Buying Used: 2019-2019 Volkswagen Golf
As the successor to the venerable Beetle, Volkswagen could not have dreamt up a more diametrically opposed automobile than the first-generation Golf that debuted 45 years ago. Designed by Italdesign鈥檚 Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Golf was all crisp lines and flat planes, while the scabrous Beetle was all about the arc. Rather than having an air-cooled engine at the back powering the rear wheels, the Golf sported a water-cooled, transverse-mounted engine under the hood driving the front wheels. The Golf was engineered to race along the Autobahn all day long at 160 km/h; the Beetle could scarcely hit that speed falling off a cliff. Sales of the outdated Beetle had waned in Europe by the late 1960s, and VW was eclipsed by rival Opel as West Germany鈥檚 biggest automaker. The Golf would become the company鈥檚 savoir, eventually selling more than 30 million hatchbacks and counting. Unfortunately, what sells well elsewhere isn鈥檛 always a hit in North America (think Nutella and Eurovision).
As smartly designed as each successive generation of the Golf has been, durability has been lumpy. 鈥淚 loved driving the car, but not the constant stream of problems. I traded it away after two years,鈥?writes a former owner online. Volkswagen ranked well below the industry average in J.D. Power鈥檚 dependability studies for many years. Stung by enduring criticism - and a stunning emissions scandal - it seems VW is listening and striving to do better. As evidence, let鈥檚 dissect the current generation of the Golf. On sale in Europe since late 2012, the seventh-gen Golf arrived around these parts in late 2014 as a 2015 model. To the untrained eye the car looked a lot like the old one, yet everything was new. Riding on Volkswagen鈥檚 exceptionally rigid MQB architecture, it was crafted to drive like the well-bred European auto that it is. VW incorporated a traditional (and cheaper) torsion beam rear suspension in place of the previous independent suspension system, due to the need to make room for the diesel emissions fluid (DEF) tank in TDI models.
Electrically assisted power steering also came to the Golf, but it remained sharp and communicative, if a little light in feel. The Golf initially came in both two-door and four-door hatchback configurations. The wheelbase was stretched almost 6 centimetres, overall length grew about 5 cm and the roof was 3 cm lower. The new car鈥檚 added leg- and shoulder room made the cabin feel big, although the low-mounted rear seat cushions are best suited to smaller passengers. The split-folding rear seats lay fairly flat to reveal 15 per cent more cargo space than the old Golf had. The rectilinear dashboard is canted toward the driver, and the instrument panel is clad in soft plastics with fine graining. The seams and finishes are impeccable, so much so that an Audi owner would feel at home. The 5.8-inch touchscreen and switches are placed close at hand and provide intuitive operation. Outward visibility all around is excellent, making it simple to park. 鈥淭he doors close with a solid thud and overall the car feels more expensive than it is.
There are a lot of small touches that are really cool, like the cooled glovebox, carpet-lined bin in the doors, and rear-view camera that deploys from the logo when in reverse,鈥?posted one owner of a 2016 model. Motivating the Golf is an iron-block 1.8-L four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine that鈥檚 good for 170 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque. It replaced the former oddball 2.5-L DOHC five-cylinder engine. The 1.8 works with a five-speed manual transmission or six-speed automatic. TDI models used an updated 2.0-L four-cylinder turbodiesel that produces 150 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. It came tied to a six-speed manual gearbox, while a six-speed automated manual transmission (VW鈥檚 DSG) was optional. The Golf received great crash-test ratings from both the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Newer Golfs gained active safety features, such as automatic braking, but the suite of technology is not as comprehensive as those offered in some competing models. A new touchscreen interface, introduced for 2016, was quicker and more responsive to inputs than the old screen, and added Apple and Android smartphone integration.
