Could the perfect ski CAR be coming to the states??? - Page 4

 

The average wagon that used to exist that doesn't any more. Those two statements go hand in hand. Wagons suffered from a nagging stigma and went all but extinct.

 

Crossovers are kind of a functional middle ground between wagon and SUV, but they're not wagons and most don't even look that wagon-y. I guess once you're an adult, what's 'cool or uncool' should be replaced by what's functional for you. Personally, I wouldn't want a wagon anyway - I like higher clearance and higher roof (can stand a bike up inside the back) better than a long cabin.

I would buy a diesel Passat in a heartbeat to replace my 2002 Saab 95 wagon when it finally goes (or there are no parts available). The Saab wagon is stylish, comfortable, drives well, has good visibility, and still gets nearly 30 mpg highway, which was better than the Subaru Legacy wagon. I can put three bikes on the roof, and it's not too tall for me to reach. Only has front wheel drive, but with snow tires, it's fine. Not that it snows here (New York) any more. There was a rumor that Buick was going to make a US Regal wagon based on an Opel, but apparently not. That also looked like a nice wagon option.

 

This pretty much sums it up. Here in Eurp diesel fuel is modified during the cold monthes for decades now. Before that we added 3-5% of regular fuel to avoid the diesel jellying up. Decline in performance was hardly notable.

 

On a side note @ the one with the T34 comparison: that was a Russian built back in the days.

 

@ Segbrown: black colors - we need a good excuse for hitting the car wash frequently and pimpin' the bling factor.

 

On diesel engine's torque: enjoying it for over 20 years now and never looked back to regular fuled engines. That said only trade-off is at higher altitude above 5000 ft. you loose a few percent of the power - which is definitely notable. But not a concern. I'd rather take advantage of better gas mileage.

However: latest generation of direct injection engines running regular are getting really close to the diesel ones on fuel efficiency (not torque at low rpms) so it's getting interesting here.

 

It's not a Passat wagon, but M-B was showing a GLK 250 diesel in New York this week. Apparently this motor will also be making it into a C-class.

 

Huh, I thought it was a Great Little Kar

Yeah, but it is diesel which is another thing people seem to be pining for, and it portents the arrival of more diesel CARs.

 

If an A4, an A4 allroad, a Passat Alltrack and a Q5 are all built on the same platform, which one is a car and which one is an SUV?

We do, as it happens, have an answer.

 

Sorry, I didn't read any of the posts in this thread... but I know, without looking, that you MUST be talking about the Koenigsegg Agere R. It's good to know that it will be seen around the slopes in the good ol' US of A. My Scandinavian is a little spotty, but I'm pretty sure the reviewer is saying "driving a VW is like skiing in jeans":

 

 

Sure Audi makes an OK car, but they don't make anything that has 1140hp, can pull 1.6g, can go 0 to 200mph in 17.68 sec and tops out at 278mph... and comes with an integrated Thule box and skis. With Audi you have to pay extra for the Thule box.

That video needs a tame racing driver. Also, I've been saying Thule wrong.

So.   How many of you want to see a   Too-leh  VACUUM-fit box thread  for next year?

The ski box hides the sunroof!!! I'll bet TOO-LEE could fit a ski box to an R-8, which already is a viable vehicle.

Sure.  A lamestream Too-lee box.        A Vacuum-fit Too-leh box would be a total game changer.

Only if it has a nice liner.

  The A7 sportback is already here.  

 

 

 

Used to be guy in a SUV with a roof rack = outdoorsy athletic family guy who was definitely not a poser. Now it is guy with AWD and a roof rack who is definitely not a poser.

That guy is a poser. The car is interchangeable.

In terms of all the diesel enthusiasm, it has to be a functional diesel.  I testdrove the Jetta, and it was a real nice LITTLE car AFTER the first few seconds of hesitation from a dead stop or going up an on-ramp.  In short, they restricted the hell out of it to get the claimed mileage. 

 

The regulation of diesel here overall has been pretty sad. 

 

An AWD Passat diesel would be pretty cool, but if you compare it to, say, a used Chevy Traverse the Traverse would win hand's down in terms of practicality and total cost to own for a few years.  Both would fall short in terms of lots of access situations, but then most SUVs themselves are never intended for real outdoors use either.  The diesel Passat would not be cool if it gets you killed because you've got the car loaded with 4 adults, and it hesitates for  several seconds from a dead stop because they again restricted the hell out of the engine, and the person coming up from behind saw you had a green and didn't think they needed to slow that much, and then couldn't stop because of ice. 

 

Part of the moral here is probably buy used and after the warranty has expired, and chip to make things work the way they should. 

 

 

I don't really buy the stated safety scenario, but I can respect the wish to re-chip for better performance. 

 

Of course, it's all fundamentally kludgey compared to putting a diesel generator in an electric car.

 

Well that seems a little unfair. WHy not compare a used AWD Passat diesel to the used Traverse?

 

That's like the usual "Kastles are so expensive, I can buy a demo pair of K2s for a quarter of that price" argument.

Seems like it's not coming to the US

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2012/04/volkswagen-alltrack-concept-at-the-2012-new-york-auto-show.html

 

 

It's kind of circular on my part, but there aren't too many used Passat diesel wagons around to buy right now.

 

We could compare the Passat new to the Traverse, new, and the Traverse would still come out ahead for an outdoor oriented vehicle imo.

 

Sticker:  I'm guessing the Passat concept wagon would be 8k or so more expensive than the Traverse brand new. 

 

Capacity (people, gear, luggage, dogs):  Traverse wins, hands down.

 

Outdoor usability (ability to clean interior, and to jump in with either 3 muddy soccer players, or 4 skiers who haven't changed, and feel you aren't trashing the  car):  Traverse wins, hands-down, though it's still not great.

 

Light towing:  tough one, Passat probably wins at the engine level, but both would do fine for towing dirtbikes or a trailer loaded with sports gear, and both would be unsuited for longer or heavier towing.

 

Offroad drivability:  Passat probably wins marginally.

Paved road:  Passat wins, hands-down, but it's not really why you buy this type of car, is it?

 

Cost to own:  In spite of better diesel mileage, Traverse probably wins. 

 

Cool factor/luxury factor:  Passat wins, hands-down, but at the expense of not being too practical for offroad use. 

 

If VW wanted to look at an FJ Cruiser, with it's very easily washed interior, and offer a version of that in the interior of the Passat wagon, it would boost it a long way.  For instance, it's easier, marginally, to sleep in a Passat wagon than an FJ, so for CA surfers it makes it easier to carcamp at a Dennys right off the beach.  But, sand and saltwater aren't going to make the Passat's interior too happy.

 

Likewise, they could trick it out with privacy screens in addition to sungard screens that furl and unfurl automatically, also helping with carcamping and with keeping the vehicle cool in sunny climates.  You could go sunguard for driving, privacy for when parked.

 

They could think about why Honda Elements are so popular with dog owners, including the ease with which you can take out the back seats to make a mini pickup that will take a couple dog crates easily and still have room for other stuff. 

 

Problem is, I'm not sure how many of the people who value those types of use would have the dough to spring for the Passat, even if going to an outdoor-friendly trim could take 6 or 8k off of the sticker price. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uhh...posts discussing things like Passat wagons and Honda Elements are discussing cars, and in fact I'm pretty sure the o.p., you, was the first to mention the Passat.

 

In the real world, as much as car dealers may want to manipulate consumers, consumers are in general aware of a range of options, and aren't blinded by labels that manufacturers try to put on vehicles.  I totally get that a luxury wagon label sounds richer than crossover minivan, but people do in fact look at Chevy Traverses and Subaru Outbacks and Elements and FJs and 4-door Wranglers as functionally being in the same category, even though some are for artificial regulatory reasons classed differently from the others.   

 

Perhaps narrow the premise of your thread to ultimate luxury wagon with minimally outdoorsy pretensions?  None of a Traverse, Outback, Element, FJ or Wrangler is really trying for that spot, so in that case mentioning them would entail some thread drift. 

I liked the original positive, enthusiastic theme of this thread in its early days, roughly centered on "wagon-lovers". Not sure how it got so snippy. (Combine CTKook's snarky comment about "luxury wagon with minimally outdoorsy pretentions" and NayBreak's gratuitous slam of wagon drivers with their toys on the roof as "posers," and you get, well ... me.)   Therefore I'm posting a photo with the hope of getting us back on the upbeat side. Please: I'm not making any claim to be a car expert, that my vehicle is ideal for getting to the hill in atrocious driving conditions (my Subie was probably better for that), nor am I (I hope) striking any other kind of alpha posture. But I can say that this is definitely a nice wagon to drive on a country road, as you listen to music and occasionally glance up through the sunroof to confirm that your bike is still there. :)

 

 

Car or Wagon?

 

http://audiusanews.com/pressrelease/2860/93/audi-rs-q3-concept

 

It has a 360hp 5-cylinder, so who cares!

 

 

...and looks like yet another Cylon helmet 

We went with the Jetta Sportwagon because the Passat wasn't guaranteed coming... surprise, isn't here yet. We did the Diesel TDI and we love it (40mpg average). Roomy in the hatch for everything a family needs including the dog. Only two things we find need improvement: wish it did have all-wheel drive for going over the pass all winter and Xenon headlights.

Drove the 2013 A4 based Allroad last week. While the platform was very nice, I found the car a bit heavy and the 2.0T coupled to the 7-spd auto trans a bit of a letdown. Off the line performance was plagued with turbo-lag until the turbo spooled up, and then WOOSH! Same for uphill passes, each accompanied by a downshift and more WOOSH! Other than the turbo-lag though, it was a nice driver.

 

Having a bit of torque a-la TDI would be nice. 

it has a 8-speed auto.

 

when the 2.0T is reprogrammed for more powah.... it's a fun engine.

 

I have a 2.0T in my passat wagon, but with a 6-speed manual