Faults:

Fuel Tank Sender.

Relay.

Windshield Wiper assembly seized from road salt.

General Comments:

Overall this car is fun to drive and reliable. It has started on even the coldest of days during our Canadian winters without the assistance of a block heater or indoor parking.

It's very comfortable car for me. I'm 6' 2" and fit nicely. Ride is a bit soft for my taste, but road manners are excellent and 50mpg is a bonus.

For the money though I think VW could have used better plastic in the cabin.

Faults:

Front passenger window regulator/clips were replaced under warranty.

Mass Airflow Sensor replaced at 45,000 miles.

Cruise Control switch/Turn Signal Stalk replaced when Cruise Control failed (due to chafed wires).

General Comments:

Fun, fast, comfortable, solid.

Only current diesel option in the US. Great MPG, lovely sound, and can operate on B100 (100% Biodiesel made from vegetable oil).

Great road car. 45-50 mpg on trips and around town.

Faults:

Johannesburg, South Africa.

Rattles, from day one. Dealers never heard them... so I opened the car myself to rectify them.

Suspected car was damaged while at the factory. Left Rrar passenger door had a loose door seal with paint on it. Dealer pretended as if it was normal. A service manager at another dealership brought that to my attention.

Vibration on brake and clutch pedal when aircon was on. Aircon pump replaced under warranty after year of complaining. Problem went away for a while, but back. Car out of warranty.

Interior light switch broke. Dealer said it would cost R300 to replace as it could not be repaired. Cousin repaired it in less than 10 minutes.

Some relay blew at about 100000K on the clock. Car would not start. Repaired and towed to dealer at VW's cost.

General Comments:

Good car. Quite trouble free all things considered. Aside from the rattles, which are irritating, and pathetic dealer service of whome I've used three and all are the same (it seems to be induced organisational behaviour).

Paintwork is extremely resilient. Have had people bang their doors or cars into mine and all I get is some white mark, which I can rub off. Very happy considering the car is Jazz Blue.

At 134000Km, the tires are still original! Strange, but true. Has to do with long distance driving, I guess. Michelin Tyres rock! and I still have about 10000Km of service left on them.

Brakes replaced for first time at 105000Km.

For me a good car, just that for the price to get it, a 1.6 engine is bit pathetic for such a heavy car. Yet due to my driving style, I get at least 700Km on a tank before the fuel warning comes up.

Will buy another VW product, but will ensure that they do not register it to my name for at least three weeks to ensure that I don't get stuck with problems like rattles, etc!

Faults:

Break light switch under break pedal failed, after about 10,000 miles.

General Comments:

Does everything.

Practical. Rear seats fold flat providing huge space, we've even got a dining table in there.

Quick, nice performance, improving with age.

Well Built. Almost every noise I hear ends up being caused by some object in the glove box or boot, not by any loose car trim.

Comfortable. Spent 12 hours driving back from Cornwall once and felt like I'd been in the car for 20 minutes when I got out the other end.

Economical. For a performance car, I can easily get 40 mpg on a long run, 30+ around town. I'd say I average 32 -33mpg.

Faults:

Nothing major so far. The idle is rough at times regardless of temperature, but my servicing person assures me it's normal?

General Comments:

A very easy car to drive and get used to quickly.

Excellent level of attention to detail - cabin compartments & general design shows careful thought & engineering.

Engine has reasonable torque and pulls well under load. It's not a fast car to drive, but is responsive enough in most situations. I'm using 98RON fuel which feels a bit more responsive and definitely improves my mileage (740kms from a 55L tank).

Suspension is setup for comfort above handling. The cheap Optima brand tires that were on the car when I bought it are poor to begin with. The car loses traction quickly when driven hard and under-steers (as expected). It's possible to get some throttle-lift over-steer but not like in the Peugeot 306.

Compared with my sister's 2000 Holden/Opel Astra hatch, the Golf's ride is much softer and not as firm.

Seats are comfortable but could use extra support - I like my seats firm and adjustable. The Golf seats don't have adjustable lumbar support, only height adjustment. Fair enough in a base model car I guess.

The general dashboard layout & design is excellent. Controls are easy to find and the blue dials are very funky - I get plenty of positive comments about how cool these are. Everything just feels well put together - no rattles, creaks, etc. Cupholders when extended do get in the way sometimes though.

Well specified as a base model with CD player, dual airbags, anti-lock brakes, power steering, air-con, electric mirrors and windows.

It's just a nice, solid car to drive and I'm much happier in this compared to all the Corollas, Astras, Lasers, Civics etc out there.