Who buys one of these things instead of the brilliant GTI? Sure, in Europe the Golf is a default-mode transportation device the way the Corolla is in the United States — but that doesn't change the fact that anybody who buys a German(-branded) hatchback on this side of the Atlantic is trying to make a statement, the same way that anybody who eats "Pocky" in the United States is trying to make a statement.
Perhaps the Mk7 Golf TSI, particularly in the metallic blue exterior/cream interior variant we drove in San Francisco, makes the right kind of statement to the right kind of people. The one that says, "I'm not a GTI racer wannabe, I just want to drive exactly what someone in our perfectly enlightened and cultured and correct mother continent of Europe would drive." Driving a GTI is kind of like eating a salad with a lot of dressing — there's a suspicion that you might not be into the spirit of the thing. Driving the TSI, on the other hand, is much like telling everybody that you don't own a television.
The real-word pricing on these 170hp/200lb-ft tq Golfs is between $19,800 and $28k. On all but the "S" trim, you can get the TDI for an extra grand or so. From a resale and longevity standpoint, it would be wise to do so. Everybody knows that diesel VWs have a very different retained-value profile from gas-powered ones, particularly as they approach their tenth birthday and beyond. As soon as I find my photos of the TDI I'll do a review on that, but the gist of it will be this: there's virtually no penalty for the diesel in daily use. In the meantime, let's go driving this newest 1.8t.
The combination of light upholstery and the extremely convincing metal-look trim in the Golf is just so right for NorCal. It's hip, fresh, airy, upscale-feeling, and not at all aggressive. The GTI isn't classy like this; the GTI is try-hard with its piano-black sportlich dash and golf-ball shifter and extra GTI logos and whatnot. Imagine you were taking a user-interface designer for Facebook on a first date: do you want her to see you in a light-blue Golf or a bright-red GTI? Exactly.
Into "D" and the TSI is immediately impressive with plenty of low-end shove that doesn't completely strangle a nice rush to the redline. This is a sporting motor in execution if not intent and it has a lot of the revvy friendly character that made the old five-valve 1.8t such an unexpected joy in the MkIV Golf GLS four-door. To their eternal credit, VW permits the DSG to have the same snappy shift action here as it does in the GTI. There's no attempt to mimic a torque-converter transmission and consequently the drivetrain always feels alert and on the boil.
This being the widest, most spacious, and most rigid Golf in history, it's no surprise that the TSI is an exceptionally pleasant companion in traffic and on side roads. The space (up front, anyway) and the refinement are easily on par with the Camcord class above it. That's reasonable, because when you equip it like a Camry SE it kind of costs Camry SE money. So what do you get in exchange for going down a segment at the same price?
Well, you get the exceptionally tasteful interior, although the temperature knobs wobble a bit too much for my taste and some of the plastics around the seat are very obviously hecho in Mexico. You get the "V-Tex" leatherette which is very good and likely to wear pretty well. (Side note: Calling it "V-Tex" is sort of like of me calling my occasional band "Uranium Zeppelin". If you want to riff on the legends, you'd better come correct. I'm not sure VW has earned the name.) You get a turbo four and twin-clutch transmission that are more responsive than the big-inch one-bar four-bangers in the Camry and friends and considerably more enjoyable to push hard.
You also get a remarkably composed chassis. A run up a few canyon roads revealed that even without the stiff springs and thick swaybars of the GTI, this is an inherently enthusiastic automobile. It likes to turn, it can be steered with the throttle in the midcorner, it reliably swallows bumps on unfamiliar roads. The brakes seemed solid enough but at the top of one hill they exhaled plumes of smoke through the wheels so perhaps that was pushing them too hard. In deference to my predecessor in this E-I-C position, I should also say something about how the MQB chassis didn't squeak or rustle (true) and how it's going to take over the world in the next three minutes (not sure about that one). There is a difference between the old Golfs and the new ones; they felt solid but this one is halfway to a Phaeton in the way it refuses to flex under load. And remember: this is a hatchback. Having that big hole in back doesn't help matters when it comes to stiffness.
Of course, the latest generation of Camcords is also pretty stiff and light and in the case of the Trope Namers they're both pretty enthusiastic steers with the proper options selected. So not only is it difficult to make a case for the VW over our market defaults based on the numbers, it's kind of tough to make it based on the intangibles of chassis stiffness or suspension tuning or back-road charisma. True, you need an "SE" or "Sport" version of a Camcord to keep up with this not-explicitly-sporting Golf, but you won't have to look very hard to find them at your local dealer.
I wouldn't buy this particular car. I'd buy a GTI, public image be damned. Or I'd buy the manual-transmission version of the TSI, which Volkswagen continues to offer. Or I'd buy a Camry SE, knowing that it's just as quick and handles just as well and has more room and will last approximately forever and will be worth real money to any CarMax I can roll it down a hill to in ten years.
But I'm not the market for this car. I'm too old, too track-focused, too unhip, too flyover, too everything. The people who are buying these cars don't care to acknowledge the existence of the Camry SE. They'll buy this VW because it's like a tie from Hickoree's or having Sun Kill Moon on vinyl or using the word "Murica" ironically in conversation: it sends the right signals to the right people. In that respect, the sacrifices one makes to own a Golf over a Camry — in size, in likely durability, in having to endure the VW dealer body, in resale — are positive because they ensure that no stupid mother of two from Iowa is going to accidentally buy the same Golf TSI that you, the San Jose-based social media consultant, have just purchased.
Go ahead and buy one, then. It's the right car for you. And more than ever, it's also a pretty good car. Just know this: that distinct feeling of superiority you get when you see some prole in a Fusion… well, you should keep shaded, because it might not stand the light of day.
(Volkswagen provided travel and accommodations for this test.)
from The Truth About Cars http://ift.tt/Jh8LjA
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