I have owned 3 GTI's, 1 MK6 and 2 MK7s, and now own an Alltrack. I got a 2019 SE with Driver Assist + Lighting Packages, 6MT (36K MSRP) for 25.5 in April with 6 years 0% financing. Since then I put 5.5K bone stock miles (besides clutch spring delete + clutch stop) on the car, then last week I got the first oil change and along with it installed APR Plus (Stage 1 87 octane tune good for 211/255 AWHP/AWTQ), 034 Upper Dogbone (Aluminum) + APR Lower Dogbone (steel) inserts, APR Pendulum Bar replacement, and Superpro Endlinks + RSB.
Holy. S**t. To me - the car feels like a 40K+ luxury performance car, which honestly it isn't too far off from, when you consider how similar the car at this point is to a stock Golf R. Keeping that 25.5 number in mind, and comparing to a Golf R which is 45K, I spent 1.1K on APR Plus, $300 on Superpro endlinks + RSB, and $~200 on the APR/034 dogbone setup, then paid a friend $350 to install it all. So that's roughly 2K on top of 25.5, so I paid 27.5K for a car that has All-Wheel GTI power that can safely run on 87 octane which still has a warranty till 72K miles, and performs in the turns BETTER than a stock Golf R or GTI because of the RSB upgrade, despite the lengthened springs/dampers on the stock Alltrack suspension. In other words, I got ~85% of a Golf R for roughly 60% of the price.
The equipment level on my car is perfect to in terms of luxury/tech, as it comes with the 7.5 LED lighting package and the upgraded MIB2 8" touch screen, but also comes with the stock (non-Fender) stereo, which I upgraded with Helix for another $500 installed (350 for box + 150 install). Having owned both Fender and Helix, there are certainly pros and cons to both. Fender has higher fidelity in the tweeters and mids, but shitty bass. Helix does better in the mid to low range, though I think my setup needs to be recoded. I just swapped it over from my GTI without reprogramming it for the '19 Alltrack with 6 speakers instead of the '15 GTI with 8 (the result of decontenting, nothing less).
I also have a 75 lb Pittie-lab mix and an 85 lb German Shep-Rottweiler mix + a GF and we went camping two weekends ago in my car. We fit a 12-person tent, 12x12 EZ-up, our bags, 2 chairs, blankets, pillows, a cooler, AND both the dogs comfortably in the back with the seats down, and I could still see out my rear window. I don't even have cross-bars or a turtle shell for the top yet, so that could even make it possible to save enough space where I might have been able to keep the one seat up in the back and have a 3rd passenger lol. Couple that with the OEM-reinforced + slightly lifted suspension, it's the perfect blend of performance, tech, and utility. I also happen to think it's one of the best looking cars on the road. But I'm obviously biased.
Shit - you can add a tow-hitch to these cars and with a tune, the IS12 has plenty of low-end grunt to tow. And it has the non-PP GTI brakes (slated between base Golf brakes and the Golf R/GTI PP brakes) which are pretty capable brakes with some replacement pads/rotors/fluid. Pretty sure there are even non-PP brake "stiffening" kits that upgrade the caliper performance, though I have no idea how effective they are.
Sorry if this was a mouthful, but having owned 3 GTIs, 2 of which were MK7s, and now owning an Alltrack that I've turned into the perfect OEM+ Sporty Daily Driver + Utilitarian Adventure Car , I could not possibly recommend it any more strongly. I've been planning, saving, and looking forward to building an Alltrack like this since they announced the car, and now that I have it and get to drive it everyday, I truly feel that I have my dream car. I will likely own the car until some major component like the Haldex fails at 150K+ miles, and will be saving between now and then for my A4 Allroad
I don't believe a better value proposition exists in the current new to slightly-used car market than a MK7 Alltrack. If you're worried about the sunroof leaks, get an S model and upgrade the headlights + speakers to Helix and you've still got the looks + sound of a premium car for a lot less. I need to stop rambling.
