VASK Forum (VW Audi SportKlub of NZ)

GENERAL => General Discussion => Topic started by: robh on June 30, 2017, 09:52:04 AM

Title: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 09:52:04 AM
So been running Amarok for 2 years, thinking of ditching it as finished most heavy work around house.

Considering getting into a station wagon again for daily duties:

1. Mainly just me in car, but want to have room for family of 4 including a teenager that is getting taller all the time
2. Must be able to tow, nothing massive or weekly, but the occasional car trailer and maybe a small boat in the future, something around 2000kg rating would probably work
3. Must be slightly interesting model, and slightly interesting to drive.  Have 2 track cars so this doesn't need to be the most engaging ever
4. Auto or DCT not manual

Initial ideas:

Passat R36 wagon
Audi S4 B8 wagon

What do the brains trust think?  Any other options VAG or other brands?
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Audidude on June 30, 2017, 10:02:02 AM
Hard to go past one of these. Diesel/Auto would be my pick if driving engagement not in the equation.
http://www.skoda.co.nz/models/new-superb-wagon/new-superb-combi-overview/
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: RS ZWEI on June 30, 2017, 10:04:01 AM
Skoda Octavia vRS would be worth a look. I don't know about what its tow rating is. No 4wd system means deeper flater boot.
Whats your budget Rob?
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 10:09:48 AM
Quote from: Audidude on June 30, 2017, 10:02:02 AM
Hard to go past one of these. Diesel/Auto would be my pick if driving engagement not in the equation.
http://www.skoda.co.nz/models/new-superb-wagon/new-superb-combi-overview/

Look like they only rated to 1800kg, bit on the light side when pulling car trailer???

Feel like needs to be closer to 2000kg/2200kg.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 10:11:04 AM
Quote from: RS ZWEI on June 30, 2017, 10:04:01 AM
Skoda Octavia vRS would be worth a look. I don't know about what its tow rating is. No 4wd system means deeper flater boot.
Whats your budget Rob?

Yeah budget, that's an interesting one. 

Don't have any spare cash, so might do the leasing option again or maybe just go el cheapo and stick around the $20-30k mark.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: the phantom on June 30, 2017, 10:49:50 AM
don't have any details at hand, but the Top Gear magazine guys have had a Passat Alltrack as a long termer and it has been well received

https://www.volkswagen.co.nz/media/494565/spec-opt-sheet-passat-wagon-my17-tdi.pdf (https://www.volkswagen.co.nz/media/494565/spec-opt-sheet-passat-wagon-my17-tdi.pdf) specs
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Filx on June 30, 2017, 10:54:16 AM
I think I saw a post somewhere that Wilco was selling his A6 3.0 TDI - that might be a good option.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Trofeo on June 30, 2017, 11:11:08 AM
I'm still on the fence whether you can tow heavy loads with a dsg. Particularly if you need to reverse a trailer up a hill etc. Not saying it won't work, but can't see the trans lasting long. Would be interested to hear from a dealer what they'd say on a warranty claim.

This was the deciding factor when we purchased and went for the cx5 with a proper auto box.

Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: schattenblau on June 30, 2017, 12:11:01 PM
if you need to tow, got no cash etc.  i'd keep the amarok

;)
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 02:17:51 PM
Quote from: Filx on June 30, 2017, 10:54:16 AM
I think I saw a post somewhere that Wilco was selling his A6 3.0 TDI - that might be a good option.

Maybe too large for daily, and a bit over diesel RUC.

Ideally I'd like a Golf size daily but no good for the occasional towing trip.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 02:18:20 PM
Quote from: Trofeo on June 30, 2017, 11:11:08 AM
I'm still on the fence whether you can tow heavy loads with a dsg. Particularly if you need to reverse a trailer up a hill etc. Not saying it won't work, but can't see the trans lasting long. Would be interested to hear from a dealer what they'd say on a warranty claim.

This was the deciding factor when we purchased and went for the cx5 with a proper auto box.

I have been wondering about that myself as well ????
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 02:19:27 PM
Quote from: schattenblau on June 30, 2017, 12:11:01 PM
if you need to tow, got no cash etc.  i'd keep the amarok

;)

Towing only very occasionally.

Amarok is on lease so is costing money every month anyway.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Period_Correct_ on June 30, 2017, 02:23:06 PM
Falcon? BA or FG
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Filx on June 30, 2017, 04:44:23 PM
Quote from: NasTnaS on June 30, 2017, 02:23:06 PM
Falcon? BA or FG

Do BA of FG wagons meet the "slightly interesting" criteria though?

If non VAG how about an E61 550i BMW. Nice car in M Sport guise and they tow pretty well.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Period_Correct_ on June 30, 2017, 04:48:05 PM
Quote from: Filx on June 30, 2017, 04:44:23 PM
Do BA of FG wagons meet the "slightly interesting" criteria though?


good point... my bad. how about XR6 Turbo???
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 04:48:46 PM
Quote from: NasTnaS on June 30, 2017, 04:48:05 PM
good point... my bad. how about XR6 Turbo???

station wagon?
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Filx on June 30, 2017, 04:59:11 PM
Quote from: robh on June 30, 2017, 04:48:46 PM
station wagon?

They never did an XR6 wagon unfortunately, a bit of a shame as an XR6T wagon would have been a good all rounder. How about late(ish) Holden SSV? The L98 6.0 is a peach (especially with a slightly hotter cam and a tune) and a decent chassis underneath.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: mark2 golf on June 30, 2017, 05:28:34 PM
You will have to go up to a A6 to get over the 2t tow rating. I went through the same thing and ended up with a tdi allroad and it tows great. My olds have just brought a new tiguan tdi and that can tow 2t  and its not to big.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 06:28:33 PM
Quote from: Filx on June 30, 2017, 04:59:11 PM
They never did an XR6 wagon unfortunately, a bit of a shame as an XR6T wagon would have been a good all rounder. How about late(ish) Holden SSV? The L98 6.0 is a peach (especially with a slightly hotter cam and a tune) and a decent chassis underneath.

Hmm V8 daily driver, sounds like a plan
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: schattenblau on June 30, 2017, 06:59:58 PM
how about a territory turbo ?
sorta like an xr6 t wagon.

or porsche cayenne, bmw x5 ?

Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: VW'n on June 30, 2017, 08:40:38 PM
This could be handy for narrowing down options.
http://www.aa.co.nz/cars/maintenance/towing/towing-weights/volkswagen/

Maybe passat alltrack
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/volkswagen/auction-1319271904.htm
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Trofeo on June 30, 2017, 08:50:04 PM
Something like this?

https://touch.trademe.co.nz/motors/listing/view/1357467123
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 08:57:15 PM
Quote from: Trofeo on June 30, 2017, 08:50:04 PM
Something like this?

https://touch.trademe.co.nz/motors/listing/view/1357467123

Towing?  don't think you can with C63, do like them though.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 08:57:42 PM
Quote from: schattenblau on June 30, 2017, 06:59:58 PM
how about a territory turbo ?
sorta like an xr6 t wagon.

or porsche cayenne, bmw x5 ?

No mummy wagons.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: schattenblau on June 30, 2017, 09:11:26 PM
no problem towing with a c63
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on June 30, 2017, 09:25:33 PM
Quote from: schattenblau on June 30, 2017, 09:11:26 PM
no problem towing with a c63

Can't find a tow rating anywhere??
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: VW'n on June 30, 2017, 09:33:27 PM
Quote from: robh on June 30, 2017, 09:25:33 PM
Can't find a tow rating anywhere??

3.25t braked according to aa site.

http://www.aa.co.nz/cars/maintenance/towing/towing-weights/mercedes-benz/
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: HaNs on June 30, 2017, 10:04:04 PM
Quote from: robh on June 30, 2017, 09:25:33 PM
Can't find a tow rating anywhere??

Yeh merc didn't design the c63 chassis to tow. I've looked into it.

The ML63 is rated for it

I was looking for a tow wagon. 530i and 320d are rated at 2 ton. Also outback. But ended up with a new Colorado.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: schattenblau on June 30, 2017, 11:41:28 PM
i've seen c63 with towbars and trailers attached.

they doing something naughty

:-\
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Worms on July 01, 2017, 08:13:30 AM
Quote from: schattenblau on June 30, 2017, 11:41:28 PM
i've seen c63 with towbars and trailers attached.

they doing something naughty

:-\

This is NZ.

For a passenger car, you can build your own towbar, and trailer.

It doesn't matter if you can weld or not, or if you have any engineering skills or knowledge at all.

You can make it for basically any car you want.

That's how we roll.


However, 105 on a long weekend, in a properly engineered and maintained car is FAAAAAAAR more dangerous... apparently.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: HaNs on July 01, 2017, 08:43:42 AM
Quote from: schattenblau on June 30, 2017, 11:41:28 PM
i've seen c63 with towbars and trailers attached.

they doing something naughty

:-\

The chassis isn't designed for pulling. I'm sure it will be fine with a small garden trailer
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: 00quattro00 on July 01, 2017, 09:53:34 AM
The tow ratings by the manufacturer are not law.

QuoteMost vehicles have tow ratings given to them by the manufacturer specifying the gross trailer weight braked, unbraked, or both, that the vehicle can safely tow. Although the law does not require these tow ratings to be followed, the NZ Transport Agency recommends that they be taken into account.

In addition to the requirements above, the law requires that every light vehicle and trailer combination must be capable of stopping within a distance of seven metres from a speed of 30km/h. In effect, this means that the maximum allowable weight of an unbraked trailer is limited by the weight and braking ability of the vehicle being used to tow it.

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/glovebox-guide-safe-loading-towing/guide-safe-loading-towing.html
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on July 04, 2017, 10:29:22 AM
Audi S6 V10 station wagon?

Has proper ZF auto box and 4wd so would probably be a better bet for the odd towing run than DSG.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: McDoof on July 04, 2017, 10:49:01 AM
Gen4 (04 to 09) Subaru Legacy 3.0R.
Good in both auto and manual. Personally prefer the 6 speed but they are pretty rare. Just needs a bit of an ECU remap to release the demons within. My old one was up to 163kw at all 4 wheels with a bit of a tune and some headers. Which cost me less than a VAG Stage1 tune when added together.
Good for towing. I used mine to tow around a boat and the odd twin wheel trailer when I was moving house.
A bit of fun to drive
AWD
Pretty cheap these days.
You could go with an outback, but then some of the fun goes away due to the difference in handling.

Something like this with low km
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/subaru/auction-1292062709.htm
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on July 04, 2017, 12:11:30 PM
Quote from: McDoof on July 04, 2017, 10:49:01 AM
Gen4 (04 to 09) Subaru Legacy 3.0R.
Good in both auto and manual. Personally prefer the 6 speed but they are pretty rare. Just needs a bit of an ECU remap to release the demons within. My old one was up to 163kw at all 4 wheels with a bit of a tune and some headers. Which cost me less than a VAG Stage1 tune when added together.
Good for towing. I used mine to tow around a boat and the odd twin wheel trailer when I was moving house.
A bit of fun to drive
AWD
Pretty cheap these days.
You could go with an outback, but then some of the fun goes away due to the difference in handling.

Something like this with low km
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/subaru/auction-1292062709.htm

Had some Legacys over the years, bit light on torque for towing car trailer, from memory 3.0 was only 1800KG and turbo only 1500KG.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Trofeo on July 04, 2017, 01:33:04 PM
Quote from: robh on July 04, 2017, 12:11:30 PM
Had some Legacys over the years, bit light on torque for towing car trailer, from memory 3.0 was only 1800KG and turbo only 1500KG.
tend to agree here. Had an 09 gtb legacy and it didn't tow well at all. Very twitchy at open road speed. Could be just the bilstein model, but my 04 A4 avant was far superior.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: McDoof on July 04, 2017, 02:05:11 PM
Quote from: robh on July 04, 2017, 12:11:30 PM
Had some Legacys over the years, bit light on torque for towing car trailer, from memory 3.0 was only 1800KG and turbo only 1500KG.

The torque issues are sorted with a remap. I would never drive one with the stock tune. It's terrible. Remap is only $400 too.
To be fair I had a 6 speed sedan, but I think they are much of a muchness.
Blue is tuned, red is stock
(https://www.vask.org.nz/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1033.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fa418%2Fnschlabitz%2FIMG_20151023_124047_zpsdkvklvph.jpg&hash=9eb6afa5592d847ec98377e5f90873b29a6e83e5)
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: Gordo on July 04, 2017, 02:53:49 PM
Are you going to need 4WD or are you going to be OK with 2WD - if the former, it will rule out some larger vehicles.
Have you looked at the cost of hiring a heavier vehicle for the odd jobs and buying a smaller car for general use Vs the overall cost of owning a single larger vehicle for the few times you need it? Heck, you may be able to borrow a tow vehicle from a mate for a box of beer.
Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: robh on October 22, 2017, 06:23:23 PM
Flix got me thinking about Commodore VF SSV Redline Station Wagon the other weekend.

Done a bunch of googling, youtubing and drove a VF and VF2 with the LS3 motor.  Actually pretty smitten on the VF2, it's like a stealth mode HSV, the engine pretty much makes HSV power and by all accounts makes more on dyno stock than quoted. 

Heaps of room for the kids and family stuff and will pull 2100kg. 

All media commentary on them is positive, obviously not the last word in quality compared to high end euro stuff, but for the price it seems to be amazing value.

Also I can't see them being anywhere near as expensive to fix when things go wrong.

Anyone got views on the VF2?

Title: Re: Station Wagon recommendations?
Post by: 89 Coupe on October 23, 2017, 07:50:38 PM
How about this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESxrTt7X8RU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESxrTt7X8RU)