The Volkswagen SportWagen managed to carve out some time in its schedule (of daily driving me to work) for a visit to our test track in Fontana, California. The red five-door used its five-speed manual to accelerate to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds, putting it on par with the likes of the Lexus LX570 and Acura’s TLX sedan. Recorded time through our figure-eight test was 27.3 seconds with an average of 0.63 g. This puts it right at about the same handling capabilities as a Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0t and a Land Rover Discovery Sport. Official curb weight on this VW is 3,040 pounds, which is right on top of a Honda HR-V and a Porsche Cayman GT4.
A big upside of rubber floormats is being able to hose them off for cleaning.
I was skeptical, but indeed the SportWagen can swallow an entire Costco surfboard.
Out of curiosity, I asked our test team what the last five-speed manual they’d accelerated at the test track was. They paused to give it some thought. “A Subaru Crosstrek and a Fiat 500. … Beyond that, none that we can recall in recent memory.” Indeed, the five-speed manual is one of this car’s unique (cost-cutting) features, albeit one that’s hard to imagine VW will continue to offer for much longer. The gearbox, cloth seats, manually adjusting seat bottoms, and traditional turn-key ignition (non-push-button start) are constant reminders that, as equipped, this TSI isn’t laden with VW’s newest tech; the price one pays for an affordable MSRP.
Less then stellar test numbers aside, the SportWagen provides a measurable dose of seat-of-the-pants fun, and the second and third gear ratios deliver the needed juice to dart and dash through the lanes of city traffic.
More on our long-term Golf SportWagen:
- Arrival
- Update 1: Shaming Crossovers With So Much Space
Cleaning the brake dust off the front wheels means spending a considerable amount of time between each spoke with a wet microfiber.
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