If you were a Boy Scout as a kid, you may remember the infamous snipe hunt. The scoutmaster would gather everyone around the campfire and tell the boys about the mysterious snipe, and then send them off into the woods with flashlights and false hope to hunt the thing down.
You may know the punch line: There is no such beast as a Snipe.
Similarly, there is almost no such beast as a compact wagon, particularly if you posit a price starting under $22,000, and especially if you want it with all-wheel drive.
Other than Subarus, there's just one other snipe you might hunt: the VW Golf SportWagen — because there is such a beast as this.
This is the wagon version of the VW's popular Golf hatchback sedan — the same basic car but with more room inside. And you can get it with VW's 4Motion all-wheel-drive system, a feature that's not available in the front-wheel-drive-only Golf hatchback sedan.
What's Good
It goes in snow ... and it goes .
It's available with a manual transmission, including 4Motion versions.
The standard turbocharged engine sips regular unleaded gas.
What's Not So Good
The 4Motion all-wheel drive and six-speed manual transmission are only offered in the base S trim.
There's a significant drop in gas mileage if you buy the AWD system.
Under the Hood
The 2017 SportWagen comes with one engine, a 1.8-liter turbocharged gas burner with 170 horsepower.
You can choose a five-speed manual (FWD S trims) or a six-speed automatic (conventional/hydraulic in FWD-equipped versions).
If you go with the newly available 4Motion all-wheel-drive system, you can go with either a six-speed manual or VW's Direct Shift Gearbox, which is more complicated but shifts quicker and is a more efficient automatic than the conventional/hydraulic six-speed automatic used with the FWD versions.
Whichever combo you go with, you'll get where you're going quickly: Zero to 60 mph can be done in about seven seconds. Gas mileage is 25 mpg city and 35 highway with front-wheel drive; AWD-equipped models use noticeably more fuel, providing 22 mpg city and 30 highway.
On the Road
The VW's turbocharged engine has a meaty bottom end (199 foot-pounds of torque peaking at just 1,600 rpm) as well as a relatively low power peak (4,500 rpm). That means the engine doesn't have to be revved furiously to get the car to move.
Models with AWD handle exceptionally well on dry and wet roads, and will make great snow day cars.
At the Curb
Though it's a smaller car overall — 179.6 inches long — it's more accommodating inside, especially for cargo. The VW has 30.4 cubic feet of space behind the second row, and when you fold that row down it expands to 66.5 cubic feet.
The VW is also easier to load because of a very low cargo floor, just 24.8 inches off the ground. The rear liftgate opening is huge, too, at 40.8 inches.
Room for passengers is excellent, especially for a small car: There are 41.2 inches of legroom up front, 35.6 inches of legroom in the second row and — this is an important and often-overlooked measure — 38.6 inches of headroom in both rows. The tall do not suffer in the SportWagen.
The Rest
Some of the higher-end creature features you might want, like the Adaptive Front Lighting System, which swivels the headlight beams up to 15 degrees to follow the curves, are only offered in the more pricey SE and SEL trims.
Oddly — or rather, unusually — the S trims still come with a physical insert-here ignition key. These are becoming almost as rare as ashtrays, and there are pros and cons to consider. On the one hand, a metal key is simpler; you will probably never have to worry about replacing it (unless you lose it); and the ignition switch will probably last close to forever. On the other hand, the push-button thing is convenient. Keep the key fob somewhere on you (pocket, purse) and all you have to do is push the button to start the car. Just don't lose the fob or run it through the wash, for unlike metal keys, electronic fobs can cost a small fortune to replace.
The bottom line: Snipes don't exist. The VW SportWagen does.
Hunt one at your local VW store!
To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. His new book, Don't Get Taken for a Ride! will be available soon.
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