OT: sportwagen

[palincss]

Originally Posted by echappist

What we really need are upscale wagons. The Volvo V50 (and V70 to an extant) filled that niche, as did the Saabs and Acura TSX.

A shame that a true wagon (one that can haul stuff) is at least 50k...

Not true. The Golf Sportwagen and the Golf Alltrack are true wagons, can haul stuff -- fit a 59-60 cm bicycle with full metal fenders with both wheels on, which is my gold standard for the "stuff" I need a car to haul -- and are substantially under 50K. I think you can get a perfectly fine GSW for half that. And that's more storage space than either the Audi Allroad or the Volvo V60.

OK, the Golf wagons aren't "upscale" in that you can't get them with leather upholstery or wood grain trim, but how significant is that?

I had an E39 wagon. My Alltrack is every bit as comfortable and capable, has all wheel drive, and gets 30 mpg on regular while the BMW only averaged 23 mpg on 93 octane. Yes, with the pedal to the metal that BMW inline 6 sounded fantastic -- operatic, almost -- in a way that no turbo charged engine, never mind a 1.8L turbo 4, can equal. Sure the wood grain dash was nice. And only a total moron would have conceived of the notion to put the CD player in the glove box. But those are minor quibbles.

[572cv]

It turns out that a certain number of ‘14 328d wagons are coming off lease. The market for diesel is dismal . You might be able to find low mileage ones for wholesale dollars over the next year.

I just did. I’ll post a ride report after a bit , if anyone is interested. I did test drive it, and the torque was excellent, and handling as one would hope. I really like the feel of it. I know there are mixed feelings about diesels these days, but I always wanted one.

[staggerwing]

Originally Posted by 572cv

It turns out that a certain number of ‘14 328d wagons are coming off lease. The market for diesel is dismal . You might be able to find low mileage ones for wholesale dollars over the next year.

I just did. I’ll post a ride report after a bit , if anyone is interested. I did test drive it, and the torque was excellent, and handling as one would hope. I really like the feel of it. I know there are mixed feelings about diesels these days, but I always wanted one.

Wasn't the diesel a $10k uptick from the gasser 328?

While we like our CPO V60, and the significantly more friendly dealer experience from Volvo, we miss the our 2013 Toronado Red, diesel JSW. My wife liked the panorama sunroof, low end grunt, snappy DSG tranny, and bright red exterior. I was in awe that you could load it to the gills, including a rocket box on top, point her into the wind, with the cruise control set to 80, and get 40mpg, without breaking a sweat.

Might have to keep our eyes peeled for one these elusive Bimmer diesels.

[Meisen]

We turned our TDI in last September for the buyback. We both loved the car but at 160k it was starting to show its age and the $13,xxx buyback was too good to pass up!

The TDI was great ...600 mile range, nice low end torque and spacious for a compact. Felt like a drivers car. VW treated us fine in the process and we came out of it with a 2 year old GTI (my wife’s) 😜

The all track is appealing to me for my next car. I have a suby forester and it’s...really vanilla.

[velofinds]

Originally Posted by 572cv

It turns out that a certain number of ‘14 328d wagons are coming off lease. The market for diesel is dismal . You might be able to find low mileage ones for wholesale dollars over the next year.

I just did. I’ll post a ride report after a bit , if anyone is interested. I did test drive it, and the torque was excellent, and handling as one would hope. I really like the feel of it. I know there are mixed feelings about diesels these days, but I always wanted one.

You got me curious, so I looked it up. From https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...rm-wrap-review:

Its coarse nature came to the fore at every stoplight, as the fuel-saving automatic stop-start feature relit the engine with a pronounced shudder and audible gruffness.

Oh man, I hate this! I think this (the stop-start "feature" in modern vehicles) would be a dealbreaker for me. To my retrogrouchy ears it sounds like the driver is stalling the car at every light.

[staggerwing]

Has anyone out there bellied up for one of the re-spiffed 2015 TDI's?

Was reading that the warranty for these has been extended, and is transferable, but I'm having difficulty finding exact details.

[572cv]

Originally Posted by velofinds

You got me curious, so I looked it up. From https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...rm-wrap-review:

Its coarse nature came to the fore at every stoplight, as the fuel-saving automatic stop-start feature relit the engine with a pronounced shudder and audible gruffness.

Oh man, I hate this! I think this (the stop-start "feature" in modern vehicles) would be a dealbreaker for me. To my retrogrouchy ears it sounds like the driver is stalling the car at every light.

So, too bad the reviewer didn't figure out that you can toggle that feature on and off. But good for me. I had no such issue with the 328d. I've had this as a mandatory feature on cars in europe. It works, but I'm glad I can turn it off in this car.

Oh, and here is another review. Somewhat different:
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/bmw/3...eview-verdict/

[fignon's barber]

Originally Posted by velofinds

Oh man, I hate this! I think this (the stop-start "feature" in modern vehicles) would be a dealbreaker for me. To my retrogrouchy ears it sounds like the driver is stalling the car at every light.

This. I test drove a 3 series last year. By the second stop light, I looked at the salesman and said "not happening".

[p nut]

Originally Posted by 572cv

So, too bad the reviewer didn't figure out that you can toggle that feature on and off. But good for me. I had no such issue with the 328d. I've had this as a mandatory feature on cars in europe. It works, but I'm glad I can turn it off in this car.

It's a pretty seamless system and works pretty well. It takes just a little bit of getting used to, but after a day or two, I didn't even notice it anymore. Not sure what the issue is, especially since it can be disabled.

[velofinds]

Good to know. The last new car I purchased was way back in 2007 before stop-start reached critical mass so I'm totally out of it.

[binouye]

Last weeked I rented a new Mercedes with the stop-start feature (I'm living car free in Europe, but needed a car last weekend). It was very smooth, only noticed it if I was really paying attention. It was a gasser though, not a diesel, and one of their fairly high-end models. But if I could afford that kind of car I wouldn't object to the stop-start feature at all, and with nearly $8/gallon gas here, any fuel economy features are welcome!

For relevance to the original thread, we just got the notice from VW that the hardware modifications to our '15 GSW TDI are ready, and they'll send the rest of the owner payment after the dealer makes the hardware fix. Which will be in a couple months, after moving back to the US.

[BikeNY]

Originally Posted by staggerwing

Has anyone out there bellied up for one of the re-spiffed 2015 TDI's?

Was reading that the warranty for these has been extended, and is transferable, but I'm having difficulty finding exact details.

Lots of people did, they sold out pretty fast. I bought one exactly a year ago, Golf Sportwagon SE TDI Manual. 24,000 miles later I couldn't be happier. I believe the warranty is 10 years or 152,00 miles for all of the engine/emission related hardware.

There was another thread here somewhere with lots of other comments on the subject.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by p nut

It's a pretty seamless system and works pretty well. It takes just a little bit of getting used to, but after a day or two, I didn't even notice it anymore. Not sure what the issue is, especially since it can be disabled.

Disabled yes, but I understand not permanently: you have to disable it each time you start the car.

[purpurite]

My DD... a rare car gets rarer—my '06 Saab 9-3 Aero SportCombi, with a 6-speed. v6 turbo, tuned to about 320hp and 400ft/lbs of torque. The only things that would make it more entertaining would be 4wd.

[toosahn]

Almost went for an Alltrack a few weeks ago. Problem is is that they are overpriced. And the fuel economy is not up to class standards.

Shame. Because it was a wonderful car to drive.