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These days, the medium car market really has a surplus of good cars. (It used to be called the small car market, but they aren't really small cars anymore.) There are cars available like the Holden Astra, Toyota's 100kW Corolla, the soon-to-be-released Ford Focus - and the Volkswagen Golf.
The Golf is available in a wide varieties of forms - the 1.6-litre engine version from $25,990 (we've driven the slightly more expensive auto 1.6 at "New Car Test - Volkswagen Golf GL Auto" ), the 2-litre S ($28,400) and SE ($31,900), and the turbocharged 1.8-litre GTi at a high $38,500. (And then of course there's the special case cabriolet at just under $50,000.)
On test here is the 2-litre 'S'. It comes with steel rims wearing plastic hubcaps, but has twin airbags, ABS, central locking (but no remote!), height-adjustable headlights, single CD radio stereo with eight speakers, height and reach-adjustable steering wheel, and electric windows and mirrors.
That's by no means bare-bones, but it certainly isn't anywhere near the top for equipment in this pricing and class range.
There's no cruise control, no traction control - and not a helluva lot of power, either. The long-stroke engine develops only 85kW at 5200 rpm - although to be fair, its 170Nm at just 2400 rpm does give the car good low-down performance. But the standard Corolla these days has 18 per cent more power and the Astra 6 per cent more - both from smaller 1.8-litre engines, too. And, talking of Astras, the SRi - which is about the same price as the Golf - has no less than 27 per cent more power! And here's another point to ponder: the required fuel for the Golf is premium unleaded....
So the Golf is neither over-endowed with performance or features... But what does it drive like?
In short, its on-road prowess is solid and dependable. The ride is fairly Euro-firm but the 1232kg Golf sits on the road beautifully - there's lots of feedback and no hint of the chassis doing anything unexpected. As the power and torque figures suggest, the engine is a slogger rather than a revver, and in fact over 4000 rpm it is noisy and harsh. The gearing is short - just 33 km/h per 1000 rpm in 5th gear - and this helps to give the Golf adequate response, despite is relative lack of power. The tractability of the engine is wonderful - the Golf will happily idle along in first gear with no throttle input at all, clutch right out. The gearbox is light but notchy - whether you find that annoying or like its feedback is personal preference - and the handling reassuringly competent.
Riding on a suspension typical in this class - front MacPherson struts and a rear torsion beam axle - the Golf will understeer at the bitter end. But on V-rated 195/65 Dunlop SP Sport tyres, you have to be going hard before the front-end starts to slide. However, drivers wanting a Peugeot-style ability to steer the rear end with a throttle lift will be disappointed - the understeer just stops when you get off the pedal, rather than the car drifting into oversteer. That said, it's a safe and highly competent handler.
Fuel consumption on test averaged 9.2 litres/100 km, while the AS2877 government test figures show 8.3 litres/100 around town and 5.4 litres/100 on the highway. We think that the latter figure would be quite impossible to achieve in normal driving.
Volkswagen claims a 0-100 km/h time of 10.5 seconds, and we recorded a time in the high tens.
The cabin of the test car was all-black and with the body featuring a high waistline, this isn't an airy and open car. Rear seat room is a little tight and, despite the back of the front seats being heavily sculpted, rear kneeroom is poor when the front seat is positioned well back for a tall driver. However, the squared-off roofline does maintain good rear seat headroom. Three lap/sash seat belts and head restraints are provided across the back seat, and access through the wide-opening rear doors is fine.
The driver is confronted with clear instruments, which - oddly - are illuminated at night in purple. We're not sure if that's bad or good - but it is certainly different! The front seats are comfortable and supportive, though unfortunately the steering wheel feels very old-fashioned, being thin-rimmed and hard to the touch. The heater and ventilation controls are mounted way down in front of the gearstick - making access to them rather difficult - while the amount of airflow into the cabin is marginal when the fan isn't cranked up. Getting pride of place at the top of the centre part of the dash is a cupholder, one which can munch fingernails when being retracted. However, overall the cabin works well.
The hatch can be lifted via its own handle (ie once unlocked, a key isn't needed each time), and gives access to a good amount of rear space. The squabs of the rear seats individually lift and tilt vertically against the back of the front seats, allowing the rear seat backs to be folded (on a 60/40 split) completely flat. Some beefy rear tie-downs are located in the luggage compartment.
The Golf is by no means a bad car. It is well-built (the paint is particularly good), has interior packaging that makes for a practical car, is comfortable and handles well. With its fully galvanised body (with a 12-year anti-perforation warranty!) and 3-year 100,000km whole-car warranty, it is likely to give many years of dependable service.
But with the competition it is now facing, it is a little over-priced for its performance and features.
Volkswagen Golf 2.0 S Fast Facts |
- Well built
- Feels very composed on the road
- Excellent handling
- Good load area space, especially with the rear seat folded
- Torquey engine but lacking in power
- A little expensive for the features and performance
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The test car was provided courtesy of Volkswagen Australia.
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