The Outback currently has 8.7" of ground clearance and the upcoming 2017 vw golf wagon Alltrack is supposed to have less than an inch higher ground clearance than the current wagon ... so about 6.5".. thus it will definitely not be as high as the outback but also the Outback has a CVT tranny.... and reviews have stated that both the 4 cyl and 6 cyl lack any real gusto... not to mention the sewing machine-like sound of a CVT when you need some speed...
I currently own a 2012 tdi vw wagon and have started shopping for a new vehicle... the 2012 is a great car for 3 seasons but not great in the winter... I am looking at various models, A3 wagon TDI (too small cargo area vs vw), A4 allroad (again, smaller cargo area and no tdi), Jeep G. C. diesel (more expensive, not as good fuell economy but under consideration), Honda CRV (less fuel econ, ugly, and again CVT tranny, no diesel), audi q5 tdi (smaller cargo area), Mercedes GLE 350d, (more expensive, not as good on fuel but good quality/reliable, comfortable), and vw wagon alltrack.... possibly the vw tourareg but for some reason, perhaps looks and lack of prestige brand (which affects resale, like Jeep) for that amount of money, I am not too keen on it...
I would like the upcoming alltrack a lot better if they offered a tdi engine in the AWD car, and heated steering wheel option would be a nice touch, and power rear door too....if they don't offer the diesel, then I won't be interested....once you have had a tdi, difficult to return to a gas engine... less fill-ups, and passing gear on the highway is nice...
I plan to test drive all vehicles I am considering and go from there.... however, I definitely feel that vw needs to offer a tdi version of the upcoming alltrack to differentiate itself from the subaru and all other awd crossovers out there... otherwise, it is just another awd vehicle among many... and vw might want to add a little more ground clearance rather than 6.5" (but I assume they are trying to conserve fuel consumption like the honda crv which has only 6.8" on clearance)