One of the many great things about living in Vancouver, British Columbia, is our proximity to nature. From 1990-1993, I taught school in a small town called Invermere, British Columbia. It was then that I fell in love with the Rocky Mountains. In fact, the Rockies are just one of a series of mountain ranges. In my opinion, the jewel of the area is not Banff or Jasper: it’s Radium Hot Springs and Kootenay National Park.
This was the first trip since I had the APR Performance tune added to Wolfie and it really transformed how he drives. Before APR, Wolfie would accelerate really well up to 80 km/h and then kind of crap out. Not now! The high speed acceleration is breathtaking. The car only weighs 1400 kg and has 240 HP @ 5250 RPM and 283 lb/ft of torque at 2400 RPM. That torque peak is at exactly 120 km/h, so shifting is optional. There is absolutely no reason to rev the EA888 high. Yes, it will rev all the way to 7000 RPM but it won’t make any more power.
This was also the first long trip for Lola the Big White Dog, who adopted us in November of 2022. She was a very good girl in the car, too! She and Bagel just slept while we drove.
The drive there was an absolute blast! For whatever reason there was very little traffic the day we travelled. I caned Wolfie the entire way and didn’t see a single cop. It was one of those special, drive of a lifetime, events. The APR tune not only gives the car about 1.44 shit-tons of scoot, it also seems to have improved fuel consumption. Previous trips were about 5.6 L/100 km. This trip was 5.2L/100 km. Considering how fast I was going, this is pretty superb.
Then there are hot springs. This one is Lussier Hot Springs. It was completely natural the last time we were there, but increasing traffic has made for some man made “improvements.” It’s 50 km in on the logging road, so it is mostly “cool” people who make the trip. The average 58 year old 120 kg Canadian probably couldn’t walk back up the hill.
Lola is a very sociable girl. She loves making new friends. Actually, it’s a no dogs allowed kind of place. Fortunately, hip people don’t care much about such rules.
While Annie and I were soaking in the pool, we let Bagel the Wonderdog just do her thing. Well, true to Bagel, she found the best place for comfort, relaxation and “Oh, she’s so cute!” reactions.
So far I haven’t discussed Wolfie that much. I’ve now had him for four years and in that time, I have really grown to love him. Wolfie is extremely versatile. He can haul stuff, has enough room for the family, is cheap to run and he goes like stink to boot. In the city, the APR tune is useful for torquey driving. For example, from 20 km/h-60 km/h in second gear happens in the blink of an eye with very little accelerator input. Where I had to gear down to go up the Great Bear Hill on the Coquihalla Highway in the past, Wolfie will now just storm up in fifth gear. When I bought Wolfie, I was warned by all asunder how he’d self-destruct even before the warranty was up. Well, in four years, there hasn’t been a single warranty issue. What are some things that need to be revised? Well, the heater blend-air control is too small to see easily and lacks detents. That’s it and I am super-picky. I couldn’t live without Android Auto now that I am used to it, too.
Rocky romps are always a load of fun and this year was exceptional. There was not a lot of traffic going, but plenty coming back. Lola did really well, although Bagel has to be carried in her doggie backpack about half the time. It builds character.
We had an 18 Golf Alltrack which we got on the VW Canada TDI buyback program. While we really liked the car overall the manual trans shift quality left a lot to be desired especially after living with the 13 Golf MK6 TDI manual. Sometimes you get nice smooth shifting, clutch action and other times you felt like a rookie! I know there was a fix by changing some valve and removing a return spring on the clutch pedal but with the increased traffic in Vancouver we decided it was time for an automatic trans.
We’ve driven that route many times over the years to Golden and Invermere both on Highway 1 and 3 routes and we never tire of it. Went to Lussier hot springs and Whiteswan Park years ago too…beautiful areas.
We’re now driving an 18 BMW 330i Xdrive with the 8 speed auto…it had just come in off lease with only 11000 km on it.
That’s odd. I have never had any problem getting very smooth shifts. In fact, my kids have commented on it.
I haven’t done Hwy 3 in years. I am hoping to do it next year. We really like Nelson and the free ferry across Kootenay Lake. Ainsworh Hot Spring is also worth a visit.
You are correct about Vancouver traffic. Oak Street is like a road rally. My friend from Nanaimo closes her eyes.
We’re in N.Van so it’s always a bit of a crap shoot as to major traffic problems. If either bridge gets closed or very slow the whole North Shore is a parking lot.
There’s lots of talk on the internet about poor shift quality on the MK 7 Golf manual trans. The dealer said ours was OK but we still didn’t like it. It was very easy to get the burning clutch smell if you didn’t pay attention and jerky shifts to go with it. The MK 6 TDI we had was buttery smooth all the time and was an absolute joy to drive even in stop and go traffic. We would have had it for much longer but the buyback for Dieselgate was what we paid for it 5 years earlier!
That’s just so odd. I have never had a problem with shifting or a bad clutch.
I have no problem driving smoothly.
Those look like the kinda roads I like and my car seems to enjoy, though perhaps it needs a remap I cant get that sort of fuel consumption if I cane it, though it only needs two highway gears and your licence can be cancelled on the spot before 4th runs out which is a shame as the car handles just great when the scenery moves too fast to pick out details.
These are just amazing cars. I have a 2017 Alltrack approaching 80,000 miles and I’ve never been more pleased with a car purchase. Only 1 minor recall on a shifter position switch.
More maintenance and more frequently than other models, but it’s all great stuff worthy of the attention. Brakes were at 50% @60k. Never approached anything like that before. Although I’ve read that I have the GTI brakes, so maybe that explains light wear.
The EA888 is lovely. In my mind, it’s like the modern day equivalent of a GM 350 V8. I have the DSG, which I really like. I never drove a DCT before, but having owned many manual transmission cars really allows me to appreciate all the benefits. It is almost always in the right gear, and will do whatever it’s told.
The only cloud on the horizon is what I think might be a rear differential bearing starting to go, but then again it could also relate to noisy tire wear. The last worn set of tires produced some weird noises and deep harmonics until they were replaced.
If it’s the diff, replacement with a good salvage part runs $1,100 – $1,300. In the past, with a similar, situation, I would have started looking to trade it in. But I just can’t, I love it that much.
In my mind, my car’s name is Hans.
Interesting, but I also think the EA888 is like a nice running 350.
With APR it is more like a 454.
I’ve never owned a small-block Chevy but I sure love the power delivery of the 1.8 EA888 in our Golf. And it gets great fuel economy. Shifts very well (5MT) too.
Fine trip, and nice emblem! My 2015 5 speed manual Sportwagen (first year of the model) had exactly one warranty issue: dome lights would only go off if car locked. Fixed with new fixture, and they gave me loaner car over a long weekend. 130,000 kms now, averaging 5.5 L/100 km on majority highway driving. Plenty of power for me. Did take Len’s earlier recommendation on using premium fuel, which seems to improve response to throttle input. Shift quality just fine, clutch springs seem a bit weak. Len, how’s your clutch holding up ? Plan to keep the car indefinitely as it does everything I need. Only wish would be for a bit more length for my long skis.
I find these cars intriguing for many reasons. It is good to hear positive things about them. I appear to be the first non-VW owner to comment.
Hmmm, how can I justify to Mrs. M that we need to take my 08 Rabbit to Radium or Fairmont Hot Springs this month? Highway 93 is calling me and with a 2.5 litre 5 cylinder and a 5-speed manual behind it, my Rabbit would be ideal.
There are a lot of fun drives in BC and I’ve driven many good highways in a variety of vehicles over the years. Now that we live in Calgary, the Kootenays and Yoho Park are just a few hours away. I’m ready to go!
My sister in law and some friends did an “Iceland trip” in mid August. Many of the pics they posted look similar in the background to these pics.