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First drives

VW Golf 1.4 TSI (2009) CAR review

By Georg Kacher

08 September 2008 12:26

This is the first drive of VW’s new-but-same-again Mk6 Golf, a car brought forward from 2010 to 2008 to counteract slow sales and a costly and lengthy build process. But with only mildly revised looks inside and out, can the new VW Golf match the Ford Focus and Renault’s forthcoming Megane? Read on for our verdict on the Golf, and to find out whether Wolfsburg has dropped the ball with its most important car.

How come the new VW Golf doesn’t look new?


We should have received a facelift in 2008, but the Mk5 car was proving too expensive to make and wasn’t exactly flying out of showrooms to the accountants' expectations. Today’s Mk6 Golf is cheaper to build, apparently spending five fewer hours on the production line than its predecessor.

 

So just what is new on the new Golf?


All the body panels are new, bar the roof, and 60 percent of the parts are new. But it was a tough job for the design team, being unable to change any hard points, while the engineering team has to carry over the chassis, engines, suspension and electronics. And from that basis they had to create a quieter, more refined, better to drive Golf.

Parts pinched from the Passat CC, plus gadgets like the automatic parking aid, the low-cost laser-based cruise-control and the integrated sat-nav/radio/MP3/telephone system offer a level of convenience no Astra or Focus can match.

Click 'Next' to read the rest of our new VW Golf Mk6 review

Click Thumbnails to Enlarge

Statistics

How much? £14,500
On sale in the UK: January 2009
Engine: 1390cc 4-cyl turbo and supercharged, 158bhp @ 5800rpm, 177lb ft @ 1500-4500
Transmission: 8.0sec 0-62mph, 137mph, 47.1mpg, 139g/km CO2
Performance: Seven-speed dual-clutch, front-wheel drive
How heavy / made of? 1286kg/steel
How big (length/width/height in mm)? 4199/1779/1479
Need to know

CAR's rating

Rated 4 out of 5

Handling

Rated 4 out of 5

Performance

Rated 4 out of 5

Usability

Rated 5 out of 5

Feelgood factor

Rated 4 out of 5

Readers' rating

Rated 3 out of 5

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Average rating: Rated 3 out of 5 (115 votes)

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VW Golf 1.4 TSI (2009) CAR review

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DCorner

DCorner says

RE: VW Golf 1.4 TSI (2009) CAR review

To me it seems like there now isn't a single model in the entire Volkswagen group range that isnt running this 1.4 engine, and it seems to be a hit in nearly every one (bar the rather heavy Tiguan) but its always the standard 122 bhp model rather than the 160 bhp twincharger - surely it cant be than much more expensive to fit a supercharger to the VW Golf ? (or whatever the motor's strapped into at the time) I'd love to see the 160 bhp version in the Scirocco for example.

13 June 2009 13:08

 

gilesg

gilesg says

RE: VW Golf 1.4 TSI (2009) CAR review

I'd say it's more than boring or fine: it has, to me, a purposeful and balanced svelteness (I hope that's a word) - a rightness - that the best Golfs have always had (I'm thinking Marks 1 and 4 and, at a push, 5) from a design perspective. And that 1.4 Turbo certainly returns an impressive set of figures from both a performance and an economy point of view. The front IS better than the back (the front is essentially Scirocco anyway) but I think it's better than the Mark 5. The problem here in South Africa is whether the quality matches the promise...

13 September 2008 20:39

 

pajbse

pajbse says

RE: VW Golf 1.4 TSI (2009) CAR review

Personally, I don't much like the rather tawdry designs of these so called trendsetting cars that seem to get so much praise heaped on them. I think many will share my desire for a discrete and tasteful vehicle. The Golf fills that bill perfectly. I have owned several VW group vehicles and I like the no nonsense approach. It seems that the Koreans (Kia) and Japanese (Nissan, Lexus)are now the heirs to the tasteful design studio that Audi and BMW have so spectacularly forsaken.

12 September 2008 12:42

 

lanciamug

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lanciamug says

RE: VW Golf 1.4 TSI (2009) CAR review

As an existing Mk5 owner I hope Car's statistics are wrong! Apart from the transmission being in the performance and visa versa, my 2.0 FSI GT has 150 bhp and does 0-60 in about 8.5 secs. It cost £18300. If the Mk6 can do 158 bhp 0-60 in 8.0 for £14500, I'll have one! I believe the car you are describing will be badged the GT and cost in the region of £18k.

11 September 2008 23:12

 

Number One

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Number One says

RE: VW Golf 1.4 TSI (2009) CAR review

To sensible, to predictable, more of the same, the default choice for many but not the way forward… hope the other variations on the golf, like touran, estate… can move the game further. And I do not think this one will increase the current range sales rate, why should it?

09 September 2008 16:39

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