By now the Golf 6 is not news. The range is in full swing with close to 10 different models available in South Africa. It's been well received, too; a 1.4-litre version is a finalist for SA's Car of the Year.
I'm no stranger to VW's prime hatch and I've become quite familiar with its ins and outs over the past few months. I've driven most of the derivatives, from the newfangled turbo/supercharged model to the top-of-the-range GTI, and I'm now on first-name terms with the one you see here because it was in my hands for much of the December holiday.
It's the smaller-engined of two turbodiesel choices available in the Golf 6 - a 77kW/250Nm 1.6 (the other's a heftier two-litre as seen in other bigger models such as the Passat and Audi A4).
I like the idea of smaller diesels and I think there's space for them in broad model line-ups such as that of the Golf but small-displacement engines such as this have to be quite extraordinary to stand out from all the other little internal combustion prodigies developed recently.
Unfortunately, I'm unconvinced by this one. Where its bigger TDI sibling has won me over many times in many cars, the 1.6 TDI's lackadaisical performance has disappointed. And it's not because I didn't give it a fighting chance. I lived with the diminutive diesel through the holiday season and that meant all types of driving, from urban stop/start to hundreds of kilometres of open-road cruising.
Let's start there, with fuel consumption: One tank-to-tank fill-up returned an average 6.9 litres/100km, another 7.9. Call it 7.4 over the duration; ot gluttonous by any standard but way off the makers claimed 4.7 and some competitors make it look bad - such as BMW's latest two-litre which we tested in a 5 Series at 6.4 litres/100km.
I can forgive it that but not its severe turbo lag. Pulling away is like an Olympic sprinter taking a soccer ball to the solar plexus before bolting from the starting blocks. Acceleration is winded for what feels like two seconds and then, much like a learner driver dumping the clutch too quickly, the tyres chirp and forward movement happens with a whiplashed whoosh.
But perhaps the biggest pity is that the engine's shortcomings do the DSG transmission an injustice. VW's dual-clutch gearbox - this one with seven gears for the first time in South Africa - is one of the best in existence but, combined with this relatively underpowered motor, its reputation is tarnished.
What is usually a super-responsive, lightning-quick and perfectly ratio-ed set-up seems slow and clumsy. First gear is so short it's almost pointless and an overtaking kick-down from fifth, sixth or seventh at high speed on the highway is nearly impossible.
Thank goodness there are paddles behind the steering wheel so the driver can override the Golf's electronic brain and coerce it into whatever cog you want.
My seemingly long list of gripes aside, the rest of the Golf 6 is excellent. Suspension is particularly good, especially so on this model with smallish (by today's standards) 16" rims. High-profile rubber provides a cushion of air and this Golf rolls as smoothly as it does silently. At the national speed limit the cabin's as quiet as an empty church.
Interior material quality is as good as you'd expect in a sixth-generation German vehicle and the fascia, where it counts most, is made of rubbery stuff into which you can really dig your fingernails. Nice. In fact the whole car feels as if it was carved from a solid hunk of high-quality rubber and then candy-coated with a layer of glossy steel.
One last thing I noticed about the latest Golf is that the boot's little small. A weekend away for four people (who all fitted comfortably in the car) meant that at least one duffle bag had to sit between the passengers on the back seat. But each Golf 6 comes with a full-sized spare and I'd gladly sacrifice a cubic metre or two for that.
VERDICT
I feel a little unjustified in my criticisms because the sixth-generation Golf is for the most part a fantastic car. This is a textbook case of a good package let down by a bad engine/gearbox combination. We've seen it before in cars such as Mercedes' new E-Class, any Smart and almost everything with a CVT transmission.
For the Golf 6, I recommend looking elsewhere in the range. The two-litre TDI, at about R25 000 more for the extra 400cc, would be money well spent. - INL Motoring