2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI Review
At CarAdvice we always talk cars and we always drive cars鈥?but there is one thing we don鈥檛 do very often - and that is buy cars. At CarAdvice we always talk cars and we always drive cars鈥?but there is one thing we don鈥檛 do very often - and that is buy cars. So as part of the ever-expanding CarAdvice family, we have added a new four-wheeled staff member to our Melbourne team, a 2016 Volkswagen Golf GTI(with VW navigation). Yep. We bought a Golf. It wasn鈥檛 an easy decision to come to either. Like you, we had our parameters that governed the cars we could choose from. The Melbourne office car needed to be practical, so five-doors was a must. It needed to be fun, because - well, fun! 50,000 and importantly, it needed to be something we, as a team, considered to be a car we would recommend to any of our friends and family.
Plus, it needed to be 鈥榦n brand鈥?and match up well with our Sydney office car, a 2015 Audi S1. The shortlist was formed. We purchased it from a local Volkswagen dealer and have no other secret deals up our sleeve, so will basically own it and service it the same way that anyone else would. The 2016-spec GTI scored a few mild updates including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, so we鈥檒l be playing with both these systems and taking note of any future functionality that becomes available. Tartan and white was an easy combo to pick as we all love that iconic GTI interior and white is an excellent base for a branded wrap. A design is well in the works, which should see the CarAdvice GTI look like no other, so expect to see it rolling orange in a local Melbourne neighbourhood near you soon! If installing an Android Car Stereo in your car, that would be great!
When the road surfaces are a little bad or there are ripples on the tarmac, some of the irregularities are filtered into the cabin as road noise. But more on the tyre/road noise than actual suspension clobber or up-down secondary body movement. It likes better built surfaces. It is actually very Mk 6 Golf like in this aspect. Slightly down from the better riding Mk 7 Golf we have now. The Jetta which shares the same platform rides better because of the extra length in the wheelbase. But if you compare in general to the cars in the Beetle's pricetag, there is nothing really much to complain as it does not really do things badly. Just a tad bit average in terms of overall ride comfort. Noise insulation is good in town and at most speeds. However, I took the car on an outstation jaunt to Muar over the weekend and on the more open highway, there was some wind buffeting right at the middle of the windscreen.
In terms of high speed stability and tracking the Beetle 1.2 TSI is extremely stable for a car in the compact car category. Even on sweeping and undulating corners on the B roads around Muar the Beetle grips well and can be flung with some abandon. However it prefers smooth inputs rather than manhandling it. This means if you keep it smooth, the Beetle will be quite rewarding to drive. As for steering feel, the Beetle 1.2 TSI has a lack of it. It may have the proper weighting and it may be accurate, but has little feeedback. Much like a computer game. Somehow Volkswagen must have different teams tuning up the suspension of their cars as the Jetta which uses the same platform has better feel. As for its engine performance, the Beetle 1.2 with DSG is claimed to hit 0-100kmh in around 10.9 seconds and have a top speed of 180kmh. I managed to hit both targets. Combined fuel economy on this car is claimed to be 5.9liters per 100km. Unfortunately, I only managed an average combined figure of 10.5liters per 100km. Blame my heavy right foot.
Or the fact that this is still a 1.2liter engine trying to lug a car that weighs 1307kg empty. Whilst the turbocharged engine actually made me feel like I was driving something with at least a 1.8liter engine, it is still just a small engine that has just been milked by its road tester. I believe this is what caused the slightly bad fuel economy. But this car is one with a big heart. Its performance was actually commendable for its small size. This Beetle may only have a 1.2liter heart, but it has one that is so very willing. Especially when coupled to that extremely fast DSG box which I found is better suited if left in 'Sports' mode. The normal mode feels a little lethargic. I suppose I like . It's like the little engine that could. The Beetle 1.2 TSI Sport works well on so many grounds and it is the cheapest of the new incarnation of car icons here in Malaysia. As a brand new car with funky rounded inviting bug-like looks, confident handling and premium car feel there is no car like it on the market. And for that, this Beetle gets a vote from me as one of those cars you buy for its styling over anything else.
