About the Volkswagen Golf
CHRIS P purchased this Volkswagen Golf new for $43,000 (including all on-road costs). CHRIS P would buy this car again because: “This has been a great all-round car. I have enjoyed the practicality, driving dynamics, comfort, technology and the excellent fuel economy this car has delivered. The car has not let me down and has provided a satisfying driving experience. “
How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
In five years of ownership, I have had two problems of note. The battery needed replacing after just 2 years ($400 approximately), and the coolant system thermostat failed at only 33,000km.
The car was out of warranty and I was quoted $1700, but paid $900 after raising my dissatisfaction with the dealership, who agreed to pay just under half in a “goodwill” claim.
What do you think of the ownership experience with your car?
Overall I have enjoyed ownership. The car has been fun, but I wouldn’t say “exciting” to drive.
95 per cent of my driving has been typical commuting and family drives, but on the odd occasion where I have punted the car through the hills and back roads it has performed well.
I have made decent use of the driving modes, and they do make a difference to the overall feel of driving the car.
The fuel economy has been surprisingly good, averaging around 7-8.0L/100km in urban driving, and as little as 5-6.0L/100km in highway cruising.
How has the purchase and aftercare experience been with your car?
The purchase experience was fine, I bought the car as a demo with around 4000 km on it and the transaction went well. As a demo, it already had the usual options fitted of mats, tinting, etc so there was nothing extra the car required.
Are you happy with the price and features of your car?
As a demo I saved around $6000 from brand new, which I was happy with at the time.
The only factory option the car had fitted was the driver assist pack, which I probably wouldn’t have ordered if buying as a brand new car but in saying that, I have found it quite useful.
There have been a couple of occasions where it has prevented low speed collisions in carparks. The adjustable and customisable driving modes are useful, and I have often selected different modes depending on the driving environment.
What do you think of the performance and economy of your car?
Performance has been “solid” but I wouldn’t say amazing. There is a noticeable turbo lag, but once it spools up there is a definite performance rush.
That said, I’ve found that the car still has strong torque from a standing start even before the turbo kicks in. The car does have noticeable understeer but it sticks to the road reasonably well, despite a level of body roll.
The DSG works well overall, but doesn’t always shift quickly. And there is a definite, and to be honest sometimes frustrating, delay when shifting from reverse into a forward gear, for example in parking manoeuvres or backing out of a driveway.
Economy has been a standout feature of this car. I have averaged 7-8.0L/100km in urban driving.
What do you think of the technology in your car?
For the era and age of the car, the tech has been excellent. I believe my car was one of the first of the Mk 7 Golfs to feature Apple CarPlay. In saying that, I only used it once as I didn’t want to connect my phone to the car with a cable.
If it was wireless, I probably would have used it more often. Otherwise the Bluetooth has worked well, although I found that when streaming music from apps such as Spotify, the track listed on the infotainment screen was often lagging by one track, ie it would display the track that had previously been played instead of the current track.
The navigation was excellent, with clear and high resolution graphics and worked well.
The car had a suite of display options relating to the performance including power, turbo boost pressure, economy, etc.
Despite the car only having the base audio system, I found that it was excellent, crisp and clear with good bass. I would say it would be one of the best base level audio systems I have heard.
What do you think of the ride comfort and handling of your car?
The car rides nicely. It’s not too firm, but it’s no luxury-cruiser either. The adjustable ride modes make a noticeable difference, and my preference was for a firmer ride anyway. Driving over potholes and recessed manhole covers can provide for a definite shakeout at times, so I became quite adept at avoiding them!
But on freeways and country roads at speed, there is a strong feeling of the car always being planted on the road.
In terms of cornering, I found that there was a noticeable, albeit slight, body roll. The car sometimes scrambled for grip at eight-nine tenths on a corner, especially if the road was average.
As my car was the base GTI without the LSD, as opposed to the GTI Performance, I’m sure this is something that would be eliminated, or at least greatly minimised, with the LSD from the latter car.