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Volkswagen Golf (2009 - 2013)

5
reviewed by Anonymous on 21 February 2024
5
reviewed by Anonymous on 8 August 2023
4
reviewed by Anonymous on 7 April 2023
5
reviewed by Anonymous on 20 February 2023
3
reviewed by Anonymous on 6 February 2023
5
reviewed by Anonymous on 3 May 2022
5
reviewed by Anonymous on 6 February 2022
2
reviewed by Gary Lindley on 26 July 2019
5
reviewed by Pab D on 28 June 2019
1
reviewed by Paul Alllum on 8 April 2019
5
reviewed by Andrew Khaleeli on 23 February 2019
5
reviewed by Roger Potts on 15 July 2018
5
reviewed by Jonathan Pickard on 2 July 2018
5
reviewed by SV on 27 May 2018
2
reviewed by ah207 on 10 April 2018
4
reviewed by Anonymous on 17 March 2018
5
reviewed by Neil K on 21 February 2018
3
reviewed by Atommo75 on 2 November 2017
5
reviewed by Ben's Golf on 15 August 2017
4
reviewed by Anonymous on 3 August 2017
3
reviewed by Comical Engineer on 30 April 2017
4
reviewed by halloranan on 16 June 2016
4
reviewed by Petemc1960 on 10 February 2016
3
reviewed by Comical Engineer on 30 October 2015
3
reviewed by Anonymous on 24 August 2015
5
reviewed by SomerHimpson60 on 22 August 2015
3
reviewed by ah207 on 2 July 2015
4
reviewed by spin0304 on 28 April 2015
1
reviewed by AnonML on 19 April 2015
1
reviewed by RJ2DJ on 7 April 2015
5
reviewed by spoons33 on 22 October 2014
3
reviewed by Comical Engineer on 27 September 2014
5
reviewed by perkscan on 28 August 2014
3
reviewed by bakeart on 31 July 2014
5
reviewed by gbhall on 17 July 2014
1
reviewed by johnt71 on 5 June 2014
2
reviewed by fatboyfat on 9 May 2014
3
reviewed by bobhaynes on 2 May 2014
4
reviewed by johnt71 on 1 May 2014
5
reviewed by hillwalker on 1 May 2014
3

1.4TSi Match DSG

reviewed by citnut3 on 8 March 2014
3
Overall rating
4
How it drives
5
Fuel economy
5
Tax/Insurance/Warranty costs
5
Cost of maintenance and repairs
4
Experience at the dealership
3
How practical it is
3
How you rate the manufacturer
5
Overall reliability

Superb engine, reasonable ride comfort but all spoilt by excessive tyre noise on non-smooth road surfaces.

I have owned the car from new in May 2011 and it has done over 20,000 miles at the time of writing in August 2013. The only issue has been the door seals creaking in hot weather on uneven road surfaces. Other than that, it has been 100% reliable.

It has returned 43-45mpg overall and 48-50 mpg on many long runs. The engine is really good and pulls very strongly, especially at low revs. The DSG gearbox [automatic dual clutch] has 7 gears and it is frequently doing 1,200 revs in 7th gear around town and this no doubt helps the mpg figure. The gearbox is only good 95% of the time: it is not easy to avoid an all or nothing response when the engine is cold. This makes backing out of the driveway less than easy at times. It can also leave you in too high a gear and it then hunts for the correct gear; this happens when you slow for a roundabout and then decide to go. It is not a bad fault but it could be better. The sport mode is far too frenetic.

The mpg drops off in winter by 2-3 mpg on short runs and the air-conditioning has a similar effect from a cold start in very hot weather. The heater takes ages to put hot air into the car in winter conditions.

The brakes are powerful but not that nice to use as they are over-servoed such that a very light pressure produces too much braking force. It makes some aspects of town driving less smooth than it should be. My wife dislikes this aspect of the car when driving it.

The ride is reasonably comfortable but can jiggle at times on short frequency undulations. However, compared with many modern cars, it is quite comfortable. I have no issues with the handling.

Visibility out is good compared with lots of other cars but not compared with older cars that have smaller A, B and C pillars.

Passenger space has not been an issue but folding the back seat to extend the luggage space does not give a flat loadspace.

The interior trim is very drab and shows dust and other marks quickly. The iPod integration is excellent, as is the Bluetooth phone link.

The worst feature of the car has to be the road noise from the tyres. On a non-smooth surface, the interior of the car is filled with a "roar". On the M6 going south to Birmingham, it was so bad that I wished I had never bought the car. It is still on the original tyres: Dunlop Fast Response 205/55 R16. They may be part of the problem but when the VW dealer assessed the tyre noise, I was told that it was normal. This is a real problem and made even worse because the car is whisper quiet on a smooth road surface. I intend to change the front tyres soon even though they still have plenty of tread left and see what happens. I can add that the Mk 7 Golf is slightly quieter on tyre noise than my car. Update: I have now put Goodyear Efficient Grip tyres on the front wheels and tyre noise decreased significantly but it is still not as good as it could or should be.

In conclusion, although I can't fault the reliability, performance, fuel consumption and many other aspects of the car, I do not really love it. I bought it with the "head" not the "heart". If it looked a little more inspiring, inside and out, and was not afflicted by tyre noise, I would be very happy.

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1
reviewed by Biscayne on 3 March 2014
5
reviewed by Anonymous on 7 February 2014
5
reviewed by armchair on 23 January 2014
4
reviewed by Caution on 23 January 2014
5
reviewed by whizzwheels on 26 December 2013
4
reviewed by Bathmark on 28 November 2013
4
reviewed by g2gsoon on 4 November 2013
2
reviewed by Alteseehund on 29 October 2013
5
reviewed by Wilson78 on 26 October 2013
4
reviewed by Comical Engineer on 8 April 2013
5
reviewed by beatlejuice2012 on 15 March 2013
5
reviewed by Anonymous on 30 January 2013
3
reviewed by greendg7 on 7 September 2012
3
reviewed by sad_tsi_owner on 24 August 2012
2
reviewed by JVG on 14 July 2011
1
reviewed by Neverbuybluemotion on 2 June 2011
5
reviewed by chiark on 15 June 2010
5
reviewed by Car enthusiast on 22 May 2010

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About this car

Price£14,880–£33,710
Road TaxA–J
MPG33.2–74.3 mpg
Real MPG87.4%

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5
submitted by Anonymous
3
submitted by Anonymous
2
submitted by CammyG
 

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