Post by Big Blue on Sept 4, 2018 16:34:21 GMT
Well I was trying to work out when I last drove a Golf and I came to the conclusion that it was my own Mk2 GTi. I've been in a Mk 3 and a Mk 4 (both GTis) and a Mk4 R32. So I was happy to get the chance to drive a brand new one.
Engine-wise it was a 1.0TSi. Three cylinders of sewing machine technology. From Vienna airport these things are straight onto the motorway through Austria, into Hungary and across to Slovakia so cruising is the first thing to check and despite its diminutive engine it cruised ably and quietly at 140kph. It also had voodoo cruise so I really didn't need to play with the pedals too much however I will say that 5th (top) gear is for cruising only. On the way back to Vienna I had to bend my foot into the bulkhead in Austria due to an insane queue at the Hungarian border: it doesn’t really accelerate so much as accumulate more speed gradually.
What is there to say about a Golf? Ridiculously easy to drive - if it had the DSG box there would be almost no effort involved. This one had soft suspension which made for quite a bit of roll and allied to not much in the way of steering feel meant that this is not the model to select for enthusiastic driving but for the target audience (car-as-white-goods) it’s perfect. Enough space for the family and initially I struggled to fit the Samsonites and there was much re-arranging and swearing in Vienna. A BMW 1-Series eats our luggage with no issues so I was confused as to why the competitor from VW couldn't. I subsequently found out even hatchbacks have the stupid false floor thing that I associate with mpvs, whereby you lift the floor and have a deeper boot. FFS, if the boot is that big then make it that fucking big all the time!
Spec wise: I said it was white when we arrived and W2.0 said it was Silver. We didn't quite come to blows over it but in the end we were both correct: it was White Silver, which looks a little like Porsche's "Crayon" without the insane price tag. It had a full Black panel dash but I was disappointed that the display was just a tft version of what dials would look like: a little unadventurous. The start-up and engine off displays were fancier but overall display options don't really utilise the technology used, which is pointless. The panel also runs at what feels like 312ºF from the heat off the top of the dash above it. Not sure this particular element of technology will be good in the secondhand market.
Otherwise I'll say this: Apple /Google Car Play surely kills the Nav as an option at £165 vs £765 on the lowly models that don’t have Nav (which aren’t that numerous by the look of it). The only issue is that the nice black panel doesn't offer the option to put the Car Play Nav in the display (as I said not very adventurous) but it worked perfectly. Mind you Apple hate me using DS Audio instead of iShitTunes so I guess VW want you to tick that £765 box.
I filled up twice in 11 days of rental and I was pleased that I have moved up a grade in terms of Hire Upgrades so next time the Golf should be something else. The economy looked like this: 713.6km (44.92mpg) and 450.0km (44.73mpg). I'm sure I'm going to get the usual: have you ragged it like a horse? and "Leadfoot" but I'm pretty happy with that after lots of 140kph cruising, up to the mountains and driving around town in it. Especially as it was a petrol engine and the next hire.... well you'll have to read Part 3 for that.
I did decide a Golf can only ever be a second car. A nice second car but not the main or only car. Too small really. Or should we take less with us?
Engine-wise it was a 1.0TSi. Three cylinders of sewing machine technology. From Vienna airport these things are straight onto the motorway through Austria, into Hungary and across to Slovakia so cruising is the first thing to check and despite its diminutive engine it cruised ably and quietly at 140kph. It also had voodoo cruise so I really didn't need to play with the pedals too much however I will say that 5th (top) gear is for cruising only. On the way back to Vienna I had to bend my foot into the bulkhead in Austria due to an insane queue at the Hungarian border: it doesn’t really accelerate so much as accumulate more speed gradually.
What is there to say about a Golf? Ridiculously easy to drive - if it had the DSG box there would be almost no effort involved. This one had soft suspension which made for quite a bit of roll and allied to not much in the way of steering feel meant that this is not the model to select for enthusiastic driving but for the target audience (car-as-white-goods) it’s perfect. Enough space for the family and initially I struggled to fit the Samsonites and there was much re-arranging and swearing in Vienna. A BMW 1-Series eats our luggage with no issues so I was confused as to why the competitor from VW couldn't. I subsequently found out even hatchbacks have the stupid false floor thing that I associate with mpvs, whereby you lift the floor and have a deeper boot. FFS, if the boot is that big then make it that fucking big all the time!
Spec wise: I said it was white when we arrived and W2.0 said it was Silver. We didn't quite come to blows over it but in the end we were both correct: it was White Silver, which looks a little like Porsche's "Crayon" without the insane price tag. It had a full Black panel dash but I was disappointed that the display was just a tft version of what dials would look like: a little unadventurous. The start-up and engine off displays were fancier but overall display options don't really utilise the technology used, which is pointless. The panel also runs at what feels like 312ºF from the heat off the top of the dash above it. Not sure this particular element of technology will be good in the secondhand market.
Otherwise I'll say this: Apple /Google Car Play surely kills the Nav as an option at £165 vs £765 on the lowly models that don’t have Nav (which aren’t that numerous by the look of it). The only issue is that the nice black panel doesn't offer the option to put the Car Play Nav in the display (as I said not very adventurous) but it worked perfectly. Mind you Apple hate me using DS Audio instead of i
I filled up twice in 11 days of rental and I was pleased that I have moved up a grade in terms of Hire Upgrades so next time the Golf should be something else. The economy looked like this: 713.6km (44.92mpg) and 450.0km (44.73mpg). I'm sure I'm going to get the usual: have you ragged it like a horse? and "Leadfoot" but I'm pretty happy with that after lots of 140kph cruising, up to the mountains and driving around town in it. Especially as it was a petrol engine and the next hire.... well you'll have to read Part 3 for that.
I did decide a Golf can only ever be a second car. A nice second car but not the main or only car. Too small really. Or should we take less with us?
