Volkswagen Golf 1.9 GT TDi 130 Mk4 Review

Overall Rating

Real world fuel economy. 38-45mpg all urban (420 - 490 miles to almost full tank). 52-60mpg all motorway (550-650 miles to almost full tank). 50mpg combination of two. Excellent perceived quality of materials. All components that the driver comes into contact with feel well made and durable. Comfortable driving position and very comfortable for passengers in the rear (I have the 3 door model) unless over 6ft - which none of mine are. Decent sized boot, reasonable looking car, faster than it looks and has surprised a few boy racers although not a sports car so don't bother trying to race Type R's, ST's or VXR's. Punchy but elastic engine which can be praised and criticised - still makes me smile though. Fantastic on the mortorway, eats miles and plenty of power for overtaking without sacrificing fuel economy.

Cornering not so great. Suspension is a bit soft and damping a bit hard. My partner has had both models of Ford Focus which has fantastic suspension and damping. Very low to the ground and doesn't like speed bumps - under-carriage lower than my friends Type R as he can straddle speed bumps my car has to take on 2 wheels. Oil sump scrapes across speed bumps unless they are taken at very low speeds (circa 5mph) or on two wheels rather than straddling. Turbo lag takes a little getting used to as does the elastic feel to the engine - accelerate, slight pause, nothing, nothing, BANG although I'm told this is a common problem with turbo engined cars, particularly diesels.

I've had the car for just under 2 years and love it. Bought 18 months old from a main VW dealer who were polite and reasonably efficient - although their 100+ point check failed to spot broken rear light, broken arm rest and almost bald front tyres. However this was all rectified quickly and without question when it was pointed out on return to the dealership. The car is now just over 3 years old and running well. My previous car was a 1.2 16v Renault Clio and the difference as expected was amazing. Never considered a diesel until I test drove this. Forgot about Type R I was considering buying. I wanted a hot hatch and ended up with a diesel which still confuses people...until they drive the Golf. Test drove Clio 182, Octavia VRS, Civic Type R and Golf and whilst all the other 3 are certainly faster the Golf can be driven quickly without caning it. It's much better made than the Clio and more tractable than the Civic which has to be thrashed to get the most from it. Octavia is an excellent car but still has an image problem and depreciation is quite bad. I still like the Type R but my friend has one and when I drive it I miss the torque from the Golf (145lb-ft vs 228 lb-ft). Had some small problems with it of late, glow plug light came on and flashed caused brake light switch needed replacing which is a common fault with TDI Golfs so I was told. Ditto for the emissions light that came on a week later which was an emissions sensor that also needed replacing. Work done by VW specialist rather than main dealer as they can be quite pricey and in my experience provide slightly inferior service to independent specialists. Other than that it's been a great car to own and hopefully that will continue. Coming up to 60k soon so cambelt will need changing - £400 from main dealer for cambelt, another £280 for the service vs £200 from VW specialist plus £150 for service using all VW parts. I know dealerships have bigger overheads and have to make a profit but ouch! Will consider the new Golf TDI when I come to replace my current car but not a great fan of the new styling and will be looking for a bit more power which I believe is only now avaiable in 170ps mk5 GT TDI which is pricey. Considered chipping (superchips anyone?) but not had the guts to do it as not sure what extra boost will do to components although I hear plenty of people do it and highly recommend it.