Volkswagen GOLF TDI RANGE
The Latest Generation Turbodiesel Golfs Are About As Good As Family Hatches Get. Andy Enright Reports
Even if youve never driven a Mk V
Volkswagen Golf TDI diesel, youll probably know what to expect. Itll be beautifully built, the engine will be loud but powerful, it wont be much fun through corners and it will be reassuringly expensive. Right? Not totally. Just when you thought you had the Golf formula taped, Volkswagen have given the car a more radical shake up than those evolutionary lines would suggest.
The latest TDI diesel models are probably the most significant variants in a range that offers a massive amount of choice.
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Two TDI turbo diesel engines are on offer. Theres a standard 1.9-litre unit that manages 103bhp or a rather ritzier 2.0-litre powerplant that generates a healthier 138bhp.
Both engines are well worth seeking out, especially after youve driven them back to back with the petrol Golf powerplants, the 2.0-litre TDI being especially impressive. This engine will punt the big-boned Golf through 60mph in 9 seconds and on to a top speed of 126mph, making it a brilliant long distance cruiser. The 103bhp unit is no slouch though and will get to 60mph in 11 seconds and top out at 116mph.
Its also likely to prove the bigger seller. Fuel economy of both engines is excellent, the 1.9-litre averaging 56.4mpg and the 2.
0-litre faring almost as well at an impressive 52.2mpg. Both engines are Euro IV compliant which means that company users dont get stung for the usual three per cent taxation surcharge and the rest of us can drive around with a warmly sanctimonious air, knowing that were doing our bit for the environment. The emissions figures of 135 and 146g/km respectively for the 1.
9 and 2.0-litre engines are among the class best. The 1.9-litre car is fitted as standard with a five-speed gearbox but the 2.
0-litre TDI gets six cogs as standard with the option of the revolutionary DSG twin-clutch sequential gearbox. If you opt for the 2.0-litre engine, you can also specify Volkswagens 4MOTION 4x4 transmission system.
Volkswagen have made great strides concerning the refinement of these TDI engines and the effects are palpable as soon as you turn the key.
The TDI system was once derided as being far less effective than the new wave of common rail diesel engines that have become popular and in terms of refinement, Volkswagens solution has lagged behind. No longer: the difference is now virtually negligible.
"A DSG-equipped Golf TDI 2.0-litre would be my pick if prompted to nominate the best family hatch thats ever been built"
If you're interested in the technicalities, both of these Golf diesel engines work on the basis of so-called direct injection, a system intended to make better use of every drop of diesel. The injectors on all four cylinders are controlled by a single powerful electronic control unit (ECU) which carefully controls the amount and mixture of fuel passing through into each cylinder. For engineers, the obvious next step is for each cylinder to have its own ECU unit; the fuel amount and mixture can then be even more carefully monitored and even greater efficiency achieved. This is the basic concept behind the new 'second generation' of 'common rail' diesels engines that Volkswagen says it's developing in its own time. The big bonus of Volkswagens TDI system is that its relatively easy to liberate big power outputs. The fifth generation Golf unveiled at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show predictably takes the car ever further upmarket with an even higher quality look and feel but it also reprises a strand of Golf DNA that seemed to have been an evolutionary dead end driving fun. One criticism levelled at the two previous generation models was that although the cars offered a ride and refinement package that was hard to beat, they never really offered the sort of infectious handling that many rivals could boast.
The fifth generation car adopts a pragmatic tactic in benchmarking the suspension of the
Ford Focus and first impressions are promising. The body is eighty per cent stiffer than its predecessor and the new electro-mechanical steering feel and composed body control are leagues ahead. The styling is evolutionary rather than revolutionary insofar as most will know its a Golf theyre looking at without recourse to clocking the badge on its rump. As company boss Bernd Pischetsrieder explains: "The only mistake the Golf can make is to stop being a Golf." Theres little doubt that the fourth generation Golf was and is a handsome piece of car design, but the fifth generation marks probably the biggest evolution in the Golfs design language since the Mk 2 became the chubbier Mk 3. Everything is just that little bit curvier, sleeker and more elegant. It runs on the same platform as the latest
Audi A3 and Volkswagen Touran models and this means that the sophisticated suspension system has a huge scope for tuning from the most affordable city runabouts to hardcore sports versions. The interior keeps the Golf at the top of the family hatch tree.
It uses a fascia design reminiscent of the Phaeton luxury saloon although the centre console is lifted from the Touran
mini-MPV. With the possible exception of its pricier Volkswagen Group cousin, the Audi A3, the cabin has the beating of anything out there as regards ambience. The interior features soft-feel slush-moulded plastics, high-quality switches, subtle use of chrome, fabric-covered A-pillars plus blue instrument backlighting with red needles, a signature of the fourth generation model. Some of the plastics used on the minor controls and the lower fascia however do feel surprisingly cheap, perhaps allowing Audi a little wiggle room to justify the A3s higher prices.
Starting prices for these models will look a little higher than with the outgoing model because Volkswagen have dropped the entry-level E trim level, the opening point now being the S version. Beyond that, theres SE, Sport, GT and GTi. A Golf TDI 2.0-litre equipped with the clever DSG automatic gearbox would be my pick if prompted to nominate the best family hatch thats ever been built.
Few cars manage to do everything quite so well as the latest Golf TDI models. We knew theyd be good but we didnt expect this.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Volkswagen Golf TDI range
PRICES: £14,600-£18,870 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 6-13
CO2 EMISSIONS: 135-146g/km
PERFORMANCE: [2.0TDI] Max Speed 126mph / 0-60mph 9s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.9TDI] 56.4mpg (overall)
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin airbags / ABS / Side airbags / ESP
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, tba
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