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Long-Term Test: 2017 Volkswagen Alltrack S

SugarCube

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I had my 10,000 mile service done last week. The oil change was free, and we did an alignment, tire rotation, and had 4 mud flaps installed. This little car is a find! Fun to drive, economical, and gets the job done in light snowy conditions too. If I could hug it, I would!
 
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Philpug

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So far for 27,000 miles the car has been really good. While we would have liked the space and room of the Outback, we could not deal with the disconnect of the ride. While we would liked to have had the driving feel of the manual transmission, the DSG is actually fun to drive and I do use the paddles for up and down shifts. While I miss the diesel...well I miss the diesel. There are a few electrical gremlins, the 12V in the front does not work and for some reason it is blowing left front low beams and replacement bulbs are not lighting. This is a PITA because you have to go through the fender to replace the bulbs. I will still say, there is not a car in the "low 20's that I would choose over the Alltrack and would have to spend considerably more to get something else. Liek everything else in life, there are compromises and we are happy with this car all things considered.
 
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Philpug

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Just clicked over 35,000 mikes on the odometer today on our way to mountain biking. At this point the summer tires are pretty much done and for this coming winter I am seriously contemplating trying an all weather tire next go around verses a summer/winter combom the Nokian WR G4 is the leader right now. In the past couple of months I have seen the mileage creep up over 30MPG which is about what I could of hoped for. I still miss the diesel and would almost be totally satisfied if the tank was larger and I could get a 500 range.
 

SugarCube

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My Alltrack turned 1 this past weekend. It has just under 17,000 miles (I got it with about 500 on it from its delivery drive). So far, it's not disappointed at all. I work in the city, so that compromises the mileage a bit but on the highway I usually get between 33-36 mpg, especially when it's warm out. I miss the mileage that the diesel got but I don't miss having to hunt down diesel pumps at filling stations. There's an occasional rattle in the dashboard/instrument panel region that's a little annoying but otherwise, the car pretty much rocks.
 

Tom K.

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Just clicked over 35,000 mikes on the odometer today on our way to mountain biking. At this point the summer tires are pretty much done and for this coming winter I am seriously contemplating trying an all weather tire next go around verses a summer/winter combom the Nokian WR G4 is the leader right now. In the past couple of months I have seen the mileage creep up over 30MPG which is about what I could of hoped for. I still miss the diesel and would almost be totally satisfied if the tank was larger and I could get a 500 range.

My Dad has a set of these on his minvan that I drive a fair bit. They work IMO. No, they are not Hakkas, but they sure seem better than run of the mill all-seasons. I realize those are subjective observations.

I don't know if I would give up real snow tires on our winter road tripping rig (Sienna AWD), but for our local use, the G4s would be great. Often, we only have snow for the last 6 or 8 miles of the 35 mile drive to the ski area, and we drive up there two or three times a week. I think you might have similar "local" circumstances in Reno?
 
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Philpug

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My Dad has a set of these on his minvan that I drive a fair bit. They work IMO. No, they are not Hakkas, but they sure seem better than run of the mill all-seasons. I realize those are subjective observations.

I don't know if I would give up real snow tires on our winter road tripping rig (Sienna AWD), but for our local use, the G4s would be great. Often, we only have snow for the last 6 or 8 miles of the 35 mile drive to the ski area, and we drive up there two or three times a week. I think you might have similar "local" circumstances in Reno?
I would say, other that the worst winters, 90%+ of our driving is on dry roads here in Reno plus we do a good amount of highway travel to Utah and Colorado, about 20K/yr. For the worstest of conditions, we do have the Yukon XL.
 
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Philpug

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I saw this the other day. Sigh. I wish VW would just concentrate on making fun, affordable, quality cars instead of always seeming to want to chase the luxury market. Because the Phaeton worked out great ...
..and why canabilize their sister brand Audi? Does it really matter if the money goes in the right pocket or the left?
 

Tom K.

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Rumor has it, that 2019 might be the last year for VW wagons, he better not wait too long.

No No No!

What I'm going to call "The Tribe" (sorry Yeti) is going to lose another one?!

I'll be car shopping sometime in the next 3 years. I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that almost anything I'll be interested in actually buying will NOT be available with a stick shift.

And apparently will not be a VW wagon.
 

Muleski

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I met a younger {than me} couple a week ago with a bright red Alltrack. Stopped getting gas. Had road and mountain bikes on the roof, dogs and camping equipment in the back. I asked them how they liked it, and they could NOT stop raving about it. They had about 25K miles on it, ran it with studded snows in the winter. I could tell that they were skiers based on a couple of stickers. She explained that she was expecting their first baby, and that they had just decided to sell her car and to buy a second Alltrack. Cute couple. Would be great in a marketing spot/campaign.

Reminded me of a couple of times when we had twin cars. We had two VW Quantum Syncros at the same time.. Later two V70 series Volvo wagons {one an R}. I may need to step up my interest in an Alltrack based on this news.

Agree, the market SUCKS if you are a sportswagon fan. I was like a kid in a candy shop late spring in Germany and Austria. And depressed back here. Looking at 10 year old cars to get AWD, a manual trans and a wagon for a "new" car is pretty sad. Pretty much have given up the manual transmission, which does open up some options.

I don't know a single Alltrack owner who does not love it. And I think I know about a dozen.
 

Lorenzzo

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I’m logging a lot of miles these days so this car may make a lot of sense for me. Anyone know how negotiable prices are in light of how advertised price is well below MSRP?
 
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I’m logging a lot of miles these days so this car may make a lot of sense for me. Anyone know how negotiable prices are in light of how advertised price is well below MSRP?
TrueCar is a great source, it worked well for me but I had to look in other areas for pricing.
 

Uncle Louie

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Pretty much have given up the manual transmission, which does open up some options.

Not sure I'd give up the ship just yet if you are serious. Just recently there has been a few manual transmissions showing up here in the middle of the US so I took a look at inventory. Quite a few are in transit right now.

Go to www.vw.com and click on "inventory" (left side on the main page) Try some zip codes like Rutland, VT. and search Alltrack Manual transmission models. You should see about 20 of them "in transit" ( I tried a link here and it didn't work)

Here is something from Burlington VT
https://www.shearervw.com/searchnew.aspx?Type=N&Make=Volkswagen&Model=Golf Alltrack

Could be a local dealer near you can get one diverted to your area or they may trade with a dealer who has one somewhere north of you.

Good luck !
 
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Uncle Louie

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