In reply to ultraclyde :
I've often told people they aren't for everyone. If you can understand and accept what you're getting into, a TDi can be a fun car. Otherwise, best to be avoided. It's easier to own now than when I originally bought it. The car's issues right now are more my fault than the car's.
Here is the picture of mine. Absolutely nothing fancy on it. No sun roof to leak, No "drivers aids" Nothing. Even has cloth seats. It's just your basic AWD wagon. Fanciest thing is the gear box since I got the DSG. It's the same as the Golf R so well under stressed for this application. Being that it's a Sportswagen and not an alltrack, It's lowered to the ground. I've got my off-road vehicle in the background. I just needed a cheap car that will get me to Denver and the ski slopes in the winter.
Vigo said:AWD, with a locking rear diff. Interesting.
I sort of doubt it has a locking diff in the way we would assume. Generally older AWD gms have a rear diff with a wet clutch on each side so if you engage both clutches at the same time it's a 'locked axle' but i doubt that happens very often, and i dont think it's ever been user-selectable. What did you see about the locking diff?
C&D, this sentence in the review of it:"You can just start to feel the Buick’s trick twin-clutch rear axle work its torque-vectoring magic before those all-season tires begin howling." So yeah, soiunds like what you're referring to. I need to read more closely next time.
STM317 said:In reply to P3PPY :
They trade some cargo capability for improved dynamics. And they offer quite a bit more cargo capability and functionality than the sedans that they're typically based on.
This. I already have a big SUV to haul big stuff. But I wouldn't mind something that isn't a lumbering beast (and minivans are better, but still not "car-like"), something I can still stick some 2x4s or a piece of furniture inside when needed, but that still drives like a car.
That said, it's fairly academic for me. Wife has a CX-9, I have a Sequoia tow pig, so the reality of it is that I'll probably buy a hatchback (GTI) over a sportwagon for my personal situation.
BTW, first car was a minivan and my parents have had them for 30 years and swear by them.
I saw one of the Buick wagons last week and it actually looked pretty good.
Will you guys allow the Focus Active in this thread?
Oh, and I've been driving a small wagon/coupe for 10 years. It's currently in pieces while I replace much of the suspension (120k miles) and I've thought of locating some taller springs and chunky tires for it.
When new
Last night
Unless I hit the lottery and can afford a newer AMG wagon, this will likely be the newest and only wagon I own.
I just need to make it lighter and faster to make it more enjoyable to me.
88rider what did you pay if you don't mind me asking?
P3PPY said:So I know there's this thing with a lot of gearheads about wagons but can someone explain the inside joke to me? I have a minivan and I love how spacious it is, especially compared to all the car cockpit interiors, and it's also tall enough to walk around in while crouched, including all the way to the rear hatch. There's no benefit like this to wagons though. They're roomy but only back behind your head. And surely due to the style of making the greenhouse narrow you can't even haul all that much above the beltline. What gives?
It can haul some stuff inside and it isn't a minivan. Really that is all it is for me.
The Buick looks great on paper but last time I checked the local inventory were all a higher-level spec and were priced at MSRP. Auto trans only is a bummer...but totally understandable for that car.
Volvo's fully committed to the wagons, but they don't sell a MT car. Period.
BMW Stopped selling manual wagons in roughly 2011 (?). I think they sold a manual X3 or X5 more recently (and maybe still do).
Subaru is pretty much the only manual wagon game in town. The Forrester is really a CUV, and the Crosstrek/Impreza is technically a hatchback. Even smaller than the VW.
VW 4-Motion & Alltrack
I wish that green color was available when I bought my car.
I've had my Alltrack S 6MT for 12 months and just under 30k miles. It was the only MT S Alltrack within ~300 miles. The shifter feel is blah, and the engine is vanilla, but it's been economical, comfortable, has plenty of passing power and is a nice car to drive. Most of my miles are highway and I regularly return over 30 mpg. VW was (and still is) discounting pretty heavily. It's a heck of a car for the money. You can always swap the suspension, add a short shift kit, and flash the ECU for more power. I'll wait until I'm out of the warranty period before messing with it...it's still a VW. VW also switched to a 6-year 72,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty for MY2018...which is pretty impressive. I
I was ready to purchase a sportwagen and had decided to go AWD: The lack of torque steer would be worth the MPG penalty. The Alltrack was discounted more heavily, and I wound up buying that for what I had expected to pay for the sportwagen. The Alltrack also has leatherette seats, foglamps, heated seats and a few nicer features. I also figured the higher ride height would be appreciated by the rest of the family (I was right). EDIT: The Alltrack also has an extra gallon of fuel capacity than the Sportwagen...that was one of the main factors in my upgrade decision as well.
The Alltrack is about the same size as an early 2000's Outback. It's not a big car, but it's functional. The trunk is set up with the entire floor to be flat when you lower the back seats. If you don't care about a flat cargo area you can drop the trunk panel down and pick up more storage area (or just plan to utilize the spare tire well.
In reply to 8valve :
Sure. $20,215 No haggle really. I could have gotten into the $19's but work is paying for it so I was good with it.
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