All Weather Reliability for Emergency Services

When I read your post the Subarus you mentioned were the first cars I thought of. The CRV is also an excellent choice. Forresters and Outbacks are popular with rural mail carriers on my part of the country so I believe their dependability have been well established. I also rented a Toyota RAV4 for a business trip and was very impressed with it so you should look at this as well.

The Alltrack is a relatively new model and athough you currently own a VW I would be remiss if I didn't mention their reliability has really been spotty, especially their automatic transaxles. If you look at those, consider a manual. They're more fun to drive. Good luck!

I think you are on the right track regarding your options. Remember that VW also offers the standard Golf Sportwagen in AWD for 2017 and it should get slightly better mileage than the Alltrack version. New Sportwagen is a pretty large car. Outback/Forester are both solid options. The Outback is pretty huge these days, so it may be too much if you want a small car. The Forester is a bit smaller in length, but more upright. Both of these options will sacrifice some mileage to the VW options and they have CVT transmissions, which aren't as engaging as VW's to drive. They do have a superior full time AWD system that Honda/VW do not offer. The Honda CR-V and similar mid sized SUV's are all good options as well.

I always tell people who are considering VW and Honda/Toyota that you have to think about priorities. With VW you get an extremely high quality interior and more engaging driving experience, along with classic styling, but the engaging driving experience comes with more "engaging" maintenance, so you have to pay to play. You might also consider the Mazda CX-5, which has some of the driving dynamics of the Germans, along with a high quality interior.

Whichever option you get, I recommend setting aside $1000 and getting a good set of snow tires given your job. Even with AWD, they make a big difference. FYI, I am selling back my 2013 TDI Sportwagen - which I love and have replaced it with a 2015 GTI. I am able to use the snow tires from the Sportwagen which makes it handle great in snow, and with a Yakima Skybox I can add cargo when needed.

Good luck!

I too have a Golf TDI and am in the buy back process. One other thing to consider is incentives some manufacturers are offering TDI owners. Volkswagen just announced a $1,000 owner loyalty discount, Mazda is reportedly offering $750 on top of already in place discounts. Hyundi and GM are reportedly offering employee type discounts. Spend a couple of days test driving because TDI owners on a few forums report dealers offering additional discounts hoping to draw more TDI buyback business. Volkswagen price cuts are large now and are enticing, however, I am staying away due to reliability concerns as well as cost of ownership and depreciation. Test drives will also help you determine what works best for you and once you narrow it down, which will give you the best SUV at your price point. And you can just tell aggressive sales people you aren't going to make a decision and buy until you complete the buyback process.

What Dnslater said, especially the parts about the CX-5 and the snow tires.

I wouldn't trust any of those pseudo AWD systems, even Subaru when the steering wheeled turned slight it fails too, in the econobox cuv's for any emergency. They all have their week points.

AWD tested on snow.

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/222752-which-compact-suv-has-the-best-all-wheel-drive-system-for-snow-and-ice