19th Mar 2006, 22:58
Perhaps your poor ride quality is due to the dealer forgetting to remove the suspension spacers that the car was shipped with from the factory. This would cause an unusually harsh ride, as the suspension would have little travel.
22nd Mar 2006, 17:51
Its me the original reviewer again. I asked my local VW garage to check the suspension to see if there was anything wrong with it, or whether spacers had in.
Whilst they were doing the checks, I test drove a petrol Golf with standard suspension, 15" alloys and standard (non-low profile) tyres. There was considerable improvement in ride quality compared to my car. I also tried out a Polo 1.4.
The garage said my car was fine, but they wouldn't have sold the TDI with low profile tyres. They suggested getting smaller wheels and getting rid of the low profile tyres. However, they wanted to charge me £1,000 was a set of normal wheels and tyres which seems absolutely ridiculous.
24th Mar 2006, 06:44
If you swap the wheels of your car, it will probably de-value it unless you swap them back when you come to sell it. I think you bought the wrong model - you should of gone for a non-sport model with the smaller wheels and standard suspension.
10th Apr 2006, 11:47
I drove a GT back to back with an A3 sport on 17" wheels and a Seat Leon sport DSG (all 2.0 TDi's). The Seat had a terrible ride, however the golf and A3 were fantastic. I did 300 miles in each model and the fuel consumption was good. Perhaps this contributor has a bad example?
10th Apr 2006, 13:36
This is the trouble with the big wheel/low profile tyre combos that manufacturers seem to be punting their cars with recently. They look great, but the ride and handling go to pot.
In fact, I can't remember the last car I drove that had a supple ride and decent handling. It's a lost art. Come to think of it, I believe it was a Peugeot 306 GTI-6 from the late 1990's.
3rd Aug 2006, 01:50
I cannot believe the comments about poor ride quality in the Golf 2 litre TDI.
I am absolutely thrilled with mine in all respects especially ride quality. On a long run the car achieves over 50 miles to the gallon.
3rd Aug 2006, 17:46
Hell, even "Car" magazine mentions how the 2.0 rides poorly. Can't wait to see how the the new "Twincharger" runs (1.4 direct injection turbo/super charged.
7th Jan 2007, 21:48
Look...the suspension ride quality isn't the best because the suspenion is tighter... so it holds the road better... drive any sports car and you'll see what I mean. get a clue when you get a car that handles well on the road it has poor ride quality. It's a trade off, and if you don't like it, don't buy it.
2nd Feb 2007, 16:01
I have an 05 1.9 tdi sport. I don't find the ride particularly hard given that the suspension is lowered and stiffened over the lower spec golfs. What I do find very annoying is the amount of road noise which transmits in to the cab. I drove an SE before getting the sport and found the ride much smoother and quieter. I prefer the handling on the sport, but it is the noisiest car I have ever owned and I've had 14 in my time. It sounds as if the tyres have been inflated to 50 psi.
9th Jun 2008, 00:45
Although I have little to say about your experience with your VW, I would like to mention that it is unfair for you to compare any car to a Citroen. This is the same company that came out with adjustable air-ride suspension in the 50's. The DS, SM etc etc were decades before the time. Of course they usually failed but still, the idea was brilliant for the time. Just keep that in mind.
18th Dec 2008, 17:08
I am very disappointed with our Golf TDi SE 2005 model.
Less than a year from new the dual mass flywheel fell to bits, destroying the starter and clutch; all were replaced under warranty. Then less than a year later, that clutch started juddering and was replaced by VW again, as they said it was due to bad manufacturing.
Then, just 2 weeks ago, the turbo broke taking with it the inter cooler, the catalytic convertor and the rest of the exhaust! I had paid for an 'all component' extended warranty but this did not cover the exhaust so that cost me £250 plus! The car had just done 40,000 miles!
Personally I think this is probably the most unreliable car I've ever had. Oh yes, and the CD player plays but will not eject the disc; all very unsatisfactory!
7th Mar 2006, 10:14
What family hatchback has a turbo boost gauge fitted? By driving the car day to day you get to know when the turbo kicks in anyway so why would you need a boost gauge? I presume you have a sports model, so it will be fitted with sports suspension, this would explain the ride quality issues you are complaining about, did you not notice this when you test drove it? I've found the Golf to have the best ride quality in it's class.