2017 Alltrack could renew trust in VW

Stylish Golf Alltrack adds underside plating and off-road capability for 2017.

By John Gilbert

If it looks like a Sportswagen, has the same utility as a Sportswagen, and goes like a Sportswagen, it must BE a Sportswagen, right?

Not necessarily. It might also be an Alltrack. Volkswagen is expanding the array of solid and substantial vehicles under the Golf brand name by adding a new and much more capable wagon-like vehicle named the Alltrack for 2017.

While it certainly resembles the venerable and popular wagon that used to be a Jetta but recently changed over to Golf livery, the Alltrack comes on the same MQB platform, bolstered with undercarriage armor plating, and with standard 4Motion all-wheel drive, at a bargain price. The price of the basic S model starts at $25,850 for the 6-speed stick shift, rising to $26,950 for the upgraded SE model, and $32,890 for a fully loaded SEL.

All Alltrack models come equipped with VW’s slick, high-tech 1.8-liter direct-injected and turbocharged 4-cylinder gasoline-sipping engine. No mention of the lack of availability of any turobdiesels, which, under the circumstances, is not surprising.

The surprise, to me, is that VW is going to continue offering the Golf Sportwagen, which is exactly the same length and, at a glance, has the same look, but lacks the impressive off-road capabilities. In my naivete, it seemed to make sense to plug in a couple versions of the Sportwagen as the entry-level Alltrack, but that won’t be happening. The Sportwagen comes with either base front-wheel drive or the upgraded 4Motion model, the Sportwagen S Sport.

Five waves of automotive journalists converged on Seattle for the introduction of the Alltrack, with the added lure of VW’s annual all-model presentation for 2017. We spent one day cruising across the harbor from Seattle on the Bainbridge Island Ferry, and drove most of the day around the twisty rural roads of Bainbridge Island as well as negotiating a rugged off-road course. Back to the ferry and Seattle, and the next day we drove up to Snoqualmie, where we found the rest of the VW fleet parked at the Mount Si Golf Club for our use. Read more

• About the Author

  John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
  
  For those who want to keep up with John Gilbert's view of sports, mainly hockey with a Minnesota slant, click on the following:
  
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• Exhaust Notes:

  PADDLING
  More and more cars are offering steering-wheel paddles to allow drivers manual control over automatic or CVT transmissions. A good idea might be to standardize them. Most allow upshifting by pulling on the right-side paddle and downshifting with the left. But a recent road-test of the new Porsche Panamera, the paddles for the slick PDK direct-sequential gearbox were counter-intuitive -- both the right or left thumb paddles could upshift or downshift, but pushing on either one would upshift, and pulling back on either paddle downshifted. I enjoy using paddles, but I spent the full week trying not to downshift when I wanted to upshift. A little simple standardization would alleviate the problem.
  
  

  SPEAKING OF PADDLES
  The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution has the best paddle system, and Infiniti has made the best mainstream copy of that system for the new Q50, and other sporty models. And why not? It's simply the best. In both, the paddles are long, slender magnesium strips, affixed to the steering column rather than the steering wheel. Pull on the right paddle and upshift, pull on the left and downshift. The beauty is that while needing to upshift in a tight curve might cause a driver to lose the steering wheel paddle for an instant, but having the paddles long, and fixed, means no matter how hard the steering wheel is cranked, reaching anywhere on the right puts the upshift paddle on your fingertips.
  
  

  TIRES MAKE CONTACT
  Even in snow-country, a few stubborn old-school drivers want to stick with rear-wheel drive, but the vast majority realize the clear superiority of front-wheel drive. Going to all-wheel drive, naturally, is the all-out best. But the majority of drivers facing icy roadways complain about traction for going, stopping and steering with all configurations. They overlook the simple but total influence of having the right tires can make. There are several companies that make good all-season or snow tires, but there are precious few that are exceptional. The Bridgestone Blizzak continues to be the best=known and most popular, but in places like Duluth, MN., where scaling 10-12 blocks of 20-30 degree hills is a daily challenge, my favorite is the Nokian WR. Made without compromising tread compound, the Nokians maintain their flexibility no matter how cold it gets, so they stick, even on icy streets, and can turn a skittish car into a winter-beater.