{"id":794566,"date":"2019-04-05T16:16:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T22:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/mountain-wheels-back-to-the-automotive-basics-with-volkswagens-2019-golf-alltrack\/"},"modified":"2019-04-05T16:16:00","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T22:16:00","slug":"mountain-wheels-back-to-the-automotive-basics-with-volkswagens-2019-golf-alltrack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/mountain-wheels-back-to-the-automotive-basics-with-volkswagens-2019-golf-alltrack\/","title":{"rendered":"Mountain Wheels: Back to the automotive basics with Volkswagen\u2019s 2019 Golf Alltrack"},"content":{"rendered":"
What you get with Alltrack is a back-to-basics but entirely capable all-wheel-drive sedan sporting a ton of cargo room (66.5 cubic feet, with the rear seats folded), powered by a capable 168-horsepower 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbo.<\/strong>
Special to the Daily<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An indicated 40 miles per gallon at the end of my Crested Butte spring break expedition \u2014 yep, the Epic Pass really does work there, too \u2014 was a pleasant discovery. I\u2019d done just under 500 miles in the 2019 Golf Alltrack, Volkswagen\u2019s credible but perhaps slightly austere alternative to the Subaru Outback and its stranglehold on winter-worthy, lite-adventure wagon motoring.<\/p>\n

And given that contemporary Outbacks are practically SUVs bordering on minivans at this point, the VW Alltrack is actually more like a late \u201990s or early \u201900s version of the Outback: narrow, firmly planted on the ground, amply powered but requiring a bit of coaxing to really tear up the highway.<\/p>\n

In a word, the Alltrack\u2019s simplicity is what makes it attractive, besides it actually being quite attractively designed, with plenty of those \u201cI am ready for rudimentary off-road adventure driving\u201d visual cues, such as pronounced wheel arches and copious roof rails.<\/p>\n

My 4Motion all-wheel-drive-equipped SE model stickered at $30,495, but was bumped up to $33,785 with adaptive front LED headlamps, 18-inch wheels and a full driver assistance\/safety package. And it came with a real six-speed manual transmission, a feature which delights auto journalists to no end, but is losing favor with the regular driving public. Pricing for the more basic S model starts at $26,895.<\/p>\n

Probably the biggest difference between the new wave of overachieving SUVs or higher-end wagons \u2014 Outback and the much-desirable Audi Allroad, or high-end pieces like the Jaguar XF Sportbrake or the Volvo V90 \u2014 is the Volkswagen\u2019s tremendously low-drama interior.<\/p>\n

Minus a couple of strips of metal-styled plastic trim on the doors and dash, there\u2019s little flash to be found, with broad, not-especially-strongly-bolstered leatherette seating, and a few bits of shiny black plastic trim on spots such as the emergency brake handle.<\/p>\n

What you get with Alltrack is a back-to-basics but entirely capable all-wheel-drive sedan sporting a ton of cargo room (66.5 cubic feet, with the rear seats folded), powered by a capable 168-horsepower, 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbo.<\/p>\n

And so, if you head out on a very long, late-season journey as I did, you get to experience a bit of a time machine effect at work, considering that even Volkswagen has gone whole-hog on the SUV bandwagon, with the new, larger version of the Tiguan and the even bigger Atlas SUVs.<\/p>\n

Alltrack, a slightly heightened and looks-modified rendition of the company\u2019s Golf SportWagen, rides at a marginally taller 6.9 inches of ground clearance. I would, however, recommend winter tires to get the full benefit of the vehicle\u2019s AWD system, as the all-seasons felt a little loose on the hairier, ice-covered stretches of Monarch Pass.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve spent time in SUVs, Alltrack feels much more like a car, because it is a car \u2014 I now spend so much time in SUVs that this is always a revelation to me. That has its benefits, however: You can take corners with enthusiasm, not head-tossing fear, and what the vehicle lacks in pure gigantic domination, it makes up for in driving pleasure and versatility.<\/p>\n

Yes, there\u2019s a considerable amount of road noise in the cabin, but consider that part of the realistic driving experience, rather than floating above the road in a large and hostile box, as SUV drivers do.<\/p>\n

The six-speed manual also makes it a more authentic experience, with easy shifting and comfortable gearing for an EPA highway figure of 30 mpg, though the latter stretches of my trip far exceeded that. A six-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission is also available.<\/p>\n

You just need to recalculate your ambitions, and if you are absolutely addicted to largesse (besides the Alltrack\u2019s cargo capacity), this might not be the right vehicle for you. I would not describe the seating as being copious to American proportions. Controls are all wonderfully simple, and the large, attractive touchscreen did not come equipped with navigation.<\/p>\n

You do get what seems like a 40-foot-long, all-cabin sunroof (the power screen takes forever to close and open, as a result), a couple of open, hard-plastic cupholders and a single USB in a lit-covered cubby, with the Alltrack logo.<\/p>\n

Rear seating is elevated and reasonably comfortable but there are only small air vents and no power outlets, video screens, seat massagers or any of the gee-gaws of the modern SUV world. Your kids might be bored. They will have to learn to adjust.<\/p>\n

In the far back, you will be able to load an apartment\u2019s worth of junk into the mostly flat-bottomed, easy-to-access cargo area, with even more space under the deck and a full 115-volt plug in the rear.<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What you get with Alltrack is a back-to-basics but entirely capable all-wheel-drive sedan sporting a ton of cargo room (66.5 cubic feet, with the rear seats folded), powered by a capable 168-horsepower 1.8-liter four-cylinder turbo.Special to the Daily An indicated 40 miles per gallon at the end of my Crested Butte spring break expedition \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-794566","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-14 09:02:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794566\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}