Find the best price deals on the Volkswagen Golf in your area.
The Volkswagen Golf has been around since 1974. It was called the Volkswagen Rabbit until the second generation was produced for the 1983 model year. It was produced to be a replacement for the Beetle, which had by then been discontinued. It is now in its sixth generation, and is still a very popular car. The 2012 Volkswagen Golf 2.5L Hatchback is a small 2-door hatchback. It has a 2.5 liter DOHC inline 5-cylinder engine that produces 170 horsepower. It has 15-inch steel wheels, front-wheel drive, and a 5-speed manual transmission. It is rated at 23 mpg in the city, and 33 mpg on the highway. It has a tilt-telescope steering wheel, front sport seats with height and lumbar adjustment, a split-folding rear seat with center pass-through, cloth upholstery, full-power accessories, and cruise control. It also has simulated alloy trim on the doors, console, and dash, air conditioning, turn signals in the side mirrors, speed-proportional power steering, 12-volt outlets in the front and cargo areas, a cooled storage compartment for food and beverages, a rear defogger, a rear wiper, foglights, and a trip computer. The audio system has 8 speakers, AM/FM radio, a CD/MP3 player, and an audio jack. The Volkswagen Golf also comes with stability control, traction control, antilock brakes, brake hill holder, side front airbags, side curtain airbags, and active front head restraints. It is too early for government test results, but the Golf received perfect scores of good in all tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, including front, rear, and side impacts.
Conclusions and driver feedback:
Volkswagen’s pattern as of late has been to over-deliver when it comes to interior design and quality. The Golf fits this pattern quite nicely. The quality of materials is pretty much the same as entry-level luxury. The design is very attractive, but in the understated Euro luxury way, and the controls on the dash are easy to find and use. There is plenty of room in the front seat, even for basketball players. The rear seat actually can fit adults over 6 feet tall, which is a rarity for hatchbacks. The seats themselves are both comfortable and supportive, making the Golf a car that is appropriate for commuting or for long trips. There are 12.4 cubic feet of storage behind the seats, and you can get a total of 46 by putting the rear seats down. The Golf also emulates its European luxury “brothers in arms” with the elusive combination of responsive handling and a very smooth ride. The steering is responsive, and the suspension can handle sporty driving, but the Golf still maintains a very solid feel going through turns or over surface imperfections. The ride is almost entry-level luxury, too. The word used by industry experts the most when describing this car is “refined.” That is not a word we expect in a car in the $18,000 range. The only real flaw here is the engine, but it’s really more of a trade-off. It is powerful, and provides great acceleration, but it can be noisy to a point where it appears to lack the refinement of the rest of the car, and the mileage could be better for its size. Still, the cabin experience is one of serenity under most conditions.
All in all, this is a very nice car for the price. In the small car market, you are trading a bit of fuel economy for a very nice interior, a slightly larger cabin, and more power.
The verdict: highly recommended.
Other trims, options, and miscellaneous caveats.
First of all, there are some nice options packages available. The Convenience package includes Bluetooth, heated front seats, and a front center armrest. If you move up to the Convenience Sunroof package, you get all of the above plus a sunroof, a touchscreen audio interface, satellite radio, a USB/iPod port, and a 6-CD changer. There is only one other trim level, and it is the 2.0 TDI. The Golf 2.0 TDI has a 2.0 liter, turbocharged, diesel engine. It produces 140 horsepower, but diesels are known for their low-end torque, and the TDI produces 236 foot-pounds of torque. If you get the 6-speed manual transmission, you will get 30 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway. Getting the 6-speed manual automatic will push the mileage to 42 on the highway. The TDI goes from zero to sixty in 8.7 seconds, which is pretty quick for the amount of horsepower because of the aforementioned low-end torque. The TDI comes with everything on the 2.5L, plus the Convenience and Sunroof package, minus the sunroof. It also has a leather-covered steering wheel that houses the audio and cruise controls, a sport-tuned suspension, 17-inch alloy wheels, and a lower ride height.
There is also a Sunroof and Navigation package for the TDI, which includes exactly what it sounds like. The Tech package includes the Sunroof and Navigation package plus a premium audio system by Dynaudio, and bi-xenon headlights. The TDI is a very nice choice for someone who would rather have mileage than a more powerful engine, but still wants a little bit of push coming off a stop. It’s also a bit more entertaining to drive because of the suspension. The only problem in the US is that diesel fuel tends to cost so much more than conventional fuel that the money you save in fuel mileage gets wasted for higher prices per gallon. You can also expect to pay about $6,000 more for the TDI.
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