Test Drive: 2011 Volkswagen Golf Wagon TDI

By Kevin Harrison

Have you ever really liked something that was really popular, then all of a sudden people decided it wasn’t cool anymore? For instance, I like sweater vests. Believe me, I know they are terribly uncool, but the fact of the matter is, they really aren’t uncool. If you haven’t noticed, old men wear sweater vests and old men have completely fresh style. Think about it. Most old men are married and have been for a long time. How many single old men do you know? Exactly. I guarantee you their old man clothes had something to do with getting them a woman.

The same thing could be argued for wagons. I mean they used to be cool, but now, where are all the wagons? They’ve all turned into stupid useless SUV’s. As a result, wagons are seen as uncool and I really don’t understand that either. Going back to my old man analogy, how many old men to do you see in Hummers, Navigators, or even Explorers? Yet think of what old men typically drive. Cadillacs and Buick’s of course, but if they’re a bit more adventurous, they all get wagons. And on top of that, they always have a woman in the passenger seat. Wagons therefore = cool. On the flip side, How many douchebags do you see in SUV’s blasting questionable music with absolutely no girls in the car? See my point?

There are still a few automakers that are smart enough to get this. Volvo and Subaru are the ones that usually come to mind when you think of wagons, but Volkswagen should be considered as well. They’ve had the Passat wagon going for decades (and is still going strong) and they smartly introduced the Jetta wagon in the early 2000’s. It has since turned into the Golf wagon. It should also be noted that the Golf wagon name is just for Canadians. In the States, they still call in the Jetta wagon. That’s probably inaccurate now that it has a Golf front facia. Once again, Canada does it right.

But the bigger question is, does it actually do what a good wagon should?

First things first, does it look good? A big reason people don’t buy wagons is because they don’t think it’s cool enough, which largely has to do with how it looks. Luckily, the Golf wagon looks pretty slick, especially with the new Golf front end. That said, like an SUV and a minivan, there’s only so much you can do with its styling. I think a refresh of the rear end should have been in order, but otherwise the Golf wagon keeps a “sport wagon” styling theme throughout. You can even get optional 5 spoke 18 inch wheels which really bring out the look.

So, it looks good, but does that come at the expense of versatility and functionality – the marque of any good wagon. Well, no. Not at all. With 32.6 cubic feet with the seats up, the Golf wagon has more cargo space than the Matrix, the Elantra Touring, the Impreza hatchback, the Lancer sportback, the Chevy HHR, Chrysler PT Cruiser and Jeep Patriot. The Golf wagon also humiliates a lot of compact SUV’s for cargo space including its own sibling the Tiguan. That’s because, with the rear seats down (which fold flat by the way), the Golf Wagon can swallow a massive 60 cubic feet worth of stuff. It used to be with the old Jetta wagon, you had to remove the rear headrests if you wanted a perfectly flat surface, but now you can keep the headrests in place to fold the seats.

The news for the interior is also good up front where typical VW fit and finish can be found with soft touch materials and a relatively easy layout. One gripe though is the sunroof. All VW’s use a dial to operate the large panoramic sunroof located above the rear view mirror. Since it is an unconventional way of operating the sunroof, it definitely takes some getting used to. As a result, you find yourself looking up at the dial to find the placement you want, which of course takes your eyes off the road. Granted this may be something you would get used to, but being different for the sake of being different is a bit annoying and in this case, a bit unsafe. The steering wheel has controls for the audio system, bluetooth and the multifunctional information screen which ensures your eyes don’t leave the road more than they already have. The dials for the heated seats are difficult to use, I can only imagine how much worse they’d be with a glove hand.

Driving dynamics are good. The Golf wagon doesn’t have an overly firm suspension, but it is firm enough to invite confidence for more spirited driving as well. As was the case with the Audi A3 TDI that I tested earlier, the Golf Wagon suffers a tad from under steer thanks to the large diesel engine. That combined with the front wheel drive system means lots of weight in the front end making it nose heavy. Still, with its general low centre of gravity and the fully independent suspension, the Golf wagon much more nimble in the corners than its compact SUV counterparts. However, being longer and heavier than the Golf hatchback, it’s not quite as good.

The Golf wagon uses the same 2.0 litre 4. cylinder engine from the Jetta TDI I also tested a while back. It makes 140 horsepower and a healthy 236 pound feet of torque. When mated with my tester’s standard six speed manual (kudos to VW for offering a manual transmission), which replaces the five speed manual from last year, you definitely will not be left behind when the light turns green. That’s because the torque kicks in at just 1750 rpms. The only thing is though, when you push the engine hard, it reminds you that it is in fact a diesel. At normal speeds, the engine is excellently quiet. Volkswagen has gone to great lengths to deaden the sound of their diesel and they’ve done an excellent job.

But the main reason why anyone buys a diesel is because of its efficiency. I’m quite fond of this unit because it blends performance with efficiency nicely (not to mention you don’t need to sacrifice a manual transmission if your main concern is efficiency like 99% of hybrids out there). The Golf wagon TDI is rated at 4.6 L/100 kms highway and 6.7 L/100 kms city when equipped with the manual. If you opt for an automatic, you take a bit of a penalty is the auto returns 4.9 highway and 7.0 city. Obviously the Golf Wagon TDI is more suited to longer highway trips.

So the Golf Wagon is pretty much the only compact wagon you can buy these days. At least, the only one you can buy on the cheap. And of course, cheap is relative since this particular model was optioned all the way out to $33,000. What’s it’s direct competition? Well, you could say all those hatches and crossovers mentioned in the review, but none of them are true wagons. Therefore I’d venture to say the Volvo V50 is the Golf wagon’s true competition.

But let’s hope the Golf wagon sticks around and that the emergence of all these crossover SUV’s don’t kill it off. In a way the Golf wagon has an advantage of being almost the only wagon standing in its segment. But is being alone really all that cool? Damn right it is. It will only become uncool when old men stop buying it.

Price as tested: $33,230

Pros:

  • Lots of cargo room
  • Good blend of efficiency and performance
  • 6 speed manual now available
  • Excellent fit and finish

Cons:

  • Rear end styling is getting dated
  • Some interior controls not user friendly
  • A bit nose heavy
  • Price can climb fast with options

Overall: 8/10

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4 Responses to "Test Drive: 2011 Volkswagen Golf Wagon TDI"

  1. Hi!
    I have just tested a Golf Wagon 2011 TDI. I have a question about how the back seats are supposed to fold flat. You say they do but here is what I tried:

    If you simply fold the seats down, they go almost flat but not quite because the seat cushions are holding the backs up a little bit. If, instead, you first flip the bottom cushions (what you would be sitting on) vertically against the front seats and then fold the back seats down then the headrests get in the way. The ‘flatness’ at this point is then even worst. Since the headrest don’t come off anymore, we didn’t find a way to fold everything fully flat. Did you?

    Thanks! Sarah

  2. Actually we just found the solution to the problem I first commented about. Yes headrests do come off. On one side, of the 2 bars holding them up, there is the standard button to press to move them up and down. On the other bar, there is a small hole in the plastic holder. If you press a pen in it, you unlock the headrest and you can pull it out.

    A bit more difficult than before, but it’s good that you can still push the seats completely flat when the headrests are out.

    (We just bought that car yesterday. Pretty excited!)

    Sarah

    • Congrats Sarah and sorry I wasn’t able to answer your question in time, but it looks like you sorted things out. Good choice!

  3. Thanks for review. We bought 2011 Golf wagon TDI in January,2011, and are so happy with vehicle. Look forward to many years of driving it. There were no competitors while we searched for a “wagon”. Most dealers throw their “similar” products out for consideration but they are NOT wagons. Great job VW !!

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