2010 Volkswagen Golf Wagon First Drive Review

The rear looks pretty frumpy, but no doubt this will sell well, as many families are waking up to the fact this sort of car may well be all they need. Ouch - another uppercut to Holden and Ford .... c'mon Falcodore - differentiate! Make a medium sized diesel rear wheel drive sports wagon ....

Holden could decide to import the mediums sized Opel Insignia.- particualrly as HSV are apparently looking at adding the AWD 280Kw [OPC] version to their line up. It would be good if they did; its a fantastic car - performance style safety space features etc..

^^^^^ As Aranciata said,

The rear end is a bit of a shock - looks really, really 90s... Otherwise it should do well here.

This is not that nice...a Skoda Octavia Combi would be a much better tool for the job (bigger boot, more space, equal quality, more equipment as standard for the same price and you can get an RS Combi if you need sportiness - something this Golf doesn't offer...)! Good luck to VW, but it's a little daft...

I am pretty happy with the design. Do I buy this or wait for the new Mazda 6 Wagon, new Honda CR-V and let the heat go out of the pricing once the rush is over... Guess I will see how it prices out with options - I would prefer German even if its made in Mexico.

Midlifecrisis -
You certainly DON'T buy a facelift CR-V, it's just as awful as the non-facelift version. Any mid-size wagon (Skoda Octavia - same car underneath as Golf but actually Euro made, Ford Mondeo - tonnes of space at an affordable price, Subaru Liberty - bloody ugly but better in the boring areas, Mazda6 - fabulously sporty drive and good value - etc) would be a better buy than the Golf, let alone the CR-V!

Agree with what seems to be the majority sentiment.....somehow the rear end makes me think Suzuki Baleno (thats a bad thing). As per Godspeeds comments....very 90's design. Come on VW, we know you can do better than that! Very lazy effort by the VW design boys. Maybe this is one of those cars that was designed by the finance department?

The rear of the wagon is s bit of a snooze. If the designers have grafted the taillights of the MkVI hatch on, it would be been much better, perhaps similar to the new Touareg.

Why VW would choose do this to a sister brand that was supposed to be a "cut-price' VW is beyond me. The 118TSI at $33,990 is $1,300 cheaper than the Octavia 1.8TSI DSG. There is no incentive for anyone to look at the Skoda when a recognised brand like VW undercuts it by that much. Good for the consumers, but VWA really needs to examine their business plan for Skoda.

The only good thing Skoda has going for in this segment is the RS range.

I have to say that this worried me too, but then I looked at it from an outsiders perspective. The Passat is considered a Premium Medium-sized car (comparing to Laguna, 159, 407 etc) whereas the Superb is considered a Premium Large-sized car (like upmarket versions of the Commodore, Falcon, Aurion etc) and is priced appropriately more than the Passat because of the extra space and equipment as standard. The notion that the Superb should be cheaper than the Passat 'because it's a Skoda' is crap, because you get a bigger car!

The Octavia wagon is a little harder. The base model has less engine than the Golf, but has more equipment and space. The manual transmission is available on the 118TSI/103TDI versions of the Octavia but not the Golf, offering an advantage for those who like to shift by themselves. I might add that you have to spend an extra $2000 on the Comfort Package (fogs, rain/light sensor, dual-zone climate-control etc) to get to Octavia spec and then there are things that the Octavia has which you can't get on the Golf (electric folding mirrors, the massive boot etc)!

The final advantage is the Octavia RS. There isn't a Golf GTI wagon or anything near as sporty as the RS in the Golf Wagon lineup, and that makes the RS a truly unique product, hence being Skoda's best-selling car! So, I'm not worried, I know that Skoda are going for a non-Volkswagen unique Market (which is what they said at my house filming the Convince Your Better Half advertisements) so why would they worry about them?

I'd also like to know where you get this 'last nail in the coffin' idea. What you're suggesting there is that Skoda is planning to leave Australia, or that their sales are dwindling. Far from true. They're improving, and that's what they want, making your pessimistic comments completely redundant. Thank you :)

Too Right Jake02!!
Did you say you appear in "Convince Your Better Half advertisements"?? Are they showing it anywhere yet??

"I know that Skoda are going for a non-Volkswagen unique Market (which is what they said at my house filming the Convince Your Better Half advertisements) so why would they worry about them?"

I have just been on VWW and someon ehas pointd out that every model in the Skoda range is more expensive than its VW counterpart or its the same value.

To say that these 2 brands are not being aimed at eachother is alittle niaive dont you think jake02. I have to agree with others inthat it seems as though Skoda are being forced out by their own company in a 'cannabilistic' approach.

The skoda does seem to be a nicer finish in comaprison to the VW equivalent but they don't exist in OZ at the moment and by the looks of this and other comparative prices with VW they may not be

It would be a shame for them to destroy themselves, the brand had a lot of potential

Jake the Skoda may have mroe features and more space than the VW

Yet as you said the VW has more of a prestigious name .. and given that there are so many people out there who buy a car not because it suits their needs but because it improves their image I suspect that whilst [you say] the Skoda is a better car the majority of people will go for the Golf/Passat based purely on the badge.

Not only that but one of the things that attracts people to a car is the way it looks; and in that regard the VW beats the Skoda.

Then there's the look and feel [ergonomics] of the interior where again the VW beats the Skoda..

Then there's performance/handling; fuel efficiency cost of repairs and maintenance and resale.

I actually think that from the rear and even in profile; the VW Golf wagon looks more like a VE Sportwagon - which isn't such a bad thing.

Obviously Mr O'Brien hasn't read his bible much. A cubit is the span from your elbow to your fingertips. So the Golf Wagons boot is pretty tiny then?

Jake02 - It might have the chassis and some of the shape of the mk V but it has the entirely new award winning drive train. Thats where I find all the japanese machines lacking.

Will have to wait to see one in the flesh before I pass judgement on the looks.

Would also like to hear how the 118 goes with a full load on board.

I'm with Jake02 on this one, would rather an Octavia.

On a side not when I click on the gallery pics it goes to this:

http://www.themotorreport.com.au/17164/gallery-of-abandoned-rusted-out-husks-that-were-once-exotic-and-classic-cars-but-now-serve-only-to-make-grown-men-cry/?album=1&gallery=1872&image=21226

instead of the pics.

Give me a Mazda6 wagon any day over this.
The front looks nice but not so sure about the rear view as commented previously by several others.

However if I had to have a VW and had money to throw, I wouldn't say no to a Passat wagon.

Rear tail lights wasn't well thought-out.. looks like it came off an old Mitsubishi Lancer.

This is an exercise of diversifying a platform across brands. This already exists, for example commercial utility vehicles. Skoda shall release the Superb Combi later this year crossing over with the Passat.

You will probably find people whom buy Octavia Combis would not purchase Golf Combis and vice versa. Neither will impinge upon the others' appeal.

The sportswagon is a poor interpretation of the 300C wagon with diesel versatility, sad.

Tomas 79:

'Convince your better half' advertisements appeared extensively inner city Melbourne over about three months about six months ago.