Where was I when the Golf got so grown up? I feel like I turned my back for one minute, and when I looked again the car that I used to associate with student transportation and grocery shopping went all 'I've got my own corner office, Rodeo Drive designer shops'.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The Golf 5, which shares a lot of parts with the new sixth-generation version you see here, was already well on its way into the big leagues. It's the very definition of refinement and, considering that Volkswagen has 30 years of experience in building hatchbacks for the masses, you would expect that the car would've become better over time.
The standard of quality here was unheard of in the early 1970s when the first-generation Golf started its appeal, and where that car's cabin was a noisy, draughty place the latest one has the insulation of a hyperbaric chamber. The Germans are really sticking it to the rest of the world in this department and VW's modern interior build quality alone is enough to sway me away from other C-segment rivals.
So that's the essence of the new Golf. It's a mature and modern hatch. A comfortable and cosy place to sit out the daily commute. It's just so close to real-world motoring perfection that I could end this road test right here if it weren't for a couple other contentious issues that have reared their ugly little heads since the new Golf's inception.
This particular unit is powered by VW's controversial 1.4-litre Twincharger engine with which I wasn't all that impressed when we experienced it for the first time in a Tiguan a few months ago. It's not at all a bad motor to be honest. It buzzes along with the confidence you'd expect from a technological marvel featuring both a turbo and supercharger but, despite that complicated hubbub happening under the hood, you'd never guess it from the way it inconspicuously goes about its business.
It's just that Volkswagen's PR hype is its own worst enemy in this case. We were told from the first mention of Twincharger tech that its greatest claim to fame would be reduced to fuel consumption over other similarly-powered engines. Take for instance VW's own 110kW two-litre FSI unit of yesteryear. The press release for the Twincharged Golf says, and I quote: 'In comparison to the fifth-generation Golf 110kW FSI, fuel consumption of the 118kW TSI has been improved by 1.7 litres/100 kilometres.'
DISAPPOINTING
Busted. We just so happened to have the very car mentioned in the quote as a long-term test car back in 2005, and we also just so happen to know what its average fuel consumption figures were. We averaged a real world 8.4 litres/100km back then, and with the new super-duper-turbo Golf six, a disappointing 8.7! A far cry from VW's claimed average of 6.3l/100km.
It just doesn't do what they say it will do. That's why I feel they just shouldn't have said anything. Or better yet, say something like: 'Introducing the new Twincharger. The 1390cc engine that performs better than a two-litre'.
Our archive also reveals that the 110kW two-litre FSI Golf five scooted from 0-100km/h in 10.4 seconds at Joburg altitude, while the over-achieving new 1.4 does the same deed in a credible 8.8 seconds. Now that's something worth hyping up, VW!
Ok, enough of that gripe, here's another one. Price. Sure, the new Golf is a lot more grown up than the runabouts of the '70s, '80s and '90s, but you now have to be the corner office type, Rodeo Drive shopper to afford one. This test unit, which was fitted with an optional navigation system (R28 290) and multifunction steering wheel (R1 100), comes to a total cost of R298 280. Ka-ching! I can think of plenty a tasty car for 300 grand. Tastier than a 1.4 that performs like a two-litre anyway.
VERDICT
I don't want my sentiment towards this car to be misunderstood because, at the end of the day, it's a superb machine rating extremely high in quality and comfort. It's just that Volkswagen missed the mark a little with their intentions for Twincharger technology and even more so the way they marketed it. Petrol consumption claims simply aren't accurate. Volkswagen's pricing also seems to have strayed from the brand's original philosophy. The word 'Volkswagen' does after all translate to 'People's car'. Perhaps 'Reichenvolkswagen' or 'Wealthy people's car' would suit better today.
If it looks like an Audi A3, smells like an Audi A3 and costs the same as an Audi A3 ... it must be a Volkswagen Golf. That statement would have never applied three decades ago but it does now.