Based on the station-wagon version of the Volkswagen Golf VIII, the Alltrack was the lifted and all-wheel-drive version for the well-known German compact vehicle.
In the mid-’80s, Volkswagen unveiled one of the first cross-over vehicles on the market. It was known as Golf Country and it was an all-wheel-drive and lifted 5-door Golf. It was not the time and it was not very successful. Over time, the customers started to look for vehicles that offered a higher ground clearance in compact-size bodyworks.

The eighth generation of the Golf was unveiled in October 2019 and it was one of the last major models unveiled live before the COVID 19 pandemic started. The Golf Alltrack was based on the station-wagon version of the Golf. It offered a higher ground clearance and a rougher look like it would like to go camping. The LED foglights, the side sills, and the slim gray trims around the wheel-arches are emphasizing the cross-over look of the car. On top of that, a pair of roof-rails was installed.

Inside, the Golf Alltrack featured the same interior as the Golf Variant, with that clean look for the dashboard, uncluttered by too many buttons. The 8.25” touch-screen infotainment display was installed in a floating design trend, on top of the center stack, and close to the instrument cluster. The automatic gearbox selector was placed on the center console, like a mini-joystick.

Under the hood, the Alltrack featured a mild-hybrid system powered by a turbocharged gasoline engine. The 7-speed automatic transmission (DSG – dual-clutch) sent the power to all four wheels via a Haldex center differential.

Practical and affordable – a wagon with a SUV’s abilities.
The recipe is simple, a passenger wagon with a changed suspension and AWD. For 2017, the Volkswagen Golf VII Alltrack didn’t suffer major changes. Styling wise, the compact wagon remained almost the same. It gained LED lighting though, along with more advanced driving assistance systems. The trim levels were also reshuffled while the powertrains got improved to offer more efficiency.
The standard equipment includes LED headlights with cornering function, dual-zone climate control, keyless access, 17-inch alloy wheels, front & rear parking sensors, auto headlights and rain-sensing wipers. All seats are covered in leather and the front ones are heated.

The Alltrack is equipped with the Car-Net Security & Service, which offers remote vehicle access - door lock/unlock, Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance, last parked location information, etc.

When it comes to safety, the car was given a 5-star safety rating from the NHTSA due to the systems available: Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, VW Intelligent Crash Response System – this system ensures that the passengers are at low risk after an incident (it shuts off the fuel pump, unlocks the doors and switches on the hazard lights), ESC, Driver Assistance Package with Adaptive Cruise Control and others. Just like the regular Golf, the Alltrack offers a 3-year or 100.000km warranty. All said, if you want a car that will do just well on the beaten road, but on muddy fields as well, this one might just be a good idea.

Since the 2014 VW Golf used the MQB platform, it wasn’t too much of a problem to turn it from FWD to AWD and even this Alltrack version, which is a compact crossover.
If we go back in time, the first compact crossover in Europe was the Golf Country. And that was on the Golf II platform. It was a Golf Syncro (meaning AWD for the VW) and had a higher ground clearance. The same is with Golf VII, which shares the platform with the Passat Alltrack, the VW Tiguan and other SUVs and cross-overs in the group.

The combination of the up to 20 mm higher ground clearance, “Offroad” driving profile, and 4MOTION four-wheel-drive system gives the seventh Golf off-road driving traits that are typical of an SUV. From the side, the black wheel arch moldings of the Golf Alltrack are visually prominent; this rugged protection is continued in moldings that run above the side sills and into the lower areas of the redesigned bumpers.

Inside the car, the styling is different from the other Golf VII versions. It has a leather-trimmed steering wheel and shifter. The badge “Alltrack” is visible on the front backrests of the front seats. Other standard features depending on the trim level are automatic climate control, LED reading lights for front and rear seats and in the footwell area. On the center console, there is a chrome strip with “4MOTION” lettering and stainless steel door sill plates with “Alltrack” lettering.