Volkswagen Golf

Bought this car when it was 8 years old. This may be useful for those buying close to COE expiry or renewed COE Mark 6 TSIs.

A fun drive but has a little demanding maintenance regime. Guess you can't have your cake and eat it.

Worst car i ever drive. driven for 4 days after collection, fuel gauge was faulty, paint work has lots of pimple, orange skin looking, engine stall twice for auto vehicle, noise from the front and rear axle when braking. I inform VW and the fuel gauge is change and programming is done for the engine stall. They rest of the issue not solve yet.

I bought this car in 2011. The car is more worth it than Toyota. My bro who has the previous generation of the Golf said that this car is the best. I bought it with the "TSI" and "DSG" gearbox which is 7 speed and it runs comfortable, servicing is easy. Its better than my Fiat Grande Punto which i had traded in for. Great car if you looking for a continental car. When you SCRAP it, the car value is much more than Japanese made cars.

Tried the new Golf Sport 1.4L...understand from the sales that it will come with Push Start Button but the test car is still the normal switchblade key fob.

When move off, you can feel the punch on it...although its just a 1.4 turbo..it bounces off with juz a tap on the throttle.

The drive was smooth and overtaking is a breeze. With its DSG gearbox, gear change is as absolute quiet and you wont realise that you are actually in a higher gear.

Maneuverability is easy, probably its a small hatch and minimum body roll is experienced during cornering.

Overall, its certainly a good car to get (if you want to pay lesser road tax but get power on the drive).

I was driving the Honda Civic ES05 model and I went to test drive the 1.4 Golf TSI when I looking for a replacement for the car. I find the Golf to be a better car compared to the Honda in terms of performance and handing. In my opinion, Honda is the best Japanese Brand and if I am looking for a replacement, it have to be a better car and the Golf would be the ideal upgrade from any Civic owners. No other Japanese/Korean car will come close in terms of performance and handling.

I wasn't convinced by its utalitarian looks at first. It just looks too conventional. The boot and cabin impressed with high quality material but looks to unconvincing.

Till the drive came... My God this car pumps adranaline out of every person and might make little young boy and male adult weep out of joy. The pace of it is just unbelieveable for a 1.4L.

Hence the decision to buy one. And a year on I still get on my car every morning with a smile bigger than i can describe.

I just took delivery of my new Golf Sport 1.4 TSI (the twincharged one) about a week ago. I had read a lot of reviews on this car before deciding to buy it.

I must say that, personally at least, the car has not lived up to the rave reviews that I have read. My main disappointments:

DSG: Many reviewers have raved over the DSG gearbox but I cannot see why. The DSG gearbox on the Golf Sport is the 7-speed version. It is difficult to make smooth progress with this gearbox. It lurches quite a bit, especially at low speeds, making it difficult to control. At higher speeds, changes are not as smooth as some have put it. I also have a Mazda 6 2.5 and the gearbox is much smoother than the DSG and more pleasurable to use. Give me a good normal autobox anytime! To be fair, some reviewers have pointed out these problems (lurching, not-too-silky-smooth changes) with the 7-speed DSG (apparently the 6-speed DSG does not have the same problems).

Road noise: The advertisements for the new Golf say that this is the quietest Golf ever made and most reviewers have repeated this claim. So I was surprised to find that the level of road noise was quite high. At high speeds on the expressways, I had to turn up the radio volume signficantly in order to hear what was being said. I thought it was the Bridgestone Potenzas that came with the car so I changed to Michelin PP2s. A bit quieter but level of road noise is still rather high. Maybe on the 16 inch rims of the 122 bhp model, road noise may be less. But not on the 17 inch rims of the Sport model.

Low-end torque: When driving along at lower RPM and you step on the gas to accelerate, there is often a flat spot and not much action for a while. Not sure whether this is weak low end torque or just the DSG not finding the right gear in good time.

Finally, and this may be a personal thing, I find the driver seat too narrow and uncomfortable. I know some drivers like tight hugging seats but after a while, it gets quite uncomfortable and tiring. I am not a big guy so wonder how bigger guys will feel.