31st Mar 2006, 13:17

I bought a 2.0 GT DSG TDI in October 2005 because I wanted the unique DSG gearbox and didn't fancy the Skoda or Seat. Since taking delivery of the car I seem to have to visit the dealer quite frequently. On second day of ownership the coolant pipe became detatched from the engine - lost all coolant and was stranded until rescued by the AA. Since that time I have had to have a new steering rack, new window seals, the doors and facia realigned and am developing rattles at a rate of knots. So much for VW quality. I get a lot of lag when taking off from standing, although it is good in mid range as you would expect with a diesel. The car handles well and sticks to the road like glue, but I won't be buying another VW - back to Ford for me - never had a days problem with my Focus.

3rd May 2006, 05:06

Just a quick update on my original review. Car going into dealer next week to have complete clutch assembly replaced (under warranty). Car has only done 25,000 miles and I would have expected a clutch to last longer than this.

Apart from that, no other problems apart from fuel economy which isn't quite as good as my previous mk IV Golf GT TDi.

14th May 2006, 14:34

Hi.

I currently own a Golf GTI DSG, but the fuel economy is not good Average only 29.5mpg Around town about 200 miles to the tank. Am considering moving to the GT 2.0 TDI 140 but am a bit wary considering all the build quality issues. Mind you my GTI has an intermittent buzz on the passenger door trim. Would be grateful for any comments.

17th May 2006, 06:38

I have owned a GT TDi 140 since October 2005. In that time I have covered 16,000 miles at an average of 50MPG and no I don't "pussy-foot" around! No faults or rattles to date. The car is really quick, particularly overtaking. I'd recommend one. VW now also do a 170 bhp version of the TDi which might tempt me next time!

17th Oct 2006, 15:35

After owning nothing, but Fords for the last 5 years I decided to invest in MK5 Golf GT-TDI last year. I can tell you now after 23000 miles of hardcore sales rep driving the car is still like brand new. Every Focus and Mondeo I have had has looked tatty and felt worn out after 15000 miles, including the latest shape Mondeo, which I actually managed to kill its slow 1.8 engine! Power-wise the golf is phenomenal, its performance figures are very modest to keep insurance down, but in actual fact in independent testing the TDI has shown to put out 168Bhp (140 claimed) and sub 8 seconds 0-60. All this at 50+ MPG! If you no when to change gear you can out accelerate much bigger cars. I'm hooked on this car and am considering trading up to the new 170bhp version. Only down side its its long-life servicing which is every 18000 miles, but costs over £300 a time, mine had its first one after only 3 months!

18th Oct 2006, 15:31

Utter rubbish re the Fords looking tatty and being worn out at 15,000 miles.

I just returned my company owned 2003 Focus TDCi to the lease company having racked up 113,000 miles in three years. It still drove pretty much like new. Only a slightly worn gearknob and some bagginess in the drivers seat trim gave away the mileage. My father has a 140,000 mile Mondeo which still polishes up beautifully and runs well.

The Focus matches and even beats Golf in the customer satisfaction surveys. Even in Germany!

30th Apr 2007, 14:14

Just purchased a 1.9 TDI SE Golf mk V 04 plate after owning 3 Ford Focus's over the last 7 years. It out classes the Focus in all areas. My last model was a 2.0 litre Ghia 54 plate, which at 25000 miles was uncomfortable, noisy, had a CV joint problem, and the engine used to cut out for no apparent reason, nearly causing several accidents. Should have purchased the Golf years ago.

9th May 2007, 11:18

Bought a brand new golf gt 170bhp in December 06, absolutely fantastic. Great acceleration don´t really notice too much turbo lag either. Had a few problems with build quality (rattles etc...) but got that all fixed under warranty. The problem I seem to be having is a strange intermittent engine noise, all of a sudden the engine noise becomes louder and rougher for a few minutes and then return to normal. Anyone else had this problem? VW say its normal!?

5th Sep 2007, 07:42

I would find any build quality issues on a VW unacceptable. They sell cars on quality (and inflate their prices to suit).

You can buy £7k cars from the far East with flawless assembly quality. I would expect nothing less from a VW at 2-3x this price.

6th Sep 2007, 06:40

Hi.

I’ve had my GT TDI 170 for nearly 3 months now and covered just over 5k miles. No problems to report yet. I have had fairly sporty cars in the past, my last being a 2004 Civic Type R, but have opted for a diesel as it’s a company car and I do shed loads of miles. I would say that I have a fairly heavy right foot and still return on average 45mpg which compared to my old Type R (25mpg if I was lucky!) I’m well impressed. I know that on paper my old Civic would blitz my new Golf, but I can honestly say that in the real world the Golf feels much quicker, I guess down to the 258lb ft of torque – which I must say as this being my first diesel is an amazing feeling! Not having to drop down 3 gears to get the car to accelerate quickly!

Whilst I’m writing I may as well let you know that a colleague of mine has got a 55 GTI and has had soooo many problems with it. Engine rebuild costing over £3k and new Air Con system at over £1200 to mention a few! I guess all would have been covered under the warranty and as a company car we don’t really care to a certain extent as it’s not coming out of our pockets, thank God! Still a lot of inconvenience having to go back to the garage every few weeks!

Anyway will let you know should any problems occur.

27th Nov 2007, 04:49

"Just purchased a 1.9 TDI SE Golf mk V 04 plate after owning 3 Ford Focus's over the last 7 years. It out classes the Focus in all areas."

Actually, no it doesn't. Find me a review anywhere which backs up that claim.

Truth is they're much of a muchness these days. The Focus has softened its driver appeal to chase the VW "Germanic" interior style and better quality materials. The Golf has lost a lot of its interior quality to chase the Focus's handling talent (compare the rear suspension design - actually, spot the difference). Yes if you're nitpicking, the Golf is still slightly nicer inside, and the Focus still slightly better handling. The rest comes down to badges and not a lot else.

It's not like a VW is guaranteed to be reliable these days either.