OT: Picked up 2016 VW GSW in Bismarck, ND and...

[eddief]

and drove it home 1500 miles to CA. Yes, I can be a crazy mofo. This is about as bad as it gets. Local dealers either had zero or could not get the color and model I was looking for. So I started shopping like never before on the net. Found the only white with beige interior 2016 Sportwagen Limited I ever saw in my search over the last 3 weeks. And this one was at quite the discounted price. I was going to have it shipped until I learned how weird and unreliable the car ship biz can be. So I bought a plane ticket to Bismarck, the dealer picked me up at the airport, I signed the 0% interest loan papers, and drove over hill and dale back to CA.

I had only test driven one for about 15 minutes and read every word every printed on the web about the car. But nothing like 1500 miles on every dry road condition in 5 states to give you time to learn about a car...and all the gadgets.

Bottom line, I am blown away, but only have my perfect condition 2004 Rav 4 to compare it to. The chassis seems incredibly well sorted out for all kinds of road surfaces and bumps. It drives like a much bigger car in a good way, but handles like a less powerful GTi with a backend on it. Next to zero wind noise at 85 mph. The car is ridiculously quiet = love it. I think it has mediocre OEM Conti Pro Contact XT tires on it. But even with these tires, the car transmitted remarkably little vibration and noise into the cabin.

Steering. My Rav has really light, overly boosted steering with no feel what so ever. Reviewers describe the VW almost the same way. But the VW seems to stay on center almost by itself and I find the steering has a lot of road feel, especially when compared to my old car.

A bit o turbo lag when starting from a dead stop. But with that said, the boost makes it great in all other situations that require power. On ramps, passing at 70 mph are just plain satisfying. Hwy 80 through the Sierra was a pleasure as the power band and trans had no issue finding the right gearing when climbing through the passes. No hesitation and hunting as is the case with my old Rav. And on tighter twisties it was fun as hell.

Blown away by the adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, and front braking assist. Oh yeah, 36.5 mpg on regular gas on the highway and about 30 over all. I should also mention that fit and finish appear flawless and the ergonomics and even the tech and infotainment system seem incredibly well thought out. I never found myself saying, why did VW phuck this thing up. And I had 25 hours of driving during which to second guess my purchase.

Final thing is that I read the stock stereo was crap and was afraid I should have spent more money to get the Fender upgrade in the SE trim. Glad to say I listened to satellite radio for 1500 miles and the stereo is pretty damn good.

An adventure with a really good outcome.

[weisan]

eddie pal, glad we get to see the "crazy" side of U. German engineering can do that to people. Enjoy u new wheels!

BTW, how's the bike+car integration part of the equation, is it just appealing?

[eddief]

It has roof rails. And I know with the seats folded flat that my 60cm will probably fit with the wheels on. But I am considering adding a hitch and a 1Up bike rack.

[bcroslin]

A good friend of mine did something similar when he bought his "root beer" brown JSW with a 6 speed manual. I think he flew from Charleston to maybe Philly and drove it back.

[YoKev]

Thanks for sharing!

[Cat3roadracer]

It has roof rails. And I know with the seats folded flat that my 60cm will probably fit with the wheels on. But I am considering adding a hitch and a 1Up bike rack.

Just an FYI - contrary to what Yakima will tell you, the Whispbar S53 fits nicely and looks great.

[roguedog]

Now *that's* a test drive!

Congrats.

[palincss]

It has roof rails. And I know with the seats folded flat that my 60cm will probably fit with the wheels on. But I am considering adding a hitch and a 1Up bike rack.

There should be no "probably" about it: my 60cm randonneurs fit fine inside wheels on my JSW and it's a bit smaller inside than the GSW.

[thwart]

... yeah, but Eddie, did you like it?

;)

Wondering how much lower the mileage will be with 4-Motion...

[palincss]

... yeah, but Eddie, did you like it?

;)

Wondering how much lower the mileage will be with 4-Motion...

Even the Golf R's get decent fuel economy (and they have 4-Motion) if they're driven in a reasonable manner.

[JAGI410]

Glad it worked out! Sounds like a fun trip. I should have volunteered to drive it back for you!

[Tickdoc]

Pics or it didn't happen;)
Congrats.

[Louis]

Neat road trip.

A few years ago I considered going out to Wichita to pick up my Subaru, but decided to have them ship it instead. No problems.

Just out of curiosity, what's "adaptive" cruise control?

[eddief]

https://flic.kr/s/aHskHWFbxn
https://flic.kr/p/LQF4nu
https://flic.kr/p/LsdvjQ

[eddief]

Set your speed, set the distance at which you want the system to start hitting your brakes automatically to slow you down in order to keep the set distance between you and the car in front. When the car in front goes faster and creates more distance, your car speeds up to the set speed. Don't have to reset the cruise control, unless for some reason you hit your brakes. But you do that way less often since the radar and braking system is monitoring speed and distance automatically. As a novice, I thought it worked crazy good. You can actually use it in fairly busy traffic situations since it is constantly monitoring the variables for you...and seemingly doing it well.

[kppolich]

Awd?

[pjm]

Great looking wagon, good luck with it. Should be nicely broken in already.

[eddief]

the roof opens upward before it goes backward. think maybe the upward would hit the rack cross bars

Just an FYI - contrary to what Yakima will tell you, the Whispbar S53 fits nicely and looks great.

[eddief]

and you connected me to eyes on the ground in Bismarck.
Thanks again.

Glad it worked out! Sounds like a fun trip. I should have volunteered to drive it back for you!

[1happygirl]

That's awesome. Exactly the thing to do. I enjoyed living through your road trip secondhand.

Those are the perfect colors I would pick if it were mine. Thanks again for sharing.

[martl]

I think it has mediocre OEM Conti Pro Contact XT tires on it.

Technical sidenote: There is nothing "mediocre" about OEM tires in general. In fact, they are the best of the best of that particular tire.

The tire manufacturing process still relies to a certain extent on manual operation which means they will vary in quality. In the factory, each tire will be evaluated individually for roundness, balance etc. There are thresholds for such values which will determine whether an individual tire will be quality class A,B,C etc. These ratings are set by the legislative or by the tire industry themselves. At the best brands, most of the production will pass for the highest industry standard and those ranked B or worse won't even see a shop in the main markets countries.

Even those tires which will classify as best ("A") still will vary in quality and are also ranked.
An OEM customer (=car manufacturer) will always only purchase the best of the best, because they want the car to perform as good as possible when rolling out of the dealers showroom. Due to the nature of OEM contracts, which are more or less the customer dictating what he will get and at what price, this is not more expensive for the car manufacturers.

The same best quality tires are on the "original" wheelsets that manufacturers offer as replacement or second set of wheels separately. Which is part of why those are more expensive than getting the supposedly same tire through other channels. You *may* get the same quality tire at a tire specialist outlet, but there's no guarantee for it (tho it will still be an "A"). If you would compare a tire/wheel-combo bought at VW, it will almost certainly have a better quality tire on it than the same combo bought at "Tire Rack" or such.

That, of course, doesn't mean a good Michelin couldn't beat the OEM Conti, but you would have the best possible Conti Pro Contact XT you could get :)

[soulspinner]

Set your speed, set the distance at which you want the system to start hitting your brakes automatically to slow you down in order to keep the set distance between you and the car in front. When the car in front goes faster and creates more distance, your car speeds up to the set speed. Don't have to reset the cruise control, unless for some reason you hit your brakes. But you do that way less often since the radar and braking system is monitoring speed and distance automatically. As a novice, I thought it worked crazy good. You can actually use it in fairly busy traffic situations since it is constantly monitoring the variables for you...and seemingly doing it well.

Once people have this and heated steering wheels they never go back..;)

[AngryScientist]

did i miss it? what engine does this one have eddie?

[thwart]

Awd?

Not until Spring, with the 2017's... so one more winter with my 2013 Golf... which is not so bad.

[oldpotatoe]

did i miss it? what engine does this one have eddie?

Not Eddie but 2016 GSW 'Limited'..1.8L turbo gas.

[eddief]

1.8 liter turbo gas. 170 hp and 200 ft lbs of torque.

did i miss it? what engine does this one have eddie?

[kppolich]

Not until Spring, with the 2017's... so one more winter with my 2013 Golf... which is not so bad.

Any chance of the AWD TDI coming to the states?

[thwart]

Any chance of the AWD TDI coming to the states?
Car & Driver, when they previewed the upcoming 2017 Alltrack, said the urea components required for US emissions approval wouldn't fit with the 4-Motion's suspension... how accurate that is, who knows...

[shovelhd]

No new 2.0l TDI's for the foreseeable future, unless they have already been built (2015/2016).

I also have no problem with flying out and driving back. Done it a few times. You'll never forget those rides.

[Cat3roadracer]

the roof opens upward before it goes backward. think maybe the upward would hit the rack cross bars

My fault, I forgot you have the pano roof option. I selected the "S", without the roof so I could mount a rack on top.

Good luck with your new Golf.

[jghall]

Nice looking wagon there. Been thinking about one myself so your ride report is welcome news. Enjoy.

[rccardr]

I also got a 2016 GSW SE gas (red/black) back in late July, absolutely love it. Wish it was a manual, but there you have it. Traded in my MkIV GTI for it and no regrets. Bikes fit with front wheels on, Fender sound system rocks, it's just well designed and nicely engineerd. With room for grandchild stuff.

Pretty sure you can open the pano sunroof with a crossbar roof rack mounted. Haven't checked personally, but was told so by someone who oughta know.

[Louis]

As a novice, I thought it worked crazy good. You can actually use it in fairly busy traffic situations since it is constantly monitoring the variables for you...and seemingly doing it well.

Sounds like a convenient safety feature - but whatever you do, don't fall asleep. I'd worry that less engagement with the driving process might make it easier to nod off if you happen to be driving when tired.

[Tickdoc]

https://flic.kr/s/aHskHWFbxn
https://flic.kr/p/LQF4nu
https://flic.kr/p/LsdvjQ

Awesome:banana:

[palincss]

Awd?

No. FWD. The AWD models aren't out yet.

[palincss]

Any chance of the AWD TDI coming to the states?

That of a snowball in Hell.

[mistermo]

Any chance of the AWD TDI coming to the states?

That won't happen in our lifetimes. Which is why I'll be keeping my '05 Passat TDI wagon (retrofitted with a manual trans) fornearlyever. It's a fantastic car the blows the doors off my Subaru Outback (except in snow).