2018 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen
The Volkswagen Golf SportWagen was designed to replace the Jetta SportWagen. It features a familiar design and all of the attributes that helped make the Jetta SportWagen one of the most popular wagons in the United States, but it rides on a lighter platform that boosts both performance and fuel economy.
Overview
The Golf SportWagen is a family-focused version of the seventh-generation Golf hatchback. The two are nearly identical from the tip of the front bumper to the B-pillar; beyond that, the SportWagen boasts a stretched roofline that frees up a generous amount of space inside.
Life aboard
Like the Golf, the SportWagen offers an ergonomic interior built with quality materials. The car boasts a function-over-form dashboard with a center console that is slightly oriented towards the driver, an easy-to-read instrument cluster with four analog gauges housed in two separate pods and a three-spoke steering wheel. A thin-film transistor (TFT) screen integrated into the instrument cluster provides step-by-step navigation directions and can be configured to display a host of vital information about the car and its surroundings.
The base SportWagen comes with a 6.5-inch touch screen for the infotainment system. The top two trim levels benefit from a nicer eight-inch unit.
Trunk space checks in at a crossover-like 30.4 cubic feet with five occupants on board and a SUV-like 66.5 cubic feet with the rear seats folded flat.
Under the hood
The Golf SportWagen comes standard with a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 170 horsepower at 4,500 rpm and 199 lb-ft. of torque at just 1,600 rpm. Power is sent to the front wheels via either a standard five-speed manual transmission or an optional six-speed automatic.
The 1.8-liter returns 25 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway when bolted to a five-speed manual transmission. Selecting the automatic gearbox lowers freeway mileage to 33.
4Motion all-wheel drive is available at an extra cost on the base model.
Standard and optional features
The Golf SportWagen is offered in three trim levels: S, SE, and SEL.
The entry-level S model comes standard with a five-speed manual transmission, 15-inch alloy wheels, a hill-start assist function, body-colored door mirrors that are both power-adjustable and heated, a center arm rest for the front passengers, leatherette upholstery, cruise control, a leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel, manual A/C, one-touch power windows all around, Bluetooth technology, and a touch screen-based infotainment system.
Volkswagen offers a long list of accessories including different alloy wheel designs, trunk liners, and sun blinds.
Occupant safety
The Golf Sportwagen comes with front, side and side curtain airbags, electronic stability control system and Volkswagen's Automatic Post-Collision Braking system.
Key Competitors
The wagon segment has been steadily declining in the United States over the past few years but it's not dead yet. The SportWagen can be cross-shopped against the Subaru Outback and the smaller Subaru XV Crosstrek.
- Propulsion: Gas 1.8L I4
- Power: 170hp
@
4500rpm - Torque: 199ftâ‹…lb
@
1600rpm - Mileage: 28 MPG ( 25 city, 35 hwy)
- Transmission: 5-speed Manual
- Seating: 5 seats
in
2 rows - Passenger Volume: 94.3cu ft
- Length: 179.6in
- Wheelbase: 103.5in
- Height: 58.3in
- Weight: 3063lbs
- Cargo Volume: 30.4cu ft
- Front Leg Room: 41.2in
- Front Head Room: 38.6in
- Front Hip Room: TBDin
- Rear Leg Room: 35.6in
- Rear Head Room: 38.6in
- Rear Hip Room: TBDin
- Drag Coefficient: TBD
- Drag Coefficient: 0.31