I have been driving VWs since 1972, new GTIs from 1983 and my 92 Corrado. We did the buyback on my wife's 2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI and got her an 2017 Alltrack. I really liked it so after the diesel scandal was settled the VW dealers had some 2015 Golf Sportwagen TDIs that had been trapped on their lots for over a year. To get rid of them VW offered $5k off, 0% interest, and a 10yr/120k warranty. That twisted my arm and I got one with a manual and 87 miles on the odometer for under $20k. It is a fantastic vehicle and I sold my GTI because I didn't drive it anymore. The mpg is incredible. This MotorWeek video says their TDI got 37mpg. My guess is they had a DSG model. I keep track of every drop and average 47mpg around town and have never got less than 42mpg. The car averages 55mpg doing 75mph while being comfortable and quiet. We took a 4000 mile vacation and averaged 55mpg and spent less than $200 in diesel. It only has a 13.5 gallon tank but you can go over 700 miles before needing to fill up for under $30! With all its interior space it is the ultimate traveling machine. The DEF tank goes over 11k miles before needing a fill up. VW can't make a car better than a 2015 Golf Sportwagen TDI because they are converting over to making automatic transmission SUVs loaded up with junk tech like adaptive cruise control.
I was thinking about those TDI's before dieselgate hit. I later pulled the trigger in 2018 for the 6MT AWD Sportwagen S model and I get mid/high 30's mpg average (over the course of a tank, I can get 40 or higher on the highway) on 87 octane (highest mileage I've done is about 465 mi on a tank and then the fuel light came on, could've done 500 if I was desperate) and I agree its an amazing travel companion. It eats the miles and hauls anything you want. Not to mention three pedals, old school handbrake, but still has Android Auto!
@@Charlemagne89 The S model is the way to go! We had the panoramic sunroof in our 2009 buyback Sportwagen and hated it. People worry about it leaking, and ours did but that wasn't the problem. The panoramic sunroof only has a lame fabric shade that lets in tons of road noise even when closed. The inside of our Sportwagen S and Alltrack S are so much more pleasant to ride in. I always had a sunroof since my 1983 GTI but the panoramic sunroof forced me to give them up.
All your breathless "dieselgate" pearl clutching aside, the TDI was most definitely the way to go. If well maintained, the engine will last several hundred thousand miles, the torque is simply incredible, and the fuel efficiency can't be beat. It's 2024 and I still have my 2015 Sportwagen TDI SE and average 48mpg on extended trips. In 9yrs and over 150,000 miles, I have had to replace my brake pads/rotors once, my battery once, and only my rear shocks. By contrast, my friend's 2016 gasoline Sportwagen has been an absolute money pit... Turbo problems, multiple replaced thermostats, MAF sensors, engine misfires, head gasket leaks, you name it. If you can find a pre-owned TDI Sportwagen, Jetta, or Passat, buy it immediately... the price will undoubtedly be a bargain, and you won't regret it!
+JAEGERTECH See, that's what happens when it is brought a "Diesel fiasco." It was a PPRODUCTION ETHICS FIASCO. That's why ANY VW or AUDI or PORSCHE or LAMBORGHINI or SKODA or SEAT should not be recommended period.
me3333 get yourself a volvo cross country or a used 240. The 240 was the most reliable wagon ever. I have one with 700 000 on the original redblock engine and tranny
Yes the diesel fiasco is just that. A huge fiasco. But in the end, John Davis says he cannot recommend ANY VW. I think that seems to be a bit shortsighted, and not objective. It's like saying "Lexus and Toyota have some un-intended acceleration problems, so we cannot recommend ANY Lexus or Toyota." Super idiotic to say that all VW's cannot be recommended.
+Naren V Well would you tell your family to order a Toyota/Lexus before that problem was sorted out? The more renegade comment was "when and IF VW sorts this out", as if complete implosion was a possible outcome.
+Naren V He is right on not recommending ANY VW or AUDI for that matter. because it was not a diesel fiasco. It was a VW group production ethics fiasco. If an American car company would have the same thing, they could have sold one single American after that in whole Europe.
The Volkswagen Beetle was at least approved by Adolf Hitler. I don't think one should blame an entire company for a few people's faults. I'm sure those who were involved in "Dieselgate" were terminated.
Just an FYI that this model has always been a member of the Golf family lineup, and marketed and sold as a Golf everywhere in the world except in the US where the previous editions were labeled as Jetta Sportswagons (for some unknown reason lol). In short, this is the same product and model family, just finally using it's real name world-wide now. On another note, I too miss the good ole days of my youth and the fullsize Wagons of American brands. It would seem that with all of the new technology available in manufacturing to make vehicles lighter yet stronger that someone would once again offer a fullsize wagon with today's safety, performance, and driver assistance amenities as an alternative to all of the minivans, suv's, and crossover vehicles. Yes, a few automakers have offered some decent wagons from time to time since the late 80's, but none of them have tried to take them upstream into the same market segment as the higher-end SUV's and Crossovers. C'mon, make one to compete with Escalade ESV's, M-B GL's, etc. I for one would prefer to have something lower to the ground, sleeker, and easier to park.
+Marcus Connell I don't remember the SportwagOn but I have seen Sportwagens. You're not the only person commenting with the same bizarre spelling so maybe it's a different model that I've never heard of.
I don't care about dieselgate .It's a big joke . Most of the gasoline-powered cars with a catalytic converter emit more greenhouse gases after about years. It would be necessary to put a new catalytic converter every years to meet the standard .
***** OH! no We should forget about the millions of people who gave their feedback and concluded VW as JUNK but accept your words about your personal experience as unquestionable truth. After all the world is revolving around you. We should revolve around you as well.
Fussinated what irks me is that you claim vws are never reliable cars and that is just not true. quite frankly i dont car about some statistics you read. while the world doesnt revolve around me, i do value my personal experiences infinitely more than some keyboard warrior's "expertise."
***** “what irks me is that you claim vws are never reliable cars” Because you don’t know what reliability of a car means.
“and that is just not true” Well, it’s true. As long as I remember VW’s are never reliable cars. They could not even go beyond the average. “quite frankly i dont car about some statistics you read” And frankly no one cares about your personal experiences. “while the world doesnt revolve around me” You act like as if it does. “i do value my personal experiences infinitely more than some keyboard warrior's "expertise." “ Well that’s the deal; your personal experiences is for you and only for you. They don’t have any meaningful effect on deciding about any car brands reliability. As for my “expertise”, is there anything about me making you feel insecure or something? I did not mention about my personal anything, not yet at least. So where is this brilliant remark about me in person coming from while there is a whole bunch of statistical data around to refer to?
Gas prices have fallen, so gasoline is still better than diesel, when it comes to cost and maintenance. I expected the Golf Sportwagen to have the same number of gears as the automatic, since 5 gears in a manual date back to the 1980s.
5 speeds were very common until around five years ago. Personally, I prefer a 5 speed for a car like this. 1st gear is almost always too short on a 6 speed (I had to shift into 2nd before 15 mph in my 2011 Mazda 3 with a 6-speed) and when it comes to passing on the highway 4th gear tends to not give you enough power and you can't shift into 3rd on the highway. I've also gotten better fuel economy out of my full-time AWD 2004 VW Passat (3,500 lbs) than my FWD Mazda 3 (3,000 lbs) even though the Passat is significantly heavier and has nearly identical power figures. 6 speeds are only good for performance cars. This is not a performance car and I dont think that it needs a 6 speed.
+lllBoggylll The thing is lower powered cars like this aren't geared that way. They can't be because a lot of the engines attached don't produce enough power to effectively keep the car at highway speeds at low RPM. The other thing is that low RPM does not always equate to better fuel economy. If the engine is too far out of its power band it will use more fuel to maintain the same RPM. But with higher powered cars I'm with you 100%.
+Tim Joseph Yes, but even with the cheaper gas prices what is done is still scamming the consumers. It is not a matter of diesel or gasoline issue. Cheat me once shame on you cheat me twice shame on me.
+matt k It should return at all. Actually, VW GROUP, including AUDI and others, should move out of the American market completely. If an American car company tried to pull a similar scam, not one single American car would have been sold in Europe.
I like the car, but I am afraid of VWs reputation as needing repairs and having unresponsive dealerships. Acquaintance had a new VW that had inop windshield washer system. Several trips to dealer, each time returned 'repaired', was never repaired... wth? Was at an auto-repair shop & a newish Golf was in for a split metal fuel line... wth?
+lllBoggylll you forgot that VW also scams the consumers that is single handedly enough not to buy their cars. Come one guys what is wrong with you if you realized that your grocery store owner was cheating you, would you still go and shop there? What happened to "cheat me once shame on you cheat me twice shame on me" thing?
VW are the better choice. Better cars. Better engineering. No doubt. German engineering is taking over the world. For good reasons. Resale value of these vehicles is incredible. For good reasons. VW is the better choice.
@@dudndadn12212 Actually, I appreciated they lied to produce a perfect chassis, great power and economy. North America is loosing out because the rest of the world is still getting TDi's....
+Darrell Parker Jr Meanwhile American car makers are still to be considered honest at least you know what you are getting. However, American cars still more reliable than the European piece of junk.
Brendan Dwan Don't pretend as if you don't know the difference between a deliberate rigging of the product verses a production defect. VW group was proven for deliberate rigging the ECU, until you can prove that GM rigged their ignition to kill people you should shut the F*** up and St*** that VW badge up in your donkey.
Fussinated boy you are defensive sorry you are so easily triggered I doubt you were directly affected unlike you I actually have a cheating tdi but it's still a fantastic car and I plan to replace it with a gas one whereas any American car we've owned an impala, two sierras and a Silverado all have turned out to be absolute junk
Still would love to get a 1.8T one with some mild mods for a sleeper wagon.
Proud IS38 4motion VAW here. It's fun AF!
Love this channel! Just purchased a 2016 Golf Sportwagon a few months back. Loving it! Thank you
I have been driving VWs since 1972, new GTIs from 1983 and my 92 Corrado. We did the buyback on my wife's 2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI and got her an 2017 Alltrack. I really liked it so after the diesel scandal was settled the VW dealers had some 2015 Golf Sportwagen TDIs that had been trapped on their lots for over a year. To get rid of them VW offered $5k off, 0% interest, and a 10yr/120k warranty. That twisted my arm and I got one with a manual and 87 miles on the odometer for under $20k.
It is a fantastic vehicle and I sold my GTI because I didn't drive it anymore. The mpg is incredible. This MotorWeek video says their TDI got 37mpg. My guess is they had a DSG model. I keep track of every drop and average 47mpg around town and have never got less than 42mpg. The car averages 55mpg doing 75mph while being comfortable and quiet. We took a 4000 mile vacation and averaged 55mpg and spent less than $200 in diesel. It only has a 13.5 gallon tank but you can go over 700 miles before needing to fill up for under $30! With all its interior space it is the ultimate traveling machine. The DEF tank goes over 11k miles before needing a fill up. VW can't make a car better than a 2015 Golf Sportwagen TDI because they are converting over to making automatic transmission SUVs loaded up with junk tech like adaptive cruise control.
I was thinking about those TDI's before dieselgate hit. I later pulled the trigger in 2018 for the 6MT AWD Sportwagen S model and I get mid/high 30's mpg average (over the course of a tank, I can get 40 or higher on the highway) on 87 octane (highest mileage I've done is about 465 mi on a tank and then the fuel light came on, could've done 500 if I was desperate) and I agree its an amazing travel companion. It eats the miles and hauls anything you want. Not to mention three pedals, old school handbrake, but still has Android Auto!
@@Charlemagne89 The S model is the way to go! We had the panoramic sunroof in our 2009 buyback Sportwagen and hated it. People worry about it leaking, and ours did but that wasn't the problem. The panoramic sunroof only has a lame fabric shade that lets in tons of road noise even when closed. The inside of our Sportwagen S and Alltrack S are so much more pleasant to ride in. I always had a sunroof since my 1983 GTI but the panoramic sunroof forced me to give them up.
All your breathless "dieselgate" pearl clutching aside, the TDI was most definitely the way to go. If well maintained, the engine will last several hundred thousand miles, the torque is simply incredible, and the fuel efficiency can't be beat. It's 2024 and I still have my 2015 Sportwagen TDI SE and average 48mpg on extended trips. In 9yrs and over 150,000 miles, I have had to replace my brake pads/rotors once, my battery once, and only my rear shocks. By contrast, my friend's 2016 gasoline Sportwagen has been an absolute money pit... Turbo problems, multiple replaced thermostats, MAF sensors, engine misfires, head gasket leaks, you name it. If you can find a pre-owned TDI Sportwagen, Jetta, or Passat, buy it immediately... the price will undoubtedly be a bargain, and you won't regret it!
This is a good video to keep around for historical purposes.
Motorweek...your honesty is refreshing
you can still recommend the amazing e-Golf since it uses no gas or oil at all!!
had mine for over a year now and it's great!! Love it
+JAEGERTECH See, that's what happens when it is brought a "Diesel fiasco." It was a PPRODUCTION ETHICS FIASCO. That's why ANY VW or AUDI or PORSCHE or LAMBORGHINI or SKODA or SEAT should not be recommended period.
If VWoA would offer an e-Sportwagen, I would grab it.
I like suv's I don't like crossovers but I sure do miss the days of the big station wagons
me3333 get yourself a volvo cross country or a used 240. The 240 was the most reliable wagon ever. I have one with 700 000 on the original redblock engine and tranny
Yes the diesel fiasco is just that. A huge fiasco. But in the end, John Davis says he cannot recommend ANY VW. I think that seems to be a bit shortsighted, and not objective. It's like saying "Lexus and Toyota have some un-intended acceleration problems, so we cannot recommend ANY Lexus or Toyota." Super idiotic to say that all VW's cannot be recommended.
+Naren V Well would you tell your family to order a Toyota/Lexus before that problem was sorted out? The more renegade comment was "when and IF VW sorts this out", as if complete implosion was a possible outcome.
+Naren V He is right on not recommending ANY VW or AUDI for that matter. because it was not a diesel fiasco. It was a VW group production ethics fiasco. If an American car company would have the same thing, they could have sold one single American after that in whole Europe.
The Volkswagen Beetle was at least approved by Adolf Hitler. I don't think one should blame an entire company for a few people's faults. I'm sure those who were involved in "Dieselgate" were terminated.
I guess you don’t mess with the Green scheme or you get blackballed
Just an FYI that this model has always been a member of the Golf family lineup, and marketed and sold as a Golf everywhere in the world except in the US where the previous editions were labeled as Jetta Sportswagons (for some unknown reason lol). In short, this is the same product and model family, just finally using it's real name world-wide now.
On another note, I too miss the good ole days of my youth and the fullsize Wagons of American brands. It would seem that with all of the new technology available in manufacturing to make vehicles lighter yet stronger that someone would once again offer a fullsize wagon with today's safety, performance, and driver assistance amenities as an alternative to all of the minivans, suv's, and crossover vehicles. Yes, a few automakers have offered some decent wagons from time to time since the late 80's, but none of them have tried to take them upstream into the same market segment as the higher-end SUV's and Crossovers. C'mon, make one to compete with Escalade ESV's, M-B GL's, etc. I for one would prefer to have something lower to the ground, sleeker, and easier to park.
+Marcus Connell I don't remember the SportwagOn but I have seen Sportwagens. You're not the only person commenting with the same bizarre spelling so maybe it's a different model that I've never heard of.
Golf R Sportwagen or GTI Sportwagen would have been quite possibly the most perfect all-around vehicle to ever exist. Shame.
I love u motorweek!!
I WANT ONE
I don't care about dieselgate .It's a big joke . Most of the gasoline-powered cars with a catalytic converter emit more greenhouse gases after about years. It would be necessary to put a new catalytic converter every years to meet the standard .
martin martin water vapour is like 90% of greenhous gassed. The whole CO2 thing is pseudoscience
yes dieselgate is very disappointing but i couldn't be happier with the performance and build quality of my '15 tsi 5MT
+Samwise Drogod VW never was a reliable car, ever, diesel or otherwise.
Fussinated sure i'll just forget about my 15+ years of owning my previous vw and take your word for it. youre wrong dude.
***** OH! no We should forget about the millions of people who gave their feedback and concluded VW as JUNK but accept your words about your personal experience as unquestionable truth. After all the world is revolving around you. We should revolve around you as well.
Fussinated what irks me is that you claim vws are never reliable cars and that is just not true. quite frankly i dont car about some statistics you read. while the world doesnt revolve around me, i do value my personal experiences infinitely more than some keyboard warrior's "expertise."
*****
“what irks me is that you claim vws are never reliable cars”
Because you don’t know what reliability of a car means.
“and that is just not true”
Well, it’s true. As long as I remember VW’s are never reliable cars. They could not even go beyond the average.
“quite frankly i dont car about some statistics you read”
And frankly no one cares about your personal experiences.
“while the world doesnt revolve around me”
You act like as if it does.
“i do value my personal experiences infinitely more than some keyboard warrior's "expertise." “
Well that’s the deal; your personal experiences is for you and only for you. They don’t have any meaningful effect on deciding about any car brands reliability. As for my “expertise”, is there anything about me making you feel insecure or something? I did not mention about my personal anything, not yet at least. So where is this brilliant remark about me in person coming from while there is a whole bunch of statistical data around to refer to?
This car reminded me of hermany and i used this one crisscrossing europe....love it!!
This year TDI is not recalled. It's the ones without urea that are recalled like my 13 Golf TDI.
Because diesel cost more than the gas the price for your fuel per mile is actually cheaper with the gasoline one and the gasoline one is quicker
Gas prices have fallen, so gasoline is still better than diesel, when it comes to cost and maintenance. I expected the Golf Sportwagen to have the same number of gears as the automatic, since 5 gears in a manual date back to the 1980s.
5 speeds were very common until around five years ago. Personally, I prefer a 5 speed for a car like this. 1st gear is almost always too short on a 6 speed (I had to shift into 2nd before 15 mph in my 2011 Mazda 3 with a 6-speed) and when it comes to passing on the highway 4th gear tends to not give you enough power and you can't shift into 3rd on the highway. I've also gotten better fuel economy out of my full-time AWD 2004 VW Passat (3,500 lbs) than my FWD Mazda 3 (3,000 lbs) even though the Passat is significantly heavier and has nearly identical power figures. 6 speeds are only good for performance cars. This is not a performance car and I dont think that it needs a 6 speed.
+PIchillin456 Nonsense. Give me a 5 speed plus 6th - tall overdrive for freeway cruising at 70-ish. Reduced noise and better econ.
+lllBoggylll The thing is lower powered cars like this aren't geared that way. They can't be because a lot of the engines attached don't produce enough power to effectively keep the car at highway speeds at low RPM. The other thing is that low RPM does not always equate to better fuel economy. If the engine is too far out of its power band it will use more fuel to maintain the same RPM. But with higher powered cars I'm with you 100%.
+Tim Joseph Yes, but even with the cheaper gas prices what is done is still scamming the consumers. It is not a matter of diesel or gasoline issue. Cheat me once shame on you cheat me twice shame on me.
$3k premium for the tdi when it returns, nope! it's going to at least have a $3k discount
+matt k It should return at all. Actually, VW GROUP, including AUDI and others, should move out of the American market completely. If an American car company tried to pull a similar scam, not one single American car would have been sold in Europe.
you mean how ford did the exact same thing?
I like the car, but I am afraid of VWs reputation as needing repairs and having unresponsive dealerships. Acquaintance had a new VW that had inop windshield washer system. Several trips to dealer, each time returned 'repaired', was never repaired... wth? Was at an auto-repair shop & a newish Golf was in for a split metal fuel line... wth?
+lllBoggylll you forgot that VW also scams the consumers that is single handedly enough not to buy their cars. Come one guys what is wrong with you if you realized that your grocery store owner was cheating you, would you still go and shop there? What happened to "cheat me once shame on you cheat me twice shame on me" thing?
vw the best!!!
Isn't "Wagons Ho" a country rap song?
VW are the better choice. Better cars. Better engineering. No doubt. German engineering is taking over the world. For good reasons. Resale value of these vehicles is incredible. For good reasons. VW is the better choice.
This is mislabeled as "Volkswagen GOLD SportWagen"
+Thomas Booth Thanks for catching that! Happy Thanksgiving!
Funny how that 1.8L I4 didn't actually change but magically jumped from 168bhp to 170 one day...
cheaped out... The JSW was a much nicer car inside as well as outside. No more IRS, and smaller narrower dimensions.
The TSI has IRS and handles better than the JSW... I have a GSW TSI and it rocks
I'll never give VW my money ever again!!
misamisatv No big loss go drive shitty american cars.
@@dudndadn12212 Actually, I appreciated they lied to produce a perfect chassis, great power and economy. North America is loosing out because the rest of the world is still getting TDi's....
Meanwhile American cars are still crappie.
+Darrell Parker Jr Meanwhile American car makers are still to be considered honest at least you know what you are getting. However, American cars still more reliable than the European piece of junk.
Fussinated didn't go get slammed for hiding the ignition recall that actually resulted in deaths
Sorry meant to say GM
Brendan Dwan
Don't pretend as if you don't know the difference between a deliberate rigging of the product verses a production defect. VW group was proven for deliberate rigging the ECU, until you can prove that GM rigged their ignition to kill people you should shut the F*** up and St*** that VW badge up in your donkey.
Fussinated boy you are defensive sorry you are so easily triggered I doubt you were directly affected unlike you I actually have a cheating tdi but it's still a fantastic car and I plan to replace it with a gas one whereas any American car we've owned an impala, two sierras and a Silverado all have turned out to be absolute junk