Update time!
Just as I brought my Golf R Show 'n Shine up to speed with my second example, it's time for a Sportwagen double-header since I've now had not one, but two new ones.
On December 23rd, I picked up a new Sportwagen in identical spec aside from colour (Silk Blue) to replace the Platinum Grey Highline 1.8T DSG example I originally got when I joined VW in September.
The car saw extensive use for family hauling and my wife's commute until Covid hit, at which point she began staying home with our daughter. Not knowing what was coming, I ordered a replacement unit in late February, expecting we'd crest our 10,000 km threshold in fairly short order. It wasn't to be: when I finally made an appointment to take the new unit off Pfaff VW's lot last week, our blue wagon had just 8,000 km on the clock.
For our next (and likely final
) Sportwagen, my wife wanted something brighter. It really doesn't get much brighter than Tornado Red, a classic VW group colour dating back for decades and best known as the hero colour for the GTI. I personally think it looks great on the long-roof. With my wife now on maternity leave as of two weeks ago, this one should likely last us until the winter, at which point we'll be out of Sportwagen units and I'll have to figure out what she drives next.
All told, I'll be very sad indeed to see this thing go. It truly is a perfectly-balanced family hauler. Quiet, comfortable, and spacious, with decent performance and handling, it does everything an SUV can without the added bulk. I've covered a lot of the other strengths in my Golf R thread (material quality, ergonomics, etc.), and as for weaknesses, there really isn't much to quibble about. The Highline remains the value sweet spot in the line-up, but I really wish it had LED headlights. Looking forward to continued enjoyment behind the wheel the rest of this year.