Why are wagons much more fun than sedans?

NewTdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
NorCal
TDI
2003 Bora, Reflex Silver
It has been almost 3 months since I had to say goodbye to my beloved wagon with over 504000 miles. The car was well cared for and had all the updated suspension. I had a mental goal to get to 1,000,000 miles in the car.

As much as my sedan is way more responsive and way faster I do miss the overall driving experience of the wagon when I was behind the wheel. Anyone else prefers their wagon over their sedan?
 
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Louie710

Veteran Member
Joined
May 15, 2019
Location
Northern California
TDI
2003 Jetta sedan 2002 Jetta wagon
I have a 02 wagon with an automatic and a 03 with a 5 speed. I like driving the wagon more than the sedan. I dont know why. Maybe because it feels bigger inside?
 

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
It's a mental/psychological thing. You like what you like. Sometimes there's just no reason that can be empirically explained. And there does not need to be.

Cheers,

PH
 

Nero Morg

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 19, 2017
Location
OR
TDI
2014 A6 TDI, 2001 Jetta TDI, 2014 Passat TDI
I like mine, but that's because I find it more stylish. I also like the idea of being able to take impromptu naps in the back, so I carry around a few blankets and leave the rear seats folded down all the time.
 

300D

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2018
Location
New England
TDI
Mk6
I just like the lines on the wagon best. Then the golf, then the sedan. And my dog loves walking around the back of the wagon. There is a line of nose smudges at exactly her nose height around all the back windows. Hard to beat that.
 

vwdsmguy

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2004
Location
Syracuse, NY
TDI
2002 Golf black 5-spd
Love my Golf hatchback

For the few times I can't carry enough in the hatchback I hook up my box trailer. Even with it full of bark mulch in the box [2' x 4' x 6'] the torque pulls it with ease
 

gforce1108

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Location
Newburgh, NY
TDI
04 Jetta GLS BEW, 14 Audi A7 V6 TDI, 13 Porsche Cayenne V6 TDI
I have both - I'll take the sedan any day over the wagon. Rear window won't stay clean, feels very tail heavy. Maybe with a performance suspension...
 

sriracha

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2014
Location
805
TDI
2005 Jetta Wagon 5mt, 1982 Rabbit truck (gas)
Assuming identical suspension on all mk4 variations, is it at all possible that the heavier wagon tail makes the car more balanced and therefore not push as much in the corners?
 

P2B

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Location
Toronto & Muskoka, Canada
TDI
2002 Jetta, 2003 Jetta, 2003 Jetta Wagon
My better half loves her wagon, I get the sedan. I think the wagon is a better looking vehicle, but I prefer the sedan for highway driving because it has the 6 speed.

My son has a 6 speed wagon, the perfect car :)

Simon
 

Rrusse11

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Location
PA Deutsch Country
TDI
2002 Golf, 5spd; 05 Jeep CRD
I had a VR6 GTI for a while - same rear window dirt but much better rear feel. I have a Beetle as well which is pretty decent.

There you go! Not much tail on the beetle either. I feel no need for an RSB
with my setup of heavy springs and Koni Special Reds dialed up 25%
on the back. The wagon towing springs on the rear lifted the back
end up another inch or so, the shift in lateral bias makes the rear
livelier. I took them off for winter driving, but will go back on in the
spring before we set out with the teardrop for the planned trip across
the country.

The big brakes all round really changed the way the car drives too.
I think your GTI VR6 had 288mm rotors up front, and the 23mm
FSB. I've got that and Audi Quattro 256mm vented rear rotors.

FWIW
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I have a Wagon and a Golf, also owned a 2-door Golf in the past. I've never owned a Jetta Sedan. Well, technically, I do now own my son's '02 but it's not registered. I obviously love the wagon since I've been driving it for nearly 18 years. I've driven both the Golf and my Wagon on the track: handling has more to do with suspension and tires than the body configuration or weight.

And it seems I frequently end up in situations where I need the Wagon's space. There's really no penalty to driving it compared to a Golf or Sedan, but the space is amazing. I also think its appearance is timeless: kind of like an old Volvo Wagon.

Obviously I don't care about being seen driving a Wagon. In fact I think the car is more or less invisible: it really doesn't register one way or another with most people. And after 18 years, it's simply what people expect to see me driving.
 

Rrusse11

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Location
PA Deutsch Country
TDI
2002 Golf, 5spd; 05 Jeep CRD
My Mom drove Volvo wagons for years, and I inherited her last one.
She hated the fact that she couldn't get the V70 in a stick.
It wasn't the same vehicle as the old ones. They were great cars.
It never bothered me to drive a wagon, albeit a bit staid.

I take your point IBW on the space, I find the Golf a good compromise
of space vs size. The Golf's definitely a bit sportier handling for me, and the rare occassion
I need more capacity, a trailer does the job, or it goes on the roof.
 

sriracha

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2014
Location
805
TDI
2005 Jetta Wagon 5mt, 1982 Rabbit truck (gas)
According to autoblog, and I really don't know how accurate they are, these are the weights:

Beetle GLS TDI: 2,989 lbs
Golf GL TDI: 2,934 lbs
Golf GLS TDI: 2,972 lbs
Jetta Sedan GLS TDI: 3,003 lbs
Jetta Wagon GL TDI: 3,053 lbs
Jetta Wagon GLS TDI: 3,095 lbs

The Jetta Sedan GL TDI was listed at 3,197 lbs. This seems like a discrepancy to me, as does the Beetle weight. Judging by the GL in the other platforms, it's most likely 40 lbs lighter than the GLS:
Jetta Sedan GL TDI: 2,963 lbs.

So, the wagon is roughly a 90 lbs weight penalty over the sedan and 120 lbs over the Golf?

Can anyone confirm these weights?
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I think they're approximately correct. Cars are measured differently: Dry or wet, with or without fuel (not part of wet), and it also depends on options.

For example, my Wagon is a GL with crank windows, manual mirrors, no heated seats, no sunroof. With the spare tire and rear seat removed, 12 lb. wheels, and with a light battery, it weighed a little over 2,700 lbs when I had it corner balanced for the track (note: it's almost impossible to corner balance a Jetta Wagon). So if anything the weights listed here sound a bit high to me.
 

Rrusse11

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Location
PA Deutsch Country
TDI
2002 Golf, 5spd; 05 Jeep CRD
IBW,
While I get the theory of corner balancing, why isn't it done with a driver
in the seat and say 3/4 tank of fuel? A couple lead ingots moved around
in the back won't do it? Lots of room with the back seat down in the golf and wagon.

I've chased weight reduction when racing under sail, but then you've got crew weight to move around as another variant.
Ultimately I found the single biggest factor for winning was the nut on the wheel.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
They did corner balance with me in the seat, as I recall. And the problem was diagonal imbalance between left front/right rear and the other diagonal. I suppose we could have added weight, but that's generally considered a no-no for the track for several reasons. Lighter is better, even if the balance is exactly where you want it.
 

Rrusse11

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Location
PA Deutsch Country
TDI
2002 Golf, 5spd; 05 Jeep CRD
I guess my point is there are always trade offs/compromises.
Perfect balance vs extra weight, and the difference in lap time is what?

On the drag strip or an oval track it might make a discernible difference.
I suspect on any kind of road course over an hour or two, not so much.
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
I don't know about more fun, but the visibility out of the wagon is pretty excellent. Makes it easier to park and judge where you're putting the car as well as better see cars in your blind spots (though taking the time to adjust your mirrors outwards to your blind spots will also do this).

Just a very, very useful car with excellent visibility.

The only real suspension difference I can think of is the rear springs are a little stiffer and the shocks are longer travel.
 

2OO2TDI

Active member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Location
Fowler California
TDI
2015 Passat DSG, 2003 Jetta Wagon 5 Speed Malone Stage 4, Wuzetem .230’s VNT17, Southbend stage 3 endurance, 21# balanced flywheel
My manual Wagon is fun to drive after the Malone Stage 4 tune, turbo, injectors, SBC, 3 bar map and 22.5 #'s of Boost...
 

Nero Morg

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 19, 2017
Location
OR
TDI
2014 A6 TDI, 2001 Jetta TDI, 2014 Passat TDI
My manual Wagon is fun to drive after the Malone Stage 4 tune, turbo, injectors, SBC, 3 bar map and 22.5 #'s of Boost...
I didn't know someone else had my car. Same setup haha
 

sriracha

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2014
Location
805
TDI
2005 Jetta Wagon 5mt, 1982 Rabbit truck (gas)
I’ve never driven any other mk4, other than my wagon, so I can’t really compare them. However, I do enjoy the functionality of a wagon for hauling bikes, camping gear or work related equipment. I love the excellent 360 visibility.
I do think there is something fun, maybe slightly ironic, about driving a wagon in a sporting fashion. Not going to win any races, but it’s a bit of a sleeper.
 

where2

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 29, 1999
Location
North Palm Beach, FL, USA
TDI
One '13 JSW_TDI & One '04 Variant_TDI
I do think there is something fun, maybe slightly ironic, about driving a wagon in a sporting fashion. Not going to win any races, but it’s a bit of a sleeper.
For the first 15 years of marriage, my wife would NOT drive a wagon. She was totally fine with a 4Runner that got 17mpg. When that was totaled, I managed to get her into a MkV TDI sedan. One summer, I stole her MkV TDI sedan and took it to Maine for the summer, leaving her with my MkIV TDI Wagon. When I got home, the wagon had grown on her enough that when her MkV met it's demise in an accident I managed to get her into a MkVI JSW_TDI. When I asked why, she responded: "I like all the extra room for my music equipment." When I found my MkIV Wagon, I wasn't looking for a wagon, but finding a MkIV TDI wagon at a reasonable price, I wasn't about to overlook it!!

Now, we're a two TDI wagon, one e-Golf, one Corrado family. ;) They're all entertaining to drive!
 
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