News & Reviews- Make: Volkswagen

Having grown up in the sixties and seventies it's difficult not to like Volkswagen's retrospective editions, and while looking in the proverbial rearview mirror normally has us focusing on VW's Beetle line of compacts, in this case I'm talking about the four-door compact Jetta. Specifically the 2017 Wolfsburg Edition, in Bottle Green with a black, grey and orange interior.

The Bottle Green paint, which is new for 2017, is probably the design element that's most respectful of the past, as this rather normal looking three-box four-door can only be considered retro due to being mostly unchanged for so long, but peek through its windows and you'll start to understand more of what I'm talking about.

Orange is often used to pull memories toward the late '60s and '70s, currently by watch brands like Omega with its absolutely gorgeous 2014 Speedmaster Mark II reissue (a near exact homage to its 1969 namesake), Rolex with its uncharacteristically playful Milgauss (in this case Read Full Story

All the excitement in Volkswagen's Golf SportWagen family has recently been focused on the new AllTrack, a model I personally applied plenty of praise to earlier this year, but last year's redesign of the AllTrack's more traditional five-door sibling deserves some well earned attention too.

After a comprehensive ground-up makeover for 2016 the Golf SportWagen moved into 2017 mostly unchanged, except for some minor package updates, which is fine by me as it was near ideal already. It's lighter now thanks to VW's new MQB platform architecture that also underpins a wide range of models from subcompacts like the Polo, unfortunately not available here, to larger SUVs including the new mid-size Atlas, while its interior gets all of the premium upgrades enjoyed by other new Golf models.

This said the Golf SportWagen has always been a near-premium product, but it's hard not to appreciate the redesigned model's more sophisticated instrument panel, the impressive leatherwork Read Full Story

Those who grew up with VW Beetles in their lives can't expect everyone to appreciate their unabashed affection for the unusually shaped conveyance, but luckily there are still enough of us out there to continue its production. Word has it the Beetle's days are numbered, but fortunately it has some life in it yet.

My most recent Beetle tester was a smart little Convertible in Classic trim, painted a lovely Dark Bronze Metallic that was more of a chocolate brown, with an ideally matched almond Beige soft-top. The colour reminded me of my dad's personally repainted '66 Beetle that started metallic brown yet ended up a strange yellow-orange we kids endearingly called puke, but that's a story for another time.

Classic trim is about to make way for new Coast trim for 2018, which comes in much fewer colour options albeit retains the Beige roof and cool Classic alloys with chromed caps. The 2018 model gets a boost in engine output for its swansong too, bumped from this 2017 Read Full Story

Drumroll please… And the winner of the 2017 Auto Journalist Association of Canada's Canadian Car of the Year award is (ratatatat) the 2017 Volkswagen Golf AllTrack!

Well that one caught me by surprise, as did the selection of the 2017 Subaru Forester for the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year. Not that these two compact crossovers aren't worthy, but the Subie was merely a mid-cycle refresh, and a mild one at that, and the COTY winner was (as just stated) more of a crossover SUV than a car, or at least that's how VW classifies it on their retail site.

Yes, I'm aware that it's actually a Golf SportWagen and therefore kind of qualifies for Car of the Year, but it's adequately raised and moderately pumped up on oxandrolone thanks to plenty of matte black body cladding including a quad of flared fenders, slick looking aluminized front and rear undertrays plus rocker moulding trim, a set of aluminum roof rails up top, as well as some trick aluminum-finish mirror Read Full Story

Volkswagen had big hopes for its American-sized Passat when it replaced the smaller Euro-spec B6 model back in 2011 for the 2012 model year. I tested and reviewed a TDI Trendline+ and a 3.6 VR6 Highline that year, and while impressed with the styling, performance and roominess, I was a bit put off by its downgraded interior refinement.

After a first foray with the car my review comments included, "The dash, door uppers and inserts remain high-quality soft touch synthetic, but that's about it for premium pliable composites as the rest of the cabin is less impressively finished in hard plastics, a disappointment when compared to most top-line models in the mid-size segment, and a downer considering just how well-made the old Passat's interior was."

To make matters worse, the replacement Euro-spec Passat B7 was a move up in every respect, and likely a model that would've worked very well here in Canada where we traditionally appreciate smaller cars. VW followed up this Read Full Story