Volkswagen announced at the New York Auto Show that their hot and off-roady Golf SportWagen Alltrack has been given the green light for sales in North America.

On the heels of the 2015 Golf SportWagen’s arrival here in showrooms, the Volkswagen Golf SportWagen Alltrack bridges the gap between the more car-like wagon and the brand’s entry level crossover, the Volkswagen Tiguan.

Volkswagen had shown a concept of the Alltrack last year and the dealers clamored for it. Its arrival here in North America will join would-be competitors from Subaru, Volvo and even family brand Audi.

The Golf SportWagen Alltrack of course is an all-wheel-drive version of the Golf SportWagen which gets about an an inch of additional ground clearance, unique lower body trims in the front and rear fascias, as well as rocker panels.

Underneath is a hardy 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system which uses the latest generation Haldex-5 center drive-line coupling activated by a computer controlled an electro-hydraulic oil pump.

Like most new all-wheel-drive systems it’s passive which means the Golf SportWagen Alltrack operates in front-wheel-drive in most circumstances for better fuel efficiency.

When the computer senses slippage at any of the four wheels, it can lock up the center differential in milliseconds to deliver up to 50% of the engine’s torque to the rear axle.

Additionally, Volkswagen even outfitted the Alltrack with electronic locking differentials at both axles which can prevent wheel spin at one side of the car. This comes in handy where one front or rear wheel loses traction, which can be sent to those which have it.

Volkswagen didn’t specify which powertrains would be available in the North American Golf SportWagen Alltrack but we can hope they include at least the fuel-sipping 2.0 liter TDI turbo-diesel engine in addition to one of the turbocharged gasoline units.

The latter would include either the 1.8 liter or 2.0 liter gasoline TSI turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Expected transmissions would include the same selections found in the Golf SportWagen such as a manual, six-speed DSG or a six-speed TipTronic automatic.

The Golf SportWagen Alltrack will arrive in calendar year 2016 as a 2017 model. Pricing and specifications will be announced closer to launch.