On our journey to Wuste2010 in Las Vegas, we had the pleasure of piloting one of VW’s latest products through the blistering desert between southern California and Nevada. This ’10 VW Jetta SportWagen proved to be a treat. Now I know what you’re thinking - “soccer mom”. And although a bright Salsa red color wouldn’t have been our top choice either, this wagon was fun to drive on our road trip.

At first, the looks of the SportWagen aren’t half-bad. The front-end resembles the Mk6 Golf including the edgier headlights and front grille. The rear retains the design of the Mk5 SportWagen, which we weren’t ashamed of either. In a tuner’s perspective, it wouldn’t take much to make this car a stunner. A front lip, more aggressive wheels and a lower stance would seal the deal. Any takers?

Where the car really shined was cargo space though. With two staff members up front, the aft of the Jetta was filled with our booth supplies for Wuste2010. This included more than 1000 magazines, EZ-UP tent, chairs, cooler and luggage. Miraculous, we filled the trunk and even had a spare seat if we wanted to bring a third person on board. Try fitting all that in a standard Golf or Jetta…

The remainder of the SportWagen proved to be respectable. We loved the panoramic sunroof as well as the equipped Sirius radio and in-dash CD changer. We also can’t complain about Bluetooth and a strong A/C considering the 100+ temperatures of Nevada.

The only noticeable setbacks of the SportWagen were the power and fuel mileage. Not meant to be as fast as a sporty hatchback or sedan, the wagon we drove featured VW’s 2.5L five-cylinder engine capable of 170hp. It was enough to get going on the freeway but if you wanted to make some higher-speed lane changes, it required nearly maxing the throttle pedal. Fuel mileage was decent but we would have preferred a diesel for the long haul. Rated at 30mpg on the highway and 23mpg in the city, we averaged around 24-26mpg on the cruise out. Perhaps it’s not too horrible considering we had a full load. If we had our choice, we would opt for a turbo-diesel.

But at the end of the trip, we were more than satisfied with the ’10 SportWagen. Although it won’t win a beauty show or drag race, it has the potential for more with mild tuning. If anything, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to mother, especially priced around $25k.

Stay tuned for our full report of Wuste2010 in the September ’10 issue of eurotuner. In the meantime, check out our video from the big weekend. CLICK HERE.