Volkswagen: This Golf Variant is a four-wheel drive

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This Golf Variant is a four-wheel drive

Volkswagen: This Golf Variant is a four-wheel drive-four-wheel

The VW Golf Variant 4Motion was developed for mountainous and snowy countries such as Austria, Switzerland and Norway. Who is really dependent on a four-wheel drive…, finds a comparatively inexpensive offer in golf

Source: Volkswagen

VW can hardly keep up with the production of the Tiguan SUV. If you don’t feel like long waiting times, but still want an affordable VW all-wheel drive, you can now take advantage of the Golf Variant 4Motion. It costs 3000 euros less and still gets through almost everywhere.

Vot many customers who buy an off-road vehicle actually don’t need one at all. In surveys, around 90 percent of drivers regularly state that they “never drive off-road". But anyone who depends on a car with all-wheel drive can start pondering when looking at the costs: Does it really have to be that expensive??
VW’s answer is: no! The new Golf Variant 4motion is supposed to prove this. The car was developed primarily for regions that are mountainous and snowy. In other words, areas in which the high-traction all-wheel drive actually makes sense and is not dragged along for the sake of fashion. The Bavarian Forest, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia, for example. “In Norway, the Variant 4Motion costs around 14,000 euros less than the cheapest Tiguan", says the technical project manager Marco Graumann. “The Golf is an alternative for customers looking for an affordable all-wheel drive."

Since no luxury tax is levied on cars in Germany, the price gap in this country is much smaller. With a base price of 23,775 euros (2000 euros surcharge on the front-wheel drive including six-speed gearbox) only around 3000 euros separate the all-wheel-drive Golf from the entry-level Tiguan with a petrol engine and 5000 euros from the 140 hp diesel version. “But we hope that our sales of the Golf Variant 4Motion will also go beyond homeopathic doses", says Graumann. However, VW does not expect more than one percent of Variant sales in this country. And that although the Golf is almost unrivaled. Because Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo and, more recently, Subaru charge at least 10,000 euros more for their all-wheel drive and consciously play in the premium league, where money also plays a role, but not the decisive one. And the rest of the manufacturers have so far completely refrained from using all-wheel drive suits with diesel engines. Only in the VW group is there an alternative: The Skoda Octavia Combi 1.9 TDI 4×4 offers the same technology, more space and more equipment from 24,130 euros.

The old 1.9-liter TDI with 105.PS is the only drive in the price list. This means that the Golf is sufficiently motorized, but nothing more. Because of the all-wheel drive, the Variant weighs noticeably 110 kilos more than its front-wheel drive brother. When overtaking, the grumpy 105 hp diesel struggles with the Golf‘s almost 1.5 tons – nobody would complain about more power. “We chose the engine because it is the best-selling in the Golf", explains Graumann.

However, the decision is probably also related to the costs: With the newly developed 2.0-liter TDI, which relies on the quieter common-rail injection instead of the pump-nozzle technology, the all-wheel-drive variant would be significantly more expensive become. And in principle, Graumann does not see a use in the current Golf “rather". The engine used in the Tiguan SUV, for example, is reserved for the successor to the Golf, which will be presented at the end of the year, but will probably not come as a station wagon before 2010/2011. The 1.9 TDI is certainly not a bad machine, and a top speed of 185 km / h should be sufficient for everyday use. And there is nothing to complain about the permissible trailer load of 1.5 tons – the Golf owes this to its excellent traction thanks to the all-wheel drive.

This is not only noticeable in trailer operation, the system is already completely convincing on damp, winding roads. The Golf does its laps neutrally – the electronic stability program ESP does not have to intervene until late. In the snow, the advantages of the second driven axle become even clearer: where front-wheel drive cars can no longer go, the Golf 4Motion drives unimpressed uphill. To do this, sensors on the wheels measure the slip and distribute the engine power to where the grip is best. “Normally 90 percent of the power goes to the front axle and ten percent to the rear", explains Graumann. “If it gets slippery, in extreme cases a Haldex coupling directs up to 100 percent backwards."

The buyer must always pay for the best traction at all times, because with a consumption of 6.0 liters, the 4Motion is 0.7 liters more than the front-wheel drive. “With 100 kilos more weight, you have to reckon with about 0.5 liters more consumption", says the project manager. “The rest comes from the additionally driven parts – that’s the price for the all-wheel drive."

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