1.4TSI SE

Practical if not exciting.

Have had this car for 9 months now so enough time to give a fairly across the board review in my eyes.
Previously had a Golf V11 hatchback but after another back problem set back needed a slightly higher seat and easier door entry, after much browsing and several test drives I went for this, the main reason being a very good deal, that I did not want a diesel, lower mileage these days and diesel being phased out after the emissions scandal.
As most of this class of car had fairly mundane petrol engines this made sense, the other contender the Suzuki Vitara Boosterjet was more expensive and not readily available at the time.
It may not have the tricks many of the other cars in the class have but that is incidental to me as it will rarely have more than two people on board.
This is the 128psp engine and is more than enough for this vehicle with its light loads so no complaints there and a lot quieter than the diesel variants that I have driven, an average so far of 42 mpg is fine on mixed driving.
Handling is very similar to the hatchback just a bit more roll emphasized by higher driving position and slightly more length otherwise an easy transition.
Good visibility all round though the rear head rests were lowered to create a better rear view, and the load capacity is better than a standard Golf with the seats up and the load area is slightly more than the hatch with the seats down and a higher loading platform, the rear seats have more space than the standard car as well.
On the down side the main dealer failed to notice a broken under passenger seat switch during the pre delivery check ?, but that was rectified by my local dealer swiftly, and it has just received a recall for an on board supply control unit that effects the lights in various ways.
What I don't like, the electronic handbrake, as faults are beginning to appear in this area as per HJs bad listings, I dislike it it even more as on a practical note I see no advantage and definite disadvantages, to be told that it is safer to leave the car on an incline in gear is hardly an uptick for the system and I have had failure to apply unless one stops with a firm brake dab, there is also slightly more road noise than the hatchback for no obvious reason.
Also the Blue Motion unless one lives in a city is a waste of time, disabled I get the same mpg reading to within a micro reading and a problem with the engine cutting out before fully stopped and leaving one without power steering is not encouraging despite being assured it can't happen ?
In the main pleased, it is at the price I paid cheaper than many comparable models and to me every bit as good, all cars are a compromise and only long term reliability will change my decision on this cars all round value, my local dealer I now use is much better than my previous one who were all "more coffee" and little common sense, so pleased there.
This is not a big seller in this country alongside comparable vehicles, on a practical basis it is every bit as good but lacks a few "extras" supplied with equivalent contenders, but you have to ask do I need them as at the price I paid and have seen elsewhere this is very competitive in the market place.
So overall little to complain about apart from that mentioned above

Edit
Problem with electronic handbrake, either not releasing or grabbing on after release, dealer says nothing shows in car log , so that's all right then, I dislike the electronic handbrake anyway, a pointless electronic accessory to go wrong and now it has on an intermittent basis, has the potential to be dangerous but as it doesn't show in the log it is deemed OK, it is not OK..

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