I was tempted to take a chance. It would have been such impish, childish fun with a real clinical thrust that for a few minutes I envisaged using a picture of an old Golf and saying nothing.
I swear nobody would have noticed. Well, the folks at Volkswagen would probably kick up a bit of a stink. Rightly so.
Then I'd have to use a proper picture and say sorry. But it would have been nearly worth it to make the point to them that this new generation Golf is the same as the previous one and the one before that and...
That's how strongly I felt. When I picked it up I thought there had been a mistake. It had a 2008 registration and I suspected somebody was playing a practical joke.
It was easy to imagine the conspirators: Fool Cunningham and he'll never live it down. Even when I got into the cabin I was doubtful.
Admittedly, I was in a bit of a huff and treating its predictability like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I couldn't find anything different - this was deja vu Golf. I'd been there before; after all, I did own one for a good while. I knew where everything was.
I started off. If it weren't illegal, I could have driven this car with my eyes closed. That's a backhanded compliment to continuity but I'd have loved a little bit of a surprise (pleasant if at all possible). No, nothing. Same old, same old.
So if you want to be smart and buy a new car without anybody really noticing, here's the one. Chances are your current one is silver (isn't everything except the cloud lining these days?), so no one will notice.
What have they been doing "designing" a new car for the last several years?
Little or nothing, I'd say.
Anyway, I drove it to the bank and then back home. First surprise. There was something different. Aha! It drove exceptionally well. I don't mean sharp handling and all that old bull that Top Gear goes on about.
I mean a really comfortable, secure feeling that this car had multitudes of ability in reserve to handle sudden changes of direction, braking and other such mechanical tensions.
Slowly my exasperation with the boring old looks dissipated and I eased into my test drive.
Did I mention that the cabin was boring? Sorry. The room for four adult passengers is much the same and the boot is decent.
It melted into the background when I parked it in the supermarket carpark; nobody asked if that was my test car for the week (normally there would be a few queries from colleagues). And yet I got on great with it.
DOING THE BUSINESS
The 105kW diesel had lots of punch (it's a superb engine), the DSG auto gearbox was virtually seamless and the two combined to give me by far the most enjoyable slice of Golf driving I've had for a while.
It's clear why people like these cars. They do the business day in and day out. There are no surprises; what you get is exactly what it says on the tin. A Golf.
After a couple of days it was like picking up the threads of an old acquaintance with a recently renewed friend. Not so much I'd buy a Golf, mind you. I still much prefer the sharpness of the Ford Focus and, in tough times, I know people who swear by the three-year warranty of the Toyota Auris.
Yet my test car was as solid as ever, robust, reassuring and likely to hold its value better than most despite equipment levels that fall short of some key competitors.
The Golf has always been a huge favourite here. Irish people have loved it and thousands have parted with good money for them since the 1970's.
This will test their loyalty. - Irish Independent