We bought our Sportswagen as our first family car, and it has delivered on all the things we were looking for. There is a ton of trunk space (we have fit 2 strollers in there and still had room for other items), it is reliable and maintenance has been really affordable. Our trim level doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it came with electric seats and seat heaters - which is my wife's favorite thing. We also really like all the "hidden" storage compartments in the trunk, great for keeping a lot of stuff in your car but not having it look messy. The car still feels sporty, despite all the room and the soccer mom appearance.

My experience was horrible. Possibly it was just me. At first I really liked the smoothness and nimbleness. Then the problems started. First was the window. Drivers side power window failed out within two months. Dealership fixed it for me begrudgingly. Next month it was the passenger side. This time the dealer looked at all the windows, identified issues and then tried to charge me extra because it allegedly is not covered to do preemptive checks. Not three months later my transmission, for lack of a better word, imploded. I found myself on the side of the freeway literally watching metal chunks drop in my rearview mirror. Luckily I had just gotten a sizeable bonus so I paid of the financing and sold the junk heap for scrap. Never, ever, again am I buying any VW vehicle.