percymon
12-07-2010, 12:20 PM
10,00 mile report - VW Golf 1.6TDI 105bhp SE 5dr
Having now gone through the 10k mile barrier, and with the first service completed, thought i'd summarise the good and bad to date..
Collected 19th December 2010 - Dane Volkswagen Chester
Majority of the miles have been spent travelling up and down the A roads of Wales, and more recently commuting 26 miles from Monmouth to Newport area down the A449 dual carriageway.
The good points..
engine is very smooth and linear in power delivery
car is generally refined and a nice place to travel - low noise levels and comfortable seating
fit n finish are generally good, certainly better than the Ford Focus
no real issues in first 10k miles / 7 months
sports suspension gives a good compromise between bump absorption and roadholding, especially the reduced roll during cornering.
tyre wear on 17" Bridgestone RE050s - 4mm left on the fronts, 6-7mm on the rears. Will swap the tyres front to back so should see 20-22k miles from the set.
no electrical faults
RCD310 produces reasonable sound quality and radio reception seems stable, no issues with iphone or usb connections
Booking the service using the fixed price service plan presented no difficulties - first service charge £134.64 +VAT ( £158) on the invoice, so '3 years for £250' is a worthwhile saving
The bad points.. (some well documented in numerous threads)..
those 105 horses aren't as strong as the old PD engine horses - don't expect anything more than the listed power output. As a result you aren't going to win any traffic light grand prix, and overtaking on A/B roads isn't what you might expect of a £20k VW.
fuel consumption can be good when driven sedately (65mpg on a long lightly trafficed A road jopurney at 50-55mph), is mediocre when driven at normal motorway speeds (50-53mpg at 70mph) and dire when driven in a spirited manner (42-45mpg on an A/B road blast). Urban use sees about 40mpg - good compared to a petrol TSI , but not the phenomenal result VW would have you believe from the green marketting.
Cabin and boot space isn't that good - no better than the Mk3 Golf - the increase in exterior size hasn't found its way into the cabin, all that technology and safety features take up a lot of space inside the bodyshell. The Golf doesn't make the best family car, you'd certainly struggle as a family with teenage children on a 2 weeks holiday without a roof box IMO
List of niggles presented to dealership when booking service slot - dealer asked for car for 2 days to diagnose issues, order parts for next day and fit. However, no issues were resolved, needing another visit to rectify issues.
sunglasses holder in roof console can't hold curved framed sunglasses
paintwork seems very soft and prone to marking and stone chips - i admit we had a bad winter with lots of salt and crumbling roads but the Golf is showing plenty of scarring on close examination. The lack of clear coat on the tornado red might make things worse, but there are similar reports from owners with metallic paintwork.
The niggles...
creaking/ticking from A pillar area - diagnosed as the air vent - new vent and hosing ordered, fitting 21st July
whistling from driver door seal above 50mph - new door seal and re-alignment due 21st July.
dribbling rear washer - new hose and nozzle to be fitted 21st July
battery light staying lit for a few seconds after starting - dealer checked alternator, found OK. Checked battery and looking a tad weak - may be a duff battery (not holding full charge) but charged it up and asked me to monitor. Car is never subjected to short journeys so looks like they'll be replacing the battery under warranty, as this issue has been there since delivery day.
poor economy - no faults found, test drove and declared typical (albeit nowhere near VW claim). Dealership implied anyone claiming more than 55mpg from either this, or the 2.0l 140bhp engine, for motorway work is lying !!
The dealerships..
Dane VW, Chester - purchase and collection was OK, bar the missing service pack info (arrived after 4 months of me chasing VW CS and the dealership). Contacting the sales team, and waiting hours, if not days, for return phone calls very frustrating (sadly seems to be the same across most dealerships)
Sinclair VW, Newport (first service) - polite, courteous service desk staff; courtesy car provided (Polo 1.2 Moda). Pity they didn;t resolve any of the reported faults during the 2 days they had it for servicing.
Overall..
No better and no worse than any other new car. With a new car I expect the odd niggle or complaint and i've resigned myself to the fact that faults always seem to take 2 or 3 visits to resolve.
Would i buy one again ? - At £15k yes (thats what i paid under scrappage with discount etc). At the current £20k RRP - no thanks, the car just isn't worth that sort of money. I appreciate the competitors aren't much different in price, so you could call the price competitive - i just think cars are all now well overpriced !
Having now gone through the 10k mile barrier, and with the first service completed, thought i'd summarise the good and bad to date..
Collected 19th December 2010 - Dane Volkswagen Chester
Majority of the miles have been spent travelling up and down the A roads of Wales, and more recently commuting 26 miles from Monmouth to Newport area down the A449 dual carriageway.
The good points..
engine is very smooth and linear in power delivery
car is generally refined and a nice place to travel - low noise levels and comfortable seating
fit n finish are generally good, certainly better than the Ford Focus
no real issues in first 10k miles / 7 months
sports suspension gives a good compromise between bump absorption and roadholding, especially the reduced roll during cornering.
tyre wear on 17" Bridgestone RE050s - 4mm left on the fronts, 6-7mm on the rears. Will swap the tyres front to back so should see 20-22k miles from the set.
no electrical faults
RCD310 produces reasonable sound quality and radio reception seems stable, no issues with iphone or usb connections
Booking the service using the fixed price service plan presented no difficulties - first service charge £134.64 +VAT ( £158) on the invoice, so '3 years for £250' is a worthwhile saving
The bad points.. (some well documented in numerous threads)..
those 105 horses aren't as strong as the old PD engine horses - don't expect anything more than the listed power output. As a result you aren't going to win any traffic light grand prix, and overtaking on A/B roads isn't what you might expect of a £20k VW.
fuel consumption can be good when driven sedately (65mpg on a long lightly trafficed A road jopurney at 50-55mph), is mediocre when driven at normal motorway speeds (50-53mpg at 70mph) and dire when driven in a spirited manner (42-45mpg on an A/B road blast). Urban use sees about 40mpg - good compared to a petrol TSI , but not the phenomenal result VW would have you believe from the green marketting.
Cabin and boot space isn't that good - no better than the Mk3 Golf - the increase in exterior size hasn't found its way into the cabin, all that technology and safety features take up a lot of space inside the bodyshell. The Golf doesn't make the best family car, you'd certainly struggle as a family with teenage children on a 2 weeks holiday without a roof box IMO
List of niggles presented to dealership when booking service slot - dealer asked for car for 2 days to diagnose issues, order parts for next day and fit. However, no issues were resolved, needing another visit to rectify issues.
sunglasses holder in roof console can't hold curved framed sunglasses
paintwork seems very soft and prone to marking and stone chips - i admit we had a bad winter with lots of salt and crumbling roads but the Golf is showing plenty of scarring on close examination. The lack of clear coat on the tornado red might make things worse, but there are similar reports from owners with metallic paintwork.
The niggles...
creaking/ticking from A pillar area - diagnosed as the air vent - new vent and hosing ordered, fitting 21st July
whistling from driver door seal above 50mph - new door seal and re-alignment due 21st July.
dribbling rear washer - new hose and nozzle to be fitted 21st July
battery light staying lit for a few seconds after starting - dealer checked alternator, found OK. Checked battery and looking a tad weak - may be a duff battery (not holding full charge) but charged it up and asked me to monitor. Car is never subjected to short journeys so looks like they'll be replacing the battery under warranty, as this issue has been there since delivery day.
poor economy - no faults found, test drove and declared typical (albeit nowhere near VW claim). Dealership implied anyone claiming more than 55mpg from either this, or the 2.0l 140bhp engine, for motorway work is lying !!
The dealerships..
Dane VW, Chester - purchase and collection was OK, bar the missing service pack info (arrived after 4 months of me chasing VW CS and the dealership). Contacting the sales team, and waiting hours, if not days, for return phone calls very frustrating (sadly seems to be the same across most dealerships)
Sinclair VW, Newport (first service) - polite, courteous service desk staff; courtesy car provided (Polo 1.2 Moda). Pity they didn;t resolve any of the reported faults during the 2 days they had it for servicing.
Overall..
No better and no worse than any other new car. With a new car I expect the odd niggle or complaint and i've resigned myself to the fact that faults always seem to take 2 or 3 visits to resolve.
Would i buy one again ? - At £15k yes (thats what i paid under scrappage with discount etc). At the current £20k RRP - no thanks, the car just isn't worth that sort of money. I appreciate the competitors aren't much different in price, so you could call the price competitive - i just think cars are all now well overpriced !