VW Sending Wagons Out to Pasture.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/vw-golf-alltrack-sportwagen-dead-2019/

Discuss 

As much as I love wagons, I've never cared for VW wagons.

The US just isn't a market for wagons, sadly. 

BMW nixed the 5-series wagon in 2010 and IIRC they're cutting the 3-series wagon this year, or next.

Subaru is now making Crossovers.

Benz is chugging along with their ludicrously expensive E-class wagons.

Audi is...doing Audi stuff.

We have Volvo doing real wagons again, but they're pretty damn expensive.

Buick is trying with that one wagon of theirs. We'll see how long that lasts.

Wierd. Audi is bringing in even more wagons next year.

The VW wagons are cursed with lackluster (stock) power, especially when paired with AWD. 

If the sportwagon came with the GTI 2.0T + Manual (or, better yet, the Golf R engine), I'd be driving one right now instead of a GTI.  But VW probably worried it would steal sales from its SUV/CUV line and/or Audi. IDK. I drove the Alltrak and it was pretty cool but WAY too slow. 

The problem with most (affordable) wagons out there is that they're lower-power and LESS fun to drive than many sedans and almost all of the SUV/CUVs that they compete against. VW's wagons are what, half the horsepower of a run-of-the-mill V6 Accord or Camry? Yawn......

My mom is driving around in a 2018 Sportwagen. Power was never an issue, she went with it because she likes wagons. Most SUVs wouldn't fit in her garage and she's short enough that she doesn't want to climb into one.

We are a wagon family, running a 1990 Passat, a 1998 Legacy GT and a 2006 Legacy. When it came time to replace that last one, the Outback had ballooned and you couldn't get a real Subaru wagon anymore. She and Dad bought a 2015 Legacy sedan but it just didn't work, so it got traded in on the VW. It has the packaging she wants and she's much more comfortable in it than she was in the Legacy sedan - probably because the Sportwagen is almost exactly the same size (and same color) as that 1990 Passat wagon. She feels like she's home again.

Driving her current car, it's fast enough. It's not a sports car, but it's not trying to be. The car was 100% purchased on packaging, size and cost. A Volvo would have been nice (my sister drives a late model Volvo wagon) but they're always just thaaaat much too expensive.

Canada will miss this more than the US will, as Canada is more wagon-friendly (and manual-friendly) than the US. The Canadian dealers will not be happy.

It's a shame. If I could get just one woman to look past the poverty status and be willing to have kids I'd drive a wagon way before any CUV or van.

Happily drove my fathers 305 'Estate Car.'

As a single guy the beater truck and my three 2dr cars are perfect right now.

Power wouldn't bother me.  I rent and own a Versa. 

I drive a Versa Note and almost bought a Golf Wagon. Plenty of power for me. 

Yeah, IDK. Plenty of people talk in abstract about what they 'would' buy. I'm just speaking as someone who actually DID go buy a (brand-new, from dealer) GTI last year. If the sportwagon (AWD or FWD) had the GTI drivetrain, I'd have bought it in a second (and paid more for it), no question about it.

And it's not necessarily about packaging for me. I don't actually need a hatchback any more than I need a wagon (I have a big SUV to carry stuff....). I just think the wagon is cooler and would rather spend my money on it. new.  Guess not. 

Buying new is overrated a lot.  Downstream buyers are just as important. The single greatest selling point for the Golf as a new car in the UK was their resale value. 

I'd imagine the Honda tax as we call it influences new Accord buyers.

I did my part to save them. I still really like mine as a mountain commuter. (18 GSW 4motion) I mean they were giving them away when I bought it. I would have been silly to pass on it at under $20K 

FuzzWuzzy said:

Audi is...doing Audi stuff.

Audi is releasing a 600 hp AWD wagon.  :)  Will be competing with the AMGs though.

I wonder if Audi doing audi stuff is the reason volkswagen isn't doing audi stuff.  Brand differentiation and all that. Let audi have the wagons, VW can do... whatever. 

nutherjrfan said:

Buying new is overrated a lot.  Downstream buyers are just as important. The single greatest selling point for the Golf as a new car in the UK was their resale value.

As opposed to the US, where the greatest selling point for the Golf as a USED vehicle is its resale value.

This makes me sad. We bought a 2018 in manual for the wife.  I agree they are a little pokey stock and should have came with the 2.0T.

The JB4 tune gets it to stock GTI power levels. The GTI and R turbos also bolt on for when the warranty is out. 

Greg Voth said:

This makes me sad. We bought a 2018 in manual for the wife.  I agree they are a little pokey stock and should have came with the 2.0T.

The JB4 tune gets it to stock GTI power levels. The GTI and R turbos also bolt on for when the warranty is out. 

I did consider that. But the main reason I bought a VW in the first place was because of the huge 6/72 warranty they offered just for those two years. And tuning it gets rid of much of the reason for that warranty, and the reason to buy the GTI in the first place lol. 

bmw88rider said:

I did my part to save them. I still really like mine as a mountain commuter. (18 GSW 4motion) I mean they were giving them away when I bought it. I would have been silly to pass on it at under $20K 

Were they actually discounting them that heavily?

Yes Woody. I got mine for almost $7200 under sticker. So on a 26.8 car I paid 19.7 and I really didn't negotiate at all. That was just the standard price with my SCCA membership.

In reply to Woody :

I bought 2 Jetta SE from Stohlman VW in Virginia. Both under $14k. 

This was in May of this year, so you can still get good deals:

irish44j said:

Greg Voth said:

This makes me sad. We bought a 2018 in manual for the wife.  I agree they are a little pokey stock and should have came with the 2.0T.

The JB4 tune gets it to stock GTI power levels. The GTI and R turbos also bolt on for when the warranty is out. 

I did consider that. But the main reason I bought a VW in the first place was because of the huge 6/72 warranty they offered just for those two years. And tuning it gets rid of much of the reason for that warranty, and the reason to buy the GTI in the first place lol. 

Yeah, I hear you. The JB4 walks the line being a piggy back and not detectible. Not that Ive researched it or anything. 

In reply to Slippery :

that's on the Pike close to the Nissan/Mazda dealer?  Or is that the Stohlman Subaru?  The old Stohlman Subaru building is kind weird looking but that's in Herndon or somewheres else. 

Again with the Canada comparison - Sportwagens are not really discounted at all. Supply is more of a problem, the dealers didn't have much inventory so they weren't motivated to give it away. Minor discounts, nothing like what you guys are talking about.

Like I said, the Canadian dealers will miss this car.

Slippery said:

In reply to Woody :

I bought 2 Jetta SE from Stohlman VW in Virginia. Both under $14k. 

This was in May of this year, so you can still get good deals:

How? I have the worst luck in trying to get numbers froma dealer over e-mail. Doesn't matter what part of the country either hahaha. 

Also doesn't help that I just moved to an area where the car market has an insane inflation (Seattle) for both new and used cars. 

nutherjrfan said:

In reply to Slippery :

that's on the Pike close to the Nissan/Mazda dealer?  Or is that the Stohlman Subaru?  The old Stohlman Subaru building is kind weird looking but that's in Herndon or somewheres else. 

Tyson’s Corner. 

I flew into DCA, they picked me up in a new 5 series the first time and in a Lexus GS350 the second time, picked the car and drove away. 

They mailed me the papers so everything was signed before I even got to the dealer. 

If anyone is interested I can give you my contact there. 

I don't quite get the move either. Maybe if they were to just drop the golf but in the mid atlantic through new england VW wagons are everywhere especially now that they have the alltraks. I have a '15 S manual wagon and it's been pretty great so far. Sure it could use more power and I've got gti springs and sway bar and I've swapped an SEL seat in but I also hang around here so it was bound to happen.

My mother has an SEL alltrak, never felt like it was low on power and has all the nice things without being fancy. I'll echo Keith's comments on why it was purchased: the packaging, nice things and price were spot on. We've had SAAB wagons, TDI wagons, early outbacks and Volvo XC (early) wagons. BMW's, Audi's and current Volvo's are just too expensive. The The mk7 wagon is by the best of the lot so far.  

They cite poor sales but the wagons sell nearly as well as the GTI and better than the beetle. Oh well.

I have had several wagons and loved all of them. The only reason I would buy one now is nostalgia. They just aren't the best tool for the job anymore unless you just like them. If I still had younger kids I wouldn't even consider one. Vans, mini-vans, and SUVs have pretty much replaced them. 

Though if I came across a 70s-80s Malibu wagon I'd be very tempted.