Originally Posted by Boomer
I love my AllTrack. It is a pleasure to drive, quite sporty and I love the handling. It burns no oil, and every 5000 miles, it is right at the full level on the dipstick, neither higher or lower than when the oil was changed.It is a great winter car in the snow (why we bought it). On a trip at 60-65 mph, I average about 33 mpg (actual fillup calculation). My wife and I love the seats and find it a comfortable car in which to travel. I would buy another in a heart beat ifI needed a new car. At 25,000 miles, it has never been in for a warranty issue!
Great to hear. Ya, if I kept it under 65 I'm sure mileage would improve a lot. I get passed on the tollway traveling at 79 mph where the motor is spinning at almost 2900 RPM with the DSG so my mileage won't be as good since it's mostly that or urban Chicago. The stick would do better but I really preferred the DSG auto for this area. This tank looks like to will be at 28MPG. Low rpm city mileage actually seems very good. It's about 10% lower mileage overall than my retired Ford Focus which is a fine trade off for the added comfort and space. I suspect I'm losing all of that on the highway where it's under some boost. That's where I'd have preferred the stick but I also find stop and go jams every week and the DSG is awesome though I prefer it had one more gear up top.
I tend to prefer smaller, more maneuverable vehicles but the Focus didn't really haul enough when needed. This one is a nice compromise and handles much better than expected. I bought it because it's the right set of appointments for the price and you had to buy 4wd to get the 1.8L in the wagons this year. The transition to boost and off boost performance of the 1.4 just didn't do it for me with ether transmission and it's auto wasn't as nice either though it has a taller top gear. I drove the stick 1.8 like an old friend but killed the 1.4 from a stop on the test drive. Something you get used to but... I was torn about 4WD before my search and this made the decision easy. We certainly get enough snow here. Wasn't sure I'd like the extra height but the extra 1.6" seems just right. I can see where I'm going in traffic without feeling like I'm in an SUV and it seems everyone drives one for no good reason around here. Only slight compromise is high speed highway MPG with the DSG.
So far, I've swapped the OEM Falken tires for 225/50/17 Continental Purecontact LS while I could still get some credit and wrapped the steering wheel with leather. I have a rear sway bar from a Golf R on the way and that will be it unless I get better shocks at some point. The hollow type R bar has identical exterior dimensions to the Alltrack bar but is a few MM thicker walled. Minor change and cheap used. Easy quick swap and should balance it out a bit without affecting the ride over tar strips etc.
Seems the consensus is to just do the early oil changes as expected. Apparently VW did make a tweak to the tensioner at some point but I think I'll also take the cautious approach.Thanks guys.
I love my AllTrack. It is a pleasure to drive, quite sporty and I love the handling. It burns no oil, and every 5000 miles, it is right at the full level on the dipstick, neither higher or lower than when the oil was changed.It is a great winter car in the snow (why we bought it). On a trip at 60-65 mph, I average about 33 mpg (actual fillup calculation). My wife and I love the seats and find it a comfortable car in which to travel. I would buy another in a heart beat ifI needed a new car. At 25,000 miles, it has never been in for a warranty issue!
Great to hear. Ya, if I kept it under 65 I'm sure mileage would improve a lot. I get passed on the tollway traveling at 79 mph where the motor is spinning at almost 2900 RPM with the DSG so my mileage won't be as good since it's mostly that or urban Chicago. The stick would do better but I really preferred the DSG auto for this area. This tank looks like to will be at 28MPG. Low rpm city mileage actually seems very good. It's about 10% lower mileage overall than my retired Ford Focus which is a fine trade off for the added comfort and space. I suspect I'm losing all of that on the highway where it's under some boost. That's where I'd have preferred the stick but I also find stop and go jams every week and the DSG is awesome though I prefer it had one more gear up top.
I tend to prefer smaller, more maneuverable vehicles but the Focus didn't really haul enough when needed. This one is a nice compromise and handles much better than expected. I bought it because it's the right set of appointments for the price and you had to buy 4wd to get the 1.8L in the wagons this year. The transition to boost and off boost performance of the 1.4 just didn't do it for me with ether transmission and it's auto wasn't as nice either though it has a taller top gear. I drove the stick 1.8 like an old friend but killed the 1.4 from a stop on the test drive. Something you get used to but... I was torn about 4WD before my search and this made the decision easy. We certainly get enough snow here. Wasn't sure I'd like the extra height but the extra 1.6" seems just right. I can see where I'm going in traffic without feeling like I'm in an SUV and it seems everyone drives one for no good reason around here. Only slight compromise is high speed highway MPG with the DSG.
So far, I've swapped the OEM Falken tires for 225/50/17 Continental Purecontact LS while I could still get some credit and wrapped the steering wheel with leather. I have a rear sway bar from a Golf R on the way and that will be it unless I get better shocks at some point. The hollow type R bar has identical exterior dimensions to the Alltrack bar but is a few MM thicker walled. Minor change and cheap used. Easy quick swap and should balance it out a bit without affecting the ride over tar strips etc.
Seems the consensus is to just do the early oil changes as expected. Apparently VW did make a tweak to the tensioner at some point but I think I'll also take the cautious approach.Thanks guys.
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