Volkswagen Golf Wagon 2014 Review

Is this your next family car? Volkswagen would like to think so, and with the latest Golf Wagon offering four model grades and three engines, it appears they may be able to make a dent in the small-SUV movement — and perhaps lure some large sedan-segment buyers in the process.

Sharing VAG’s highly-praised MQB (modular) platform with Audi’s A3, Skoda’s Octavia and its Golf Hatch sibling, the Golf Wagon has finally been granted the latest in chassis technology. The ‘Golf 6’ model it replaces was essentially a fifth-generation model under the sheet metal, so this upgrade was well overdue.

We’ve already covered off pricing and model specifications in detail but the key facts are that the Golf Wagon is priced from $25,590 (plus on-roads) for the 90TSI through to the $36,340 (plus ORCs) for the 110TDI Highline. The controversial dual-clutch transmission (DSG) is the only transmission available.

Why no manual? According to Volkswagen’s product representative Luka Popovac “the market is simply no longer big enough to justify offering it”.

There are also no performance versions currently being considered (the Golf Hatch is sold is sporty GTI and R variants).

Using the MQB platform has led to a reduction in weight of up to 165kg over the outgoing model and was key to the development of the new Golf Wagon, bringing flexibility, safety and efficiency gains to the end product.

Flexibility first: Despite being lighter the new car is longer (+26mm) and rides on a longer wheelbase (+46mm). It’s also wider (+18mm), shorter (-28mm, yet offers +6mm front headroom and +11mm rear headroom) and gives more front elbow room (+23mm up front and +4mm in the rear). Rear seat occupants also gain more legroom (+5mm), which might not sound like much, but the whole is greater than the sum of the increases.

Storage space improves to 605 litres (+100 litres) with the rear 60:40 split-fold bench upright; fold this flat and this balloons to 1620L (+125L).

The rear bench can be split via boot-mounted levers and houses a fold-out centre section to make lugging long objects an easier task. There’s also detachable bar which clicks into the folded seat-back to provide a pull-up cargo area divider. In the rear loading section the floor can be lowered by removing spacers which keep it above the (space-saver) spare wheel.

Where safety is concerned, the Golf Wagon offers seven airbags as standard fare across the range, while the extended electric differential lock, available only on performance models in the previous-generation, is also de rigeur.

Popovac was particularly keen to point out Volkswagen’s active fatigue detection system, citing its importance in the Australian market given the distances we travel.

“It monitors your inputs to throttle, brake and steering, and will alert the driver if it senses a noticeable change to driving style,” he explained.

The multi-collision brake system was also highlighted for its role in reducing pile-ups. Both of these are standard-fit.

On the efficiency front, Volkswagen Australia’s general manager of communications, Karl Gehling, said the new model’s most-powerful 103kW petrol engine should be “judged on driving” and that compared to the previous model’s 118kW offering is at an advantage because “the new car is lighter and more driveable [and] the 103TSI [engine] also has more torque than the previous 118TSI”. For the record, that’s 10Nm more (250Nm).

Interestingly the Wagon returns better fuel consumption figures than its Hatch sibling, though no-one at launch could definitively say why that is.

The 90TSI, for example, sips 5.3L/100km in Wagon form, but 5.4 as a Hatch. The turbo-diesel 110TDI Highline consumes 4.7L/100km against the Hatch model’s to 4.9. Curiously, the middle-ground 103TSI returns 5.2L/100km in either form.

Taking the wheel of the base-spec 90TSI on its anachronistic 195/65-series tyres (15-inch alloy wheels are standard), the immediate impression if of a car is that it still feels small enough to be an intimate drive, yet large enough to accommodate a young family comfortably. The small, leather-wrapped multi-function wheel and air vents to the rear are nice touches that set even this entry-spec model apart from some rivals.

One area of note is the rear visibility. In these days of high-mounted second-row seats and higher hip-points, making a left-side headcheck requires multiple glances, lest that thick C-pillar and small rear window are hiding a motorbike, for example.

Underway the 90kW/200Nm turbo-petrol engine is a wonderful companion through the everyday, with keen responses through the low and middle sections of the tachometer. It’s well matched to both the idle stop-start system (ISS) and the seven-speed DSG, which shows little of the drive take-up issues that can blight this style of transmission.

One area the little 90TSI falls apart is outright grunt, lacking the zing you’d appreciate when overtaking.

Handling-wise the ride/handling compromise is nothing short of superb. The 65-series tyres play their part in the ride, but it’s the chassis that somehow isolates the cabin while filtering enough information to the driver to let them know what grip is available.

Despite that cosseting ride, the 90TSI still enjoys corner sequences, cornering with little body roll — given its ride quality — enabling the accuracy of the steering to shine through. The electric-assisted system still can’t match a traditional hydraulic system for outright feedback, but the Golf is loyal to your inputs.

Mid-corner bumps are tackled with aplomb, though a heavy right foot can excite the inside-front wheel momentarily before the extended diff lock and traction control systems work to quell wasteful wheelspin. Outright grip is high for the class, though some tyre squeal is evident, well before the chassis loses composure.

The 90TSI Comfortline adds more gear for a $3750 premium, including specifically-trimmed Comfort front bucket seats, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, 16-inch ‘Toronto’ alloy wheels, dual-zone climate-control, auto headlights and wipers, an auto-dimming interior mirror, illuminated vanity mirrors and an additional boot-mounted 12-volt socket.

Moving into the 103TSI Highline we find nicer looking Alcantara and cloth combination trim and handy sat nav. But in reality, it’s the 90TSI which is the sweeter drive.

An extra 13kW mightn’t sound like much, but the 103TSI does gain 50Nm over the 90TSI. However, most of this manifests itself in inner-front wheelspin and resulting stability control intervention.

The 225/45-series rubber and 17-inch alloys conspired to rob the Golf Wagon of some interactivity in favour of outright grip, but perhaps most surprising was the 103TSI’s tendency to shimmer over bumps that the 90TSI took in-stride. More than once a thump resonated via the front suspension into the cabin. Volkswagen had suggested that there were no significant suspension changes between variants; after this experience we’re not convinced...

Finally, we nabbed the top-shelf 110TDI (diesel). Pegged to form “not quite half” of Golf Wagon sales, the 110kW and 320Nm oiler is surprisingly vocal, both on start-up and under load, though it settles down once up to speed.

Despite riding on the same wheel size/tyre combination as the 103TSI variant, the diesel was a sweeter steer, returning some of the suppleness of the 90TSI; though with a six-speed DSG behind it, it did feel a generation older than the seven-speeder in the petrol machines.

Is the new Golf Wagon worth considering over a small SUV?

Yes, it is. It makes a mockery of SUVs ‘with sedan dynamics’ and is arguably more practical and better value — only losing out in upright forward vision and perhaps the option of all-wheel drive if you ever want to venture off-piste.

Those items aside, the Golf Wagon has proved to be every bit as accomplished as its Hatch sibling.

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