An economical rocket
Excessive oil consumption during the first 10,000 miles. Used over 2 litres.
Excellent car, very fast, comfortable and fun to drive. An infinitely better drive than the 2.0 petrol GTI.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 9th October, 2002
Is German build quality slipping?
Car was delivered with missing dashboard trim.
Standard dash mounted 6CD changer was very unreliable and has been replaced.
Engine makes some very strange noises during gear changes and when decelerating - dealer cannot determine the cause.
The car was delivered with all these problems.
The engine has a bit of a dual personality. Sometimes its really smooth and others like a sack of spanners.
Performance is good although I think the optional sports suspension (only £150) is a must with this engine - car still rides well in normal driving, but doesn't suffer from the same extent of sloppy handling which characterises Golfs.
Fuel economy is improving all the time and is quite respectable for an engine of this size.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 8th October, 2002
Diesel powered rocket-ship. Well impressed
No faults.
Storming engine - a diesel that gives true hot hatch grunt with an almost supercar-like mid range! Sounds a bit like a tractor when cold, but always returns a steady 48-50 mpg no matter how it's driven. Entertaining chuffing and hissing noises from the turbo installation too.
Chassis is only OK. Puma would blow it away in the corners, although it's hardly a secret that the Golf GTI has become a bit of a lardy tourer these days. Not horrendous, but easily the car's weakest point.
Quality interior is a delight. Lovely Recaros and the grooviest instrument lighting on the planet. A nice place to be.
Reliability top notch so far. Never needed to see the dealer, and the first service is still a little way away.
Heavy on front tyres. All that torque and weight seems to be taking its toll. Fronts probably only have another 1,000 miles left in them.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 24th July, 2002
I have just sold my 110bhp Peugeot 406 HDi and am still 6 weeks away from delivery of my 150bhp Golf GT TDi with full leather Recaro trim. I can`t wait!!! I have a hired 1.4 litre petrol Nissan Almera which I believe will certainly make me appreciate the Golf when it finally arrives.
I have driven a demo model in the dealership and can safely say it is the most impressive diesel car on the market. My best mate has a `02 GTI and, although the figures would suggest otherwise, I believe the GT TDi to be a more powerful car with a marginally quicker 0 - 60 and obviously a lot more torque. With a power band starting at 1900 rpm the power starts to be delivered exactly where you need. In actual fact I think VW should market this as a safety feature... My wife is delighted that there will be no more brown skid marks on my boxers after hairy overtaking. I will leave a more detailed account of this car after a month of ownership, although I do feel that the 9/10 might have been a 10/10 had you invested in the sexy leather.
20th Oct 2002, 07:10
As a fleet manager for a company running 64 cars, my own experience is that the fabled "German build quality" is actually quite misleading. Of our current fleet (comprising among others, 8 Golfs/Boras and 10 Focuses with between 40k and 85k on each car), I can report that the Golfs have proven no more reliable or "better built" than the Focuses. Granted, the residual values are better on the German cars, but this is almost cancelled out over the term of ownership by the higher servicing and maintenance costs. I don't think it's so much that German quality is slipping, but that the competition has drastically improved. I also think our high expectations of German cars are partly to blame. VW's and the like are not perfect, despite what certain sections of the motoring press would have you believe.