GSW/Alltrack 1.8T TSI EA888 - Prospective Buyer Discussion Thread

Drove one today.
It was ok... though It did not give the immediate sense of "this is going to replace my JSW"...
I'd have to do some serious homework on the reliability of the 1.8 power plant as well as the 4motion drivetrain Before I go making an investment in VW's "K car". Or as the dealer put it, their possible "comeback vehicle" - direct jab at Subaru, car.
But Honestly. Compared to my JSW It was kinda' "eh... been there, done that".
Time for something else.
...especially when the dealer said there would be no incentives to anyone -even those with buybacks, to get them into the VW fold.

I test drove the Alltrack today and felt it was much better than my Jetta SEl. MPG is a hit but given baiscally diesel will be DOA in the States might as well move back to RUG, my opinion . I liked it, it was fun to drive but then again it is a VW. What expensive repairs will I get in the future . Just not sure if I should move to a Honda or other "more reliable" brand for the long haul...

I did hear the dealers will be doing up to 8 turn in appointments a day..

I saw an Alltrack today for the first time. Good looking car. Much cleaner lines than the Outback. It looks a good bit smaller than the Outback though.

As far as the complaints on the 30 MPG highway...AWD vehicles suck, fuel economy wise. "You've gotta pay to play" definitely applies with these, in the economy department.

I hope someone can test drive one for 20+ miles on the highway and report back what the readout says (obviously it will read high, but give an indication). If its anything like my TSI, it will do better on the highway than rated, but probably lower city. I personally could never drive a CVT, so subaru's are out of the question for me unless they come with a manual.

FordGuy100 said:

I hope someone can test drive one for 20+ miles on the highway and report back what the readout says (obviously it will read high, but give an indication). If its anything like my TSI, it will do better on the highway than rated, but probably lower city. I personally could never drive a CVT, so subaru's are out of the question for me unless they come with a manual.

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I'd be curious to see as well. On the highway at 100 km/h, the readout on my 1.8 TSI shows about 5.2 L/100 km. The MFD is about 0.4 L/100 km optimistic so real consumption is about 5.6, or just over 50 miles per imp. gallon, my threshold for an economical gasser.

Oddly my Mk VI's MFD was quite accurate, but the speedo was 6-7 km/h optimistic. On the Mk VII, the speedo is accurate, but the MFD is optimistic.

FordGuy100 said:

I hope someone can test drive one for 20+ miles on the highway and report back what the readout says (obviously it will read high, but give an indication). If its anything like my TSI, it will do better on the highway than rated, but probably lower city. I personally could never drive a CVT, so subaru's are out of the question for me unless they come with a manual.

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I wouldn't put much stock in it. Mine wasn't even in the ballpark for a while. It tends to be fairly accurate now, but early on...lol. Mine routinely read 45+ MPG for the first ~10,000 miles when my hand calculated/actual mileage was in the 38-40 MPG range.

That sentiment goes for MFD's in general. I get a kick out of checking out truck forums with people talking about getting 20+ MPG in Tundra's with the 5.7L....quoting the numbers on the MFD. The only way that thing is getting 20+ MPG is if it's downhill, you shift into neutral, and the engine is idling.

See over the last 11000 miles my readout has been a maximum of 3% off. I usually take readouts and take off 10% just for a ballpark

PlaneCrazy said:

The MFD is about 0.4 L/100 km optimistic so real consumption is about 5.6, or just over 50 miles per imp. gallon, my threshold for an economical gasser.

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......that's circa 41 1/2 MPG (US)...........

Is this with the 5-speed manual? On a freeway/highway in 5th?



ez (Researching the 1.8 as a possible sub for my TDI 6M)

ezshift5 said:

......that's circa 41 1/2 MPG (US)...........
Is this with the 5-speed manual? On a freeway/highway in 5th?
ez (Researching the 1.8 as a possible sub for my TDI 6M)

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5-sp manual, 5th gear @ 100 km/h 62 mph). About 1 L/100 km more than my Mk VI TDI, 6-sp manual.

At 120 (75 mph) it consumes around 6 or 39.5 mpg.

Given that I retired and no longer commute, which cuts my annual mileage in half, I can live with that result.

PlaneCrazy said:

5-sp manual, 5th gear @ 100 km/h 62 mph). About 1 L/100 km more than my Mk VI TDI, 6-sp manual.

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Did you feel like you were taking a step back in time and technology going from a 6 to a 5 speed? I'm having a hard time bringing myself to do it...

bennybmn said:

Did you feel like you were taking a step back in time and technology going from a 6 to a 5 speed? I'm having a hard time bringing myself to do it...

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Sort of, but in many ways it is superior to my MkVI so it mitigates it somewhat.

The wider ratios took some getting used to, making smooth shifts a bit tricky at first but now I'm used to it. It doesn't really need a 6th gear, as it has very good low end torque. It makes peak torque from 1600-4200 rpm, and has more hp than a TDI.

The car's list price was also some $10k cheaper than what I paid in 2011 for my TDI Highline. The only real losses are the sunroof, fogs, 16" wheels and leather. The nav from Apple CarPlay is better than the 2011's factory nav. I prefer cloth to leather, same with 15" wheels on our potholed roads. I put in aftermarket projector HIDs, way better than any toy fog lights.

So I can't say I'm feeling a big loss.

While I haven't had a 6 speed, I don't see it as that big of a deal. These engines are torque enough the wider gapped gears aren't an issue. That's just me though

Thanks for the feedback. I agree about carplay. I rarely use nav anyway (something about knowing where I'm going before I go...), and leather. Heated seats are a semi-must, but can be installed aftermarket. How about keyless entry? That's something I didn't think I'd love till I had it...

while waiting for the dealer to finish up my passat 40k service yesterday i test drove one.
nice car plenty of room and im 6 ft 300lbs, took it on a 30 mile drive good ride, nice ride height, not nearly as peppy as my passat tdi but had adequate power getting on the interstate, cruising at 75mph the mif displayed 33 MPG i suspect this will get better as the engine breaks in ( car i drove only had 44 miles on it ). had good visibility all around from the driver's seat.
once february rolls around we will dump my wife's POS focus.
the main reason we will wait till february i want to see if any issues come up with a new design and hopefully some nice dealer incentives.
PS never buy a ford focus. bought it new for my wife in june of 2013 and its been back to them 23 times for a multitude of issues, trans/power steering/ power windows (all of them) hatch back would unlock but you could not open it/ rear seats would not unlock to fold/ stereo sat nav/ you name it it most likely broke or will break.

So the Audi all road comes with the 252hp version of the 2.0 TSI. Would be nice if they made that an option on the VW, especially with a 6 speed. But we all know that won't happen

I am pretty underwhelmed by the 1.8 TSI. Drove both the regular Golf Sportwagen and the Alltrack and both couldn't compare to my 2014 TDI Sportwagen. Not sure what to get as a replacement now.

Interesting info I found digging around on the build your own section of car and driver. It lists the sportwagen 4motion manual as having a 5 speed, and the Alltrack manual as having a 6 speed.

Not too surprising since the GSW 4-motion comes with a standard automatic tranny and the Alltrack comes with a DSG.

I'm surprised since it's the same engine and AWD system. But this wouldn't be the first time VW did silly packaging differences to be not quiiiiite what I want.

The information on the website is muddled. The drivetrain is the same. Both the GSW 4Motion and the Alltrack are DSG. The manual versions will be the same transmissions as well.
It costs a lot of money to certify a drivetrain, they wouldn't change the transmissions on virtually similar cars, with the same engines, and both having 4Motion.
I will go out on a limb and guess that the manual transmission option will the 6 speeds, but I wouldn't bet my life savings on it.

And for the record, both the GSW 4Motion and Alltrack DO have DSG, verified by people actually looking at the cars. The window stickers and trim pieces confirm it, so the info on the website may be disregarded.

Thanks for the info, it seemed fishy to me, but then again they all have the 1.8T, so they're already certifying multiple combos of the drivetraion...

GetMore said:

The information on the website is muddled. The drivetrain is the same. Both the GSW 4Motion and the Alltrack are DSG. The manual versions will be the same transmissions as well.
It costs a lot of money to certify a drivetrain, they wouldn't change the transmissions on virtually similar cars, with the same engines, and both having 4Motion.
I will go out on a limb and guess that the manual transmission option will the 6 speeds, but I wouldn't bet my life savings on it.

And for the record, both the GSW 4Motion and Alltrack DO have DSG, verified by people actually looking at the cars. The window stickers and trim pieces confirm it, so the info on the website may be disregarded.

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Some details on the differences:

http://www.tflcar.com/2016/09/the-d...f-sportwagen-4motion-and-golf-alltrack-video/

Yes, both models use the same 4Motion AWD system that adapts well to changing driving conditions, but unique to the Alltrack is a larger fuel tank for greater range and four selectable driving modes – normal, sport, custom, and off-road. Additionally, the off-road setting has integrated hill descent control. Something not available with the SportWagen 4Motion.

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I think the larger fuel tank would be welcome. With the reduced 50L tank range is already compromised with the 1.8 TSI, with 750 safe km being the upper limit (450 miles); 500 miles might be feasible at a stretch on a pure highway drive. The AWD will no doubt have much higher fuel consumption making the 50 L tank a bit short.

Still, if a Canadian buy-back happens, we will lean to a Trendline wagon with CarPlay (which is now, alas, an option but was standard on my '16). We need better fuel consumption more than we need AWD, even in Quebec.

Have considered an all track to replace my jsw as well gonna have to test drive and wait for the manual

I spoke to the sales guy I've been dealing with saturday, he said they're getting word that manual Alltracks are starting to ship... I said I'd swing by monday to discuss solid dates. Just this morning I got my offer letter. I'll report back with what I hear about manuals. I drove the auto, it's nice!

bennybmn said:

I spoke to the sales guy I've been dealing with saturday, he said they're getting word that manual Alltracks are starting to ship... I said I'd swing by monday to discuss solid dates. Just this morning I got my offer letter. I'll report back with what I hear about manuals. I drove the auto, it's nice!

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Let me know what you hear for sure! One dealer told me over the phone she could not give me a price yet. One dealer told me it would be in march and it would be worth it to wait until then to see what incentives are around.

Well I put a deposit down... The total MSRP they used was that of an automatic SE minus 700 (I think) which is what the typical difference is between manual and automatics, in say a GTI. The sales manager said that since they are accepting orders, it would be the same timeline as any other factory order, which is 8 to 12 weeks. Within 10 business days, they should have a much more definite time line. I'll wait to send in my offer acceptance letter until then.

Like most forced induction engines from VW, the EA888 tunes very well. A Golf Alltrack with a tuned 1.8 tsi driven through a 4motion drivetrain could be a very pleasing package.

Still not cheap, but a loaded and tuned Alltrack would net you 9/10 an Audi Allroad for $10-15k less.

My future driving demands are better suited to a Prius Prime or Hyundai Ioniq PHEV, but having an AWD wagon for longer trips and outings would ideal.

The engine choices VW made is perplexing
1.8T on the Golf and Alltrack ? 1.4 on the Passat ? Why not use 1.4 on the Golf and 2.0T on the Alltrack ?

The 1.8 engine seems to be fairly robust . There was a recall with 2015 having issues with the 4 pointed lobe that drives the fuel pump coming loose

I suspect changing the chain tensioners around 150K will be the only service needed . Turbo should last long time since it is water cooled
Then keeping the intake valves from getting dirty will still be an issue as with all TSI engines since VW skipped the port injectors on the EA888 engine

Anyone have an Alltrack yet? First impressions on the motor, 4-Motion, need for snow tires, MPG, DSG behavior (vw earlier DSG software)