Wagon Decision: Oppopinions needed

"BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind" (briangriffinsprius)
04/18/2016 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

My current ride, a Forester XT, is about to give up the ghost. Between needing regular maintenance bits by the end of the year (tires, brakes, and timing belt replacement...not to mention normal fluids and the like) and a sneaking suspicion I have that coolant is going where coolant isn’t supposed to go, I’m looking at replacements.

I’ve narrowed it down to two, and the new car is likely to be my wife’s ride while I take her old Legacy. So the primary focus is safety, comfort, gas mileage, and “not too slow”.

2016 VW SportWagen. About $22k before negotiation. New. Black.

2015 Volvo V60. About $22k before negotiation. 40k ish miles. Black.

The VW dealer also has a 2013 TDI SportWagen with like 50k miles I could probably get for a song. I’d be open to other ideas, basically I’m looking for a nice hatchy vehicle that can fit my kids’ stuff, not look too soccermom like, and is comfy.

Anyone drive both the VW and Volvo? Thoughts?

DISCUSSION (14)

'Wägen, EPA LOL > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 09:07

Both are irritating to work on, but we still have our Volvo with 135k on it. The VW rattled way more than it should when it had only 40k on the clock. Drove me nuts.

Kinja'd!!!

MLGCarGuy > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 09:14

I can’t speak for the VW, but I’ve had an S60 rental before. The materials are pretty good inside, although the infotainment is a bit of a pain to operate. The T5 FWD isn’t a bad powertrain. It really moves when you hit the gas. A/C and heat work pretty well. My biggest gripe, however, was the lack of space altogether. The rear seats felt cramped and the trunk contained very little space, but that can be fixed if you’re buying the V60.

Overall, I doubt the VW will be able to match the level of luxury and power the V60 provides. However, the Golf might be more practical in terms of interior space. In the end, it all depends on what you value when purchasing a wagon.

Invinciblejets > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 09:44

Sucks the new Mazda 6 doesn't come in wagon form...would be so sexy.

VW Max > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 10:11

Get the TDI sportwagen. If you don't want to deal with dieselgate get the TSI.

Tom McParland > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 10:20

The VW is going to give you a lot more usable cargo space. I was disappointed in the rear seat room and cargo area of the V60.

From a practicality standpoint the VW wins. The Volovo feels more premium.

I think as a family car the VW is better.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 10:26

My DD is a 2013 JSW TDI, I test drove the manual and the automatic and they were both fine for commuting as the clutch is forgiving and not super heavy. I have a reverse commute so I held out or the three pedal option.

Dieselgate aside It gets mid to upper 30s mixed driving and I can break 50 mpg cruising at 70 highway. Assuming diesel isn’t horribly taxed where you it crushes for road trip economy. My only major complaint about it is the width of the hatch opening its just small enough compared to the area immediately inside that loading large flat objects is a pain, you can’t fit a 4x4 sheet of plywood inside at all, you would need another inch or two for it to work.

Ash78, voting early and often > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 10:47

My first thought is “TWO DIFFERENT CLASSES” but over the years, the Volvo seems to have shrunk from the old V70 size, while the Golf has embiggened itself. On paper, they're close, but having sat in both, I think the Volvo feels larger and has a definitively more premium vibe to it. I was going to guess $30k, but if these are close in price, I'd have to nod to Volvo. Plus, I see 100 Sportwagens for every V60, and I'm big on uniqueness.

Saracen > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 12:07

GSW owner here..

I looked at a V60, and the cargo space is a joke. that sloping hatch means it has less usable space than a regular Golf (at the time I had a Golf R, and that had more cargo capacity), much less than GSW.

Go GSW. And if you decide you want to make it fast, there are already a ton of tuning options available for the new 1.8T.

HammerheadFistpunch > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 12:16

interested, I had an FXT, now I have a 2011 sportwagen TDI (there was some overlap). The VW has been troublesome (aside from the diesel issues) and I couldn’t recommend one.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > HammerheadFistpunch
04/18/2016 at 12:31

What specific issues have you had?

HammerheadFistpunch > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 12:37

HVAC smells like rotting bird on recirc, rear latch mechanism failure, complete HPFP failure with associated replacement of the entire fuel system...little things here and there.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > HammerheadFistpunch
04/18/2016 at 12:41

So it’s just behaving like a normal VAG product, huh? ;)

I kid, but thanks for the insight. I had a 05 Passat that was nothing but trouble (actually the same list of stuff that you have) so I’m leery, but I’ve just heard that VW has stepped up their quality game in the past few years.

HammerheadFistpunch > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
04/18/2016 at 12:48

That’s what I heard when I bought one...

Marty > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
05/10/2016 at 02:46

I currently have a 2012 Volvo V60 T6 R design polestar, and ive previously had a 2010 VW golf tdi, both excellent cars - the volvo is as safe as houses and surprisingly fast but she does like to drink a bit of fuel, im going to go back to a vw tdi for the economy, have never had any issues with any of the vw’s ive had or the volvo and would highly recommend either