Ok so this is a reasonable car. But it is still VERY noisy and it still vibrates a LOT. And it costs almost 20k in 5 door guise with metallic, climate, and a decent radio/CD added.
Golf build quality isn't streets ahead of the pack anymore. Lots of middleweights handle better and have more space.
If you must have a Golf then the 1.8T and V5 are much nicer to drive.
Just don't see the point.
|
See new road test, mostly of SEAT Ibiza TDI PD 130 six-speed at £13,500, added to the site today.
HJ
|
|
|
in my opinion the Golf is a totally over priced car, you can get a New Passat for less, which is more of a car surely??? The appeal is in the sporty looks, drive and bhp, which can all be found however in a lower priced car!
Anyone Golf crazy want to defend them?
(oh yes, the neon dash illumination is quite nice i suppose)
|
Agreed - the question is not "what engine in Golf?"
But why Golf?
If you MUST have a Golf, the 130 or 150 PD engines are by far the best.
Oodles of overtaking power and c. 50mpg - what more do you want?
Re HJ evaluation of Seat - if they have learnt Skoda levels of build qaulity, then it sounds a real bargain.
|
|
i am looking at getting a GTI, i saw a 1.8 T reg one with 100,000 miles for #7995, is this a fair price for this? Would quite like a diesel one but they cost too much for what they are. my current 1.4E is just not sporty enough anymore.
|
Get the diesel any day -
much quicker in real world, much cleaner, far cheaper to run, easier to drive, more reliable, and it will still be worth something when you have finished with it... the 1.8t cant compete
|
|
|
|
PE - They are both very slow cars - 0-100 25.6 for the 1.8T and 25.9 for the diesel (PD130) figs. from autocar. In gear times much the same
About the same as a 2 litre Mondeo - very sporting.
I'd look elsewhere.
|
|
|
Why? Residual values, that's why.
When you do the sums and your homework, try for a 10% discount on your Golf GT TDI from a main dealer. The car comes with a decent CD player and climate control isn't that expensive. When the time comes to replace your Golf, you won't want to, except maybe for another Golf, because you'll have test-driven all the others: Ford Focus - best drive, terrible depreciation, scratchy-plastic interior; Fiat Stilo - lots of equipment, negative equity levels of depreciation; Alfa Romeo 147 - it's got the same switch gear as Fiat, Fiat switch gear and electricals are (from my experiences) shocking (pun intended); Peugeot 307 - wants to look like a Golf, is almost as expensive as Golf, but isn't a Golf and will instead depreciate more.
We bought our Golf GT TDI over a Golf V5 because, to us, 55mpg will cost less than 29mpg. We bought our Golf because although it costs more to purchase than most lower-medium cars, it ultimately costs less to run as it loses less than other lower-medium cars. We also bought our Golf because, after trying everything else that was out there it was, in terms of tactile ergonomics, the best environment to be in.
|
Now we have (nearly) all agreed on the TDi,
checkout the Skoda Octavia -
same engine - better build quality (position 12 in J D Power survey, Golf was 104) - cheaper - sharper handling -
anything I missed?
|
Trevor
I think you'll find that the JD Power survey does not issue its list based solely on build quality. It's customer satisfaction, which encompasses far more.
Customer satisfaction takes into account peoples' expectations, and includes dealer service attitudes etc. Some cheap cars, that might be considered by many to be rubbish, have actually done quite well in the past - because owners expectations were not that high to start with.
Ian
|
|
|
I'm sure the Octavia is every equal to the Golf. However, I'd want to do the sums first - purchase price is only a small part of the equation.
Having driven the Fabia, however, I can imagine the Octavia to be an equally classy (or classless) car to drive.
What we really want is to see the 1.9TDI outputting in excess of 150bhp through a six-speed box to all four wheels of an Audi TT Coupe. That's what I'd really like.
|
|
|
|
|
Re Neil's post, the Focus is not a "terrible" depreciator. On a % basis it may depreciate more than a Golf, but on a £££££s basis, assuming you bought it right in the first place, it depreciates less.
HJ
|
OK, so I used a little artistic licence. . . That's "terrible" of me.
However, Fleet News do quote the Focus as having slightly higher running costs than the Golf, primarily due to depreciation. On list price calculations, the Golf is cheaper.
Whilst discounts on the Golf aren't as readily accessible nor as generous than for the Focus, the overall sums can weigh in the Golf's favour. If you buy both cars right in the first place, then what are the costs? The point of my answer was a response to "What's the point of buying a Golf?"
After having driven the cars on our short list, and having driven some of them since, then the Golf wins on interior, residuals, and therefore image. A few months ago there was an Oscars for cars on this site. And the best used car was. . . a Golf. In fact, the Golf cropped up quite a lot. Unlike the Escort, and unlike the Focus.
|
|
|
|
The question was "Golf PD 150- why?" "Golf - why?" is another story.
I have just covered 2500 miles in a TDCI Focus. It has been fine on the m/way but like a bag of spanners when cold or when travelling at less than 30mph. It is still 100% better than the Golf PD that I tried (I think it was a 150 as it had 6 gears). The Focus has averaged 44mpg in that time. A 2 litre Focus used to average 40mpg and was a lot more refined in most situations.
The new Focus has a better CD player and the climate control is nice. Both are significant improvements over the pre-2002 car.
The TDCi will require 6 services in 60,000 miles and the petrol needed only 4. The cost svaings will be marginal if they are there at all.
It may not have the badge but the Focus is far superior to the Golf, petrol or diesel.
|
Mahatma, I doubt the Golf was a 150 (the 130's have 6 gears also) - you would 'know' if it was the 150 - totally different to a lesser TDi (or Focus Ci) - also, without being rude - read up on how to drive a diesel properly (either search the threads or try Diesel Car magazine) - 44mpg is far less that you should have got...
For anyone who is interested:
Our small company runs 3 diesels: Old (T-reg) Golf GT TDi 110, New Focus TDCi and New Golf TD150 (used to have old Focus Di) - the Golf 150 is in a totally different leauge to the others - it has the feel of my personal 406 V6 - effortless power with a huge slab of torque (more than the V6 in fact) - the TDCi Focus is also great. They all do 50mpg easily without trying
|
|
|
|
When you do 90% of your mileage at cruise on the motorway there isn't really any way to drive except top gear steady revs.
My colleague assures me that it is a PD150 and he thinks it's a noisy lump.
|
|
|
