.

[@TheCameltotem]

DSG? I'm leasing this. Will fucking drive the shit until that gearbox bleeds oil. Fuck yeah

[@LrulestheworldM8]

I was considering purchasing this car, but ended up passing on it. Its weak motor, sloppy auto trans, unavailability to remove the touch screen and replace it with a regular radio, too much 'smart' tech, and overall super high price will keep me away from these for quite some time.

[@FlowStateNewOrleans]

Sloppy automatic? The DSG is considered one of the best automatic transmissions around. Technically, it's not really even an automatic. Most reviews of the Alltrack praise the fact that it has a DSG rather than a torque converter auto.

[@LrulestheworldM8]

Dave Cartwright magazines may praise it, but i dont. A test drive convinced me that that transmission is just as awful as a cvt.(6 speed wasnt available to test at the time) its my least favorite transmission ive dealt with in the last decade.

[@mexifinn7830]

LRulesTheWorld I find this hard to believe. I’ve driven old DSGs with wet clutches, the new dry clutch dsgs, and a Ford dual clutch. Also driven CVTs and plenty of manuals. If you are used to an old skool torque vectors automatic it may feel odd initially but there is no way a cvt would feel less sloppy. How did you drive it? Soft? Hard? Manual mode? Regular drive or sport mode. I’m curious as to your specific encounters.

[@LrulestheworldM8]

Mexifinn I never messed with any of the 'modes'. If a car cant impress me with what it comes from the factory with, without me pressing buttons, then its not worth my money. This car is painfully slow. So slow, that I had trouble keeping up with regular traffic. When I hit the pedal, I had to mash it to get the car to go anywhere, and it wouldnt stay in a single gear unless I forced it to. It loved shifting between third and fourth at random times, and on the way down from third to second, it jerked into gear like I was driving a manual. The whole gearing system felt like it was going to give out from 1-5 under mild acceleration. Everything about the transmission just sucked throughout the entire drive. I couldnt get over how bad it was. I even asked the guy if he was sure this was a dual clutch auto because I was certain I was driving a CVT with the way this car behaved. It was just awful. The 4 speed auto from an mk4. Golf/cabrio is far superior to whatever this is. Shit, even a 3 speed GM auto of the early 90s was better than this. Overall, I was super unimpressed. The guy kept pushing the touch screen garbage and 'tech' junk more than anything. And that pissed me off from the get go, so that didnt help matters any. Maybe when they give this car a better motor and transmission I may try to test it again. But ill be sticking with my 90s cars before I get in one of these again.

[@Stclairm1]

They're selling them for $7000 off where I live in NC. I'm between this and a 17.5 Mazda6 touring. Not sure about all the hype about how "sporty" this Alltrack drives. Quite mushy suspension and somewhat numb steering.

[@francismartinez6049]

There are super reliable ....NOT

[@LooseCannons1]

you have one?

[@monikhushalpuri]

I have a 2004 audi a4 1.8t 6 speed that I drive the shit out of...240k km and even still on original control arms with just the bushings changed out every 2 years ...no issues whatsoever, not even electrical...can`t say the same for every Gm car my family has had though...they have more issues especially electrical yet german cars bear the brunt of it, its been more reliable than every japanese car my family has ever owned and just as cheap to maintain

[@mexifinn7830]

Brian Lawrance We have one. 16k miles and 14 months old. Zero problems.

[@K03sport]

I don't think there is enough data to support your claim...my '04 GTI is still going strong...maintenance is paramount but there is always a chance something can go wonky...I would rather choose this VW over a lot of other brands and some of that has to do w/the vw community

[@GeekTherapyRadio]

"There" are super reliable what?

[@swanblake]

To bad it's a VW. Pass

[@K03sport]

Blake Swan... Why... Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, ford, Chevy, dodge, and a host of other brands aren't going to make this wagon (at least in the US) if there is 1 brand that can pull this off, it's VW...I'd much rather buy the VW wagoen than another brand, the only exception is the Mazda6 wagon which is not available in the US

[@swanblake]

K03sport wouldn't that Mazda 6 wagon or Kia Optima Wagon just be amazing though? VW do not work for long. Personal experience. You cannot get me back into a VW.

[@genepatrick4232]

Not a fan.