VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Fri 9 Jun 2023 10:37

VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 - RDavies

Following the disaster that was my brother's Mazda3 which is 99.9% to be refunded, he's looking for another car again (must be automatic) and has his eyes set on mk 7.5 2.0 Golf GT TDI Bluemotion Tech (67 plate with around 60k on the clock and FSH from VW), cost is just under 15K

Would this be a wise choice or is there another trim he should consider for upto £15k? Just a bit of background here (it's a long read) www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=178423

He's had a few courtesy cars in the past month - hated the Aygo, liked the drive on a Yaris but not the car itself, liked an MG ZS (but not its size or fuel consumption) and unimpressed with the gears on an Mercedes A180 (bit jerky at low speeds, not responsive enough when speed varies). One thing he's learned is that Android Autoplay for him is a must now, and preferably LED or Xenon headlights.

Another option he's considering is a BMW 1 series - he's never been in one before - any opinions on these?

I know that someone was saying never to get a diesel auto or one with DSG, but then the same person said to get a Mazda3 which he's had nothing but trouble with from day 1...

Thanks in anticipation for any advice

Edited by RDavies on 09/06/2023 at 10:40

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Fri 9 Jun 2023 10:53

VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 - Adampr

I'm not sure the fact that he ended up with a lemon invalidates the advice previously given. A VW, a diesel and a DSG all contribute to being less reliable on average than a Mazda 3. However, there's nothing to say that a Golf will not be reliable; it's just the odds are better with something Japanese.

As for the Golf, I'd highlight two things (having owned a 7.5 myself)

1. He needs to do a long test drive. I couldn't stand the seats in mine. Others have no problem with them at all, so it's a completely personal thing.

2. I recall you saying one of the problems with the Mazda was intrusive safety features. The Golf has a fairly sensitive 'front assist' that, in my case, liked to inexplicably brake from time to time.

Other than that, it's a very competent car. The adaptive cruise is great. The built-in SatNav is atrocious, so wise to use Android Auto.q

Has he looked at the Kia Proceed at all?

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Fri 9 Jun 2023 11:27

VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 - RDavies

Hi, thanks for replying. I think he's gotten used to the safety features when they're adjusted properly. I found his distance control was set to maximum for example. When they were adjusted it improved things. He's very reliant on GMaps so Android Auto is a godsend for him.

Looked at the Kia but it's slightly out of his price range. With being given a lemon, I agree that it doesn't mean all cars are like that, but he being he, does think that way. That started when he ended up with 3 different cars of the same make and model in succession that all had faults.

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Fri 9 Jun 2023 11:36

VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 - Ian_SW

The GT spec in a Golf is quite nice, but I'm not sure I'd spend that much on a Golf which is nearing 6 years old.

It's also worth looking at the Leon which is much the same car underneath but significantly cheaper, particularly secondhand as it doesn't have the VW badge which is quite desirable among younger buyers particularly on the Golf. You'd probably get a 4 year old similar spec Leon for the same money.

Pretty much every newer car has intrusive driver "assistance" features of some sort. The main thing to check is how easy they are to turn off. On the motorway and in town they rarely intervene, but if your trip is on fast country roads they can't cope. My wife has the current model Leon and that needs the "Lane Assist" switching off every time we leave home as the first few miles are down a fast-ish B road where it constantly thinks you're about to drive into the hedge and tries to push you out too far into the middle of the road. After having had the car a year, turning it off (via a rather irritating set of menus on the touchscreen) is now as much a part of the setting off routine as switching on the ignition and putting seatbelts on.

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Fri 9 Jun 2023 12:33

VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 - RDavies

Thanks again - I was thinking the price was a bit on the high side. This tech does seem unavoidable in newer cars...

I'm encouraging him to go back to a non-plugin hybrid again and look at Hyundai Ioniq / i3 or possibly a Prius which all hit his tickboxes (asides them being hybrid - the Auris is out as he's insisting on Android auto).... time for a trip to a car dealer again...

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Fri 9 Jun 2023 13:18

VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 - Heidfirst

I'm encouraging him to go back to a non-plugin hybrid again and look at Hyundai Ioniq / i3 or possibly a Prius which all hit his tickboxes (asides them being hybrid - the Auris is out as he's insisting on Android auto).... time for a trip to a car dealer again...

For the money that he paid for the Mazda he can get into a Corolla. Android Auto should be available in that (although possibly only wired connection to the infotainment.)

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Thu 9 Jan 2025 00:22

VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 - RDavies

Hello - I thought I'd update this as a former of therapy. He bought the Golf and has has numerous problems with it which I won't go into, but have proven costly to rectify. The latest is a problem with a sensor on one of the clutches which, thanks to the variant he bought, means that the entire unit needed to be replaced at a rather eye watering cost (it's been confirmed that a replacement or repair of the sensor is not possible on this model - the whole thing needs replacing and frankly I wouldn't pay the cost if it was me). So now he hates the car and also hates DSG in general as well because of this and is on the hunt - again - for another car. Tbh, I can see his point - he does seem to be having a run of bad luck.

I've tried suggesting to him to take take the manual test to give him a wider range of cars, but he's adamant he won't do it (even his instructor told him to stick to autos and I can confirm it was a wise suggestion).

So now he's back to looking at other cars, and android auto is even more a deal breaker for him. Strangely he keeps looking at Mazdas so I think he's gotten over his phobia of them. Gradually working on getting him to looking at a Corolla and I need some help on this, not being familiar with the car or autos myself. Are there any particular variants / years etc to avoid or go for?

Just as well I love him as my brother because frankly, I think I'd happily serve time for killing him 10 times over by now!

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Thu 9 Jan 2025 09:28

VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 - Andrew-T

Just as well I love him as my brother because frankly, I think I'd happily serve time for killing him 10 times over by now!

Sounds as though it may be time to hand over your Car Adviser role to another ? :-)

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Thu 9 Jan 2025 13:13

VW Golf - Help choosing a car - round 2 - SLO76

As I recall the issues with the Mazda related to battery drain which turned out to be an aftermarket tracker fitted by the previous owner and nothing to do with the car itself. Plus I believe Mazda pointed out some poor quality paint repairs (believed done by the supplying non-franchise dealer), but again this isn’t a fault with the make or model, a thorough examination of the car before purchase should’ve shown this problem, which is very common on ex lease and PCP stock. I stand by my recommendation of a Mazda 3 petrol auto in this case and feel proven correct by the genuine reliability woes suffered with the Golf DSG which I wouldn’t recommend to anyone as a used buy without backing of a full VW warranty cover the full term of ownership.

If the crash avoidance tech is an issue then he’s not going to get on with any modern car either. If I were you I’d step back from advising any further because I suspect any modern car will be either unreliable or he won’t get on with the tech and you’ll get it in the ear for your help. Sometime you just can’t do right. I’d have a Mazda 3 2.0 Skyactiv auto or a Toyota Corolla Hybrid now that prices on them have dropped a bit as supply has increased, but the Toyota doesn’t really like bing driven hard, it’s not a car for the enthusiastic driver so a long test drive is advisable.

Edited by SLO76 on 09/01/2025 at 13:17

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