Long-Term Test: 2017 Volkswagen Alltrack S

[Carl Kuck]

Interestingly enough, the Subaru place up the road is also a VW dealer. I may see if I can rent an Alltrack from the to drive to Utah while they service the tranny on my O'back. It would be an interesting drive...

 

[Carl Kuck]

Interestingly enough, the Subaru place up the road is also a VW dealer. I may see if I can rent an Alltrack from the to drive to Utah while they service the tranny on my O'back. It would be an interesting drive...

That was indeed an interesting stop by the Subie/VW dealer yesterday. They had an Alltrack S and an Alltrack SEL, very nice looking cars. They also had Sportwagen 4Motion samples. I heard somebody comment that the Alltrack was pretty much a Sportwagen 4Motion that was 1/2" higher and $2K more expensive... Not being able to figure out much from the "Golf Family" brochure I took home, it's kind of hard to tell what the substantive differences are for the price. I do kind of like the big sunroof, but then again I never much used the one on my OBW.

Does anybody know if you can put the seats down and fit a road bike in the back? I'm also looking into possibly hitch racks for a couple of bikes...

 

[Sibhusky]

The seats definitely go down. Unsure of length as I always run the skis up the middle using the pass through. Shorter than the Outback, tho.

The Hill Decent mode is the big difference IMO.

 

[Philpug]

That was indeed an interesting stop by the Subie/VW dealer yesterday. They had an Alltrack S and an Alltrack SEL, very nice looking cars. They also had Sportwagen 4Motion samples. I heard somebody comment that the Alltrack was pretty much a Sportwagen 4Motion that was 1/2" higher and $2K more expensive... Not being able to figure out much from the "Golf Family" brochure I took home, it's kind of hard to tell what the substantive differences are for the price. I do kind of like the big sunroof, but then again I never much used the one on my OBW.

Does anybody know if you can put the seats down and fit a road bike in the back? I'm also looking into possibly hitch racks for a couple of bikes...

To compare you need to go S or s because there are no higher grade 4Motion wagons than the S (no SE or SEL) The 2K difference is is the exterior cladding, suspension, Sport and Off Road Mode in transmission. bigger wheels, fog lights and V-Tec interior. The back of the Alltrack is 66.5 Cu.ft which is about the same as your generation Outback. IF you want an big sunroof you have to sep up to the SE which is abtou 4K more, thats gives you the roof, Fender audio and a push button start then the SEL is a couple of grand above that which gives you 18" wheels, sport seats, Dual Zone climate and a few other things.

There are hitch options fro Curt, a lot are talked about here (no offence @kimmyt ) Show us your rack on VWVortex. 1 1/4 hitch options for both cars, bumper cover has to be removed.

 

[Tom K.]

Does anybody know if you can put the seats down and fit a road bike in the back?

@Philpug has some great interior photos on the first page of the thread, including one with the rear seats down.

 

[Carl Kuck]

@Philpug has some great interior photos on the first page of the thread, including one with the rear seats down.

There's a good chance I'll get first-hand information in the very near future...

Skis are easy to judge fit by the pic, but unless you slide a bike in there you might miss other size restrictions. I'm a "measure twice, cut once" kinda guy, you know?

 

[Carl Kuck]

... The 2K difference is the exterior cladding, suspension, Sport and Off Road Mode in transmission. bigger wheels, fog lights and V-Tec interior. The back of the Alltrack is 66.5 Cu.ft which is about the same as your generation Outback...

That's probably worth it, don't need the sunroof and fancy audio, etc; let alone the SEL stuff. I'm a bit leery of buying the first model year of anything, have they had these in Europe for a while? Probably worth perusing the net, but I gotta pack for a trip...

 

[Tom K.]

There's a good chance I'll get first-hand information in the very near future...

Skis are easy to judge fit by the pic, but unless you slide a bike in there you might miss other size restrictions. I'm a "measure twice, cut once" kinda guy, you know?

But bikes are easy!

XC60: Road bike with both wheels on, mtb with front wheel off (and room for a spare set of wheels, bike stand, and everything else needed for a week in Moab).

BMW 128 (sadly departed): Road bike with front wheel off, mtb with both wheels off.

The AllTrack should be gravy!

 

[Dadskier]

That's probably worth it, don't need the sunroof and fancy audio, etc; let alone the SEL stuff. I'm a bit leery of buying the first model year of anything, have they had these in Europe for a while? Probably worth perusing the net, but I gotta pack for a trip...

Not really an all new car, the Golf has been running most of the components for several years and I don't think there is anything really new with the 4Motion system either.

 

[johnnyvw]

That was indeed an interesting stop by the Subie/VW dealer yesterday. They had an Alltrack S and an Alltrack SEL, very nice looking cars. They also had Sportwagen 4Motion samples. I heard somebody comment that the Alltrack was pretty much a Sportwagen 4Motion that was 1/2" higher and $2K more expensive... Not being able to figure out much from the "Golf Family" brochure I took home, it's kind of hard to tell what the substantive differences are for the price. I do kind of like the big sunroof, but then again I never much used the one on my OBW.

Does anybody know if you can put the seats down and fit a road bike in the back? I'm also looking into possibly hitch racks for a couple of bikes...

One other difference, which may be big depending on what you like to sit on, is the fact that the Sportwagen 4M has cloth seating and all the Alltracks have the vinyl.
We'll be finding out about how well bikes fit into am Alltrack in a few months

 

[Michael Axelrod]

Phil, are the Blizzak WS-80 in your pictures mounted on 16" steel rims from TireRack?

 

[Philpug]

Phil, are the Blizzak WS-80 in your pictures mounted on 16" steel rims from TireRack?

Actually they are WS70's. I scored them on Craigslist mounted. I am not sure where the rims are from, if they are OEM or aftermarket. I do recall the seller said he bought the tires at Costco.

 

[Michael Axelrod]

Are they 16" or 17" ? Just wondering for the looks.

 

[Philpug]

Are they 16" or 17" ? Just wondering for the looks.

They are 16"'s. I had a set of 17"'s from our old TDI that I was going to use but I came across this set all mounted and balanced. Plus there are many more options for 16" snowtires going forward.

 

[C-Ski]

Phil,what are the dimensions of the snow tires & how does the car handle with them, both in snow & on dry roads? Purchased the Alltrack Sel with 18" tires & am debating whether to go with 16" or 17" snow tire setup.The car is based in MA with 3hr trips to Mtn on weekends, mostly highway driving.

 

[Philpug]

Phil,what are the dimensions of the snow tires & how does the car handle with them, both in snow & on dry roads? Purchased the Alltrack Sel with 18" tires & am debating whether to go with 16" or 17" snow tire setup.The car is based in MA with 3hr trips to Mtn on weekends, mostly highway driving.

@Tricia just took the car up to work so I cant check the size but I will say that it handles real well on the dry and incredible in the snow and varied winter conditions. I only had the stock 17" on for the drive home from the dealership and the following morning when I drove to get the extra tires on. I owuld suggest going 16" over the 17" because of the tire options. The only reason I considered going 17" was that I had the extra set of rims.

 

[C-Ski]

Thank you Phil , was leaning in that direction but was not sure because of the larger OEM tires & weight of the SEL,think it's a bit heavier than the S & SE models. Appreciate the response.

 

[johnnyvw]

We kept the 17 rims from our Golf TDI for snows on our Alltrack (SE model) but the choices are VERY limited unless you either have a Nokian dealer that can offer the standard size (the local distributor here did not) or go "oversize". We went with Pirelli SottoZero 3's since the car spends most of the time on dry highways anyway.

As long as you have the proper load rating, rim size should not matter

 

[C-Ski]

K,thx @johnnyvw . We have similar situation where the car will be on dry or plowed roads more often,saw that tire on TR & was curious about it. How is that tire working out for you guys?

 

[Sibhusky]

Sibby, not understanding all this stuff about dimensions, got 18" wheels and Nokian Hakka 8's for the winter for her SEL. Mostly drive in snow in the winter, although it was dry pavement for about 40% today. Can't compare to the All Seasons that came with the car as mounted them at the dealer before I took the car. Might be a tad less comfy on our gravel road than my old car. Unsure, since road was already rutted snow when the car came home. Will know more in May, I guess.