Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Volkswagen Golf 1.9 TDI sport
I HAVE driven a heck of a lot of cars in my time as a motoring journalist – big ones, small ones, fast ones, slow ones, good ones and awful ones.
But I reckon that of all the different vehicles tested, I have driven more Volkswagen Golfs than any other model – I even owned one a few years back.
So stepping into the latest addition to our long-term test fleet – the Volkswagen Golf 1.9 TDI – was rather like meeting an old and trusted friend again. Car rental uk
That solid, functional dash was there to greet me – it’s not a lot different from the one in my old G-reg model, in fact – and those hard flat seats were as supportive as ever. As this model is a Sport version, it also has some nice side supports for when the going gets a bit racey.
And – joy of joys – Volkswagen has sent us a Golf equipped with the new six-speed automatic DSG gearbox, so there will be no need to mess around with a clutch. A few years ago, you could almost count on one hand the number of fleet autobox cars on the roads but they seem to be gradually creeping into the British psyche, although it’s a slow process. Car rental uk
I got used to driving automatics while I was a resident of California a few years back and I can’t understand why anyone would want a manual – or stick shift, as the Yanks call them – in this day and age.
This DSG box is a bit special. Unlike normal auto set-ups, there is no loss of power or fuel economy. It could prove a real boon to any driver who normally operates in a city or spends a lot of time sitting in traffic jams.
Our test car is clad in diamond black pearl effect paint, which gives it a more upmarket look than some of the pastel shades on offer, and has a smart set of 17-inch alloy wheels, which turned out to be a £445 option. Other paid-for extras are cruise control at £270, bi-xenon headlights with washers and automatic range adjustment at £725, rear parking sensor at £295, rear electric windows at £150 and a six-CD auto-changer at £395. Car rental uk
This little lot adds £2,280 to the price of the car and increases a 22% taxpayer’s benefit-in-kind tax bill by £7.52 a month. Personally, if I was choosing this Golf as a company car, I’d have the alloys and parking sensor and not bother with the rest.
The Golf’s 103bhp 1.9-litre common rail turbodiesel unit is a nice middle-of-the-road choice. It’s nippy enough, with 0-60mph coming in 11 seconds and a top speed of 115mph, but doesn’t have the raw power of the bigger 2.0-litre GT diesel units which offer 138bhp and more feisty handling. An ideal fleet choice, I’d say. Car rental uk
Fuel economy is reckoned to be a frugal 48.7mpg on the combined cycle. As the car is still on its first tankful of fuel after being delivered, we have yet to carry out a detailed fuel consumption analysis, but the fuel gauge seems to be holding up well so far.
After a couple of weeks behind the wheel of our new car, I can easily see why the Golf has become such an icon of style and reliability. It’s one of those vehicles in which the whole is much more than the sum of the parts. Quite what it is that makes the Golf better than its rivals isn’t exactly obvious, but when all the bits are screwed together, the Golf seems to work just perfectly car rental uk.
But I reckon that of all the different vehicles tested, I have driven more Volkswagen Golfs than any other model – I even owned one a few years back.
So stepping into the latest addition to our long-term test fleet – the Volkswagen Golf 1.9 TDI – was rather like meeting an old and trusted friend again. Car rental uk
That solid, functional dash was there to greet me – it’s not a lot different from the one in my old G-reg model, in fact – and those hard flat seats were as supportive as ever. As this model is a Sport version, it also has some nice side supports for when the going gets a bit racey.
And – joy of joys – Volkswagen has sent us a Golf equipped with the new six-speed automatic DSG gearbox, so there will be no need to mess around with a clutch. A few years ago, you could almost count on one hand the number of fleet autobox cars on the roads but they seem to be gradually creeping into the British psyche, although it’s a slow process. Car rental uk
I got used to driving automatics while I was a resident of California a few years back and I can’t understand why anyone would want a manual – or stick shift, as the Yanks call them – in this day and age.
This DSG box is a bit special. Unlike normal auto set-ups, there is no loss of power or fuel economy. It could prove a real boon to any driver who normally operates in a city or spends a lot of time sitting in traffic jams.
Our test car is clad in diamond black pearl effect paint, which gives it a more upmarket look than some of the pastel shades on offer, and has a smart set of 17-inch alloy wheels, which turned out to be a £445 option. Other paid-for extras are cruise control at £270, bi-xenon headlights with washers and automatic range adjustment at £725, rear parking sensor at £295, rear electric windows at £150 and a six-CD auto-changer at £395. Car rental uk
This little lot adds £2,280 to the price of the car and increases a 22% taxpayer’s benefit-in-kind tax bill by £7.52 a month. Personally, if I was choosing this Golf as a company car, I’d have the alloys and parking sensor and not bother with the rest.
The Golf’s 103bhp 1.9-litre common rail turbodiesel unit is a nice middle-of-the-road choice. It’s nippy enough, with 0-60mph coming in 11 seconds and a top speed of 115mph, but doesn’t have the raw power of the bigger 2.0-litre GT diesel units which offer 138bhp and more feisty handling. An ideal fleet choice, I’d say. Car rental uk
Fuel economy is reckoned to be a frugal 48.7mpg on the combined cycle. As the car is still on its first tankful of fuel after being delivered, we have yet to carry out a detailed fuel consumption analysis, but the fuel gauge seems to be holding up well so far.
After a couple of weeks behind the wheel of our new car, I can easily see why the Golf has become such an icon of style and reliability. It’s one of those vehicles in which the whole is much more than the sum of the parts. Quite what it is that makes the Golf better than its rivals isn’t exactly obvious, but when all the bits are screwed together, the Golf seems to work just perfectly car rental uk.
# posted by Liz Laurie @ 1:48 AM 
