I drove a lot of cars in 2016 — and this VW wagon is the one I disliked the most

The sadness enveloped me.

Volkswagen

You can get the SportWagen with an automatic transmission, by the way, if you don’t want to suffer the evil clutch.

But honestly, even though the clutch was dreadful, the five-speed was the only thing holding my interest after a weekend of driving the SportWagen a lot.

I kept hoping I’d get over it. Why, oh why, can’t I establish a bond with this car?

Then I figured it out. The SportWagen is indeed basic, affordable, German-accented transportation. But there are so many other less staid choices for basic transpo these days, cars that will make your A-to-B at least moderately engaging.

We don’t need to accept vehicles like the Golf SportWagen anymore (it really isn’t that sporty, either). And although it is far from an objectively bad car in any way, it was the worst car I’ve driven all year, so far.

Sorry, VW.