Author Topic: Day-by-Day Review: 2012 Volkswagen Golf TDI; Day 1 (Read 5727 times)

Autos_Editor · « **on:** January 04, 2012, 03:03:53 am »

Its $31,685 pricetag is high for a small car, but James' Golf TDI tester almost seems worth it for all the features it includes, as well as that intangible German-car feel.
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tpl · « **Reply #1 on:** January 04, 2012, 05:33:20 am »

Annoyingly you can't get HIDs as an option even in the Highline. The US TDI with Technology packages does have them. This really is a showstopper for me having had my last 3 cars with HIDs. I guess I'd just have to buy another GTI.

sailor723 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 04, 2012, 05:44:29 am »

"that intangible German-car feel."

Interesting phrase... We test drove a lot of cars last year before ending up with our present two vehicles. After comparing a bewildering variety of specs,features,options,benefits,advantages,pricing programs,financing programs etc.etc that "German car feel" played a pretty significant role in our decision both times.

Sometimes,no matter how many Pro-Con lists you make, it comes down to "I like that one better"

JohnM · « **Reply #3 on:** January 04, 2012, 06:07:22 am »

I've had Rabbits and Golfs which I've loved plus Beetle and 412 and all felt great but in the end I couldn't get past the reliability plus weight gains of the past 15 years.

Now there is no VW with the combination of reliability and fuel efficiency to get me to sign. The next car will probably be an IQ hybrid and VW has no comparable unit.

The only other car that gave me the "German Car Feeling" was the Mistubishi Galant (Chrysler 2000 GTX (??)) of the late '80s. Seats, layout and driving position just felt right.

The Golf TDI has great car potential, I just hope its reliability starts coming up to the same standard as the design.

Cheers,
John M.

AP · « **Reply #4 on:** January 04, 2012, 07:45:11 am »

"German-car feel"?

Ah, yes, the feeling of being stranded on the side of the road. The infuriation of expensive repairs. The worry over what could possibly break next (or again).

I think we call that feeling buyers regret.

5 Wheel Drive · « **Reply #5 on:** January 04, 2012, 08:36:42 am »

It was about -22 when I left the house this morning. The Mazda sure did protest when I turned the key this morning. What is the TDi like to start when it's this cold, do you have to do anything special with a diesel to make sure it starts?

tpl · « **Reply #6 on:** January 04, 2012, 08:37:23 am »

Having owned German cars ( VW,Audi,BMW) for about 25 years I do not feel any of those bad things. I don't find them outrageously expensive to own although I admit that mrs tpl's FIT is cheaper to own by quite a bit.

I do like to own cars designed by people who can legally drive to work at 100 mph in those cars.

aaronk · « **Reply #7 on:** January 04, 2012, 09:18:29 am »

Poor reliability and expensive repairs tend to be worse on premium German luxury cars. More features and technology, more problems. FWIW, don't be tempted by a 5+ year old BMW 7-series or Mercedes-Benz S-class, even if its the price of a new Kia! It will put you in the poor house.

VW repairs become expensive with the 2.0T engine (think Audi) and the diesel requires a mechanic with that skill set so you either need to find a diesel shop or go to VW for service. The 2.5 is probably the simplest engine with the least costly repairs. Hopefully VW has worked out their electrical bugs now, I know that used to plague older models and there wasn't much owners could do about it except treat it on an 'as-broken' basis. As for the rest of the components, their car bodies are among the most durable (12-year corrosion warranty) and the mechanical bits seem robust.

northsparrow · « **Reply #8 on:** January 04, 2012, 09:19:34 am »

With the 'low-end' Diesel market all to themselves, VW can charge whatever they want.

Snowman · « **Reply #9 on:** January 04, 2012, 09:49:41 am »

"Two weeks behind the wheel of the Nissan Versa was enough to realize it is one of the least desirable new cars on the market."

Nice opening.

Mike · « **Reply #10 on:** January 04, 2012, 09:51:51 am »

Quote from: Snowman on January 04, 2012, 09:49:41 am

"Two weeks behind the wheel of the Nissan Versa was enough to realize it is one of the least desirable new cars on the market." Nice opening.

Two Days is all it really takes....maybe two hours...

greengs · « **Reply #11 on:** January 04, 2012, 10:07:41 am »

Quote from: AP on January 04, 2012, 07:45:11 am

"German-car feel"?

Ah, yes, the feeling of being stranded on the side of the road. The infuriation of expensive repairs. The worry over what could possibly break next (or again).

I think we call that feeling buyers regret.

Isn't that how a lot of new Ford Mustang owners feel in their Chinese transmission propelled cars these days?

Very interested to see how the TDI does in cold. Also would like to see the fuel econ in cold and breakdown of city vs highway driving. I know on the highway these things can get as low at 4L/100kms. In the city it's a totally different story from what I've read online.

dirtyjeffer · « **Reply #12 on:** January 04, 2012, 10:14:32 am »

i like this car (always have)...if only VW had some attractive low finance rates, i would slide it in as a possibility.

safristi · « **Reply #13 on:** January 04, 2012, 10:25:03 am »

VW "AIMS" to sell 800,000 cars in the USA by 2015 or is it 2018......

Quality will therefore NOT be JOB #1..

MY VW experience a basic Rabbit circa Mid 70's..........ran well enuf to get me married in Calgary from Toronto...occasional electric/starting gremlins ...fixed by myself.....hammer and tongs

....

Son has has a 2nd hand 2002 Passat Wagon with all the toys(hi_line!)..and still going strong at 180,000K.........Belt redone,and some suspensions parts...prolly close to $2K in "repairs"...he loves it..............

Me buy one again........I tend to look at VW as an outlier in my buying options.....a nice GTi or a decent TDI Golf Wagon...Hmmm maybe....but not really UP THERE in my first thoughts of a New (or 2nd hand

) car to BUY with hard earned cash...........

P.S John M.....had two of those GTX2000's (Mitsu Galants) bloody nice cars...your encapsulation thereof agrees with my experience...underated bloody good mainstrean cars.....

dirtyjeffer · « **Reply #14 on:** January 04, 2012, 10:28:48 am »

Quote from: greengs on January 04, 2012, 10:07:41 am

Very interested to see how the TDI does in cold.

should be fine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOHy5tyBmyw

mlin32 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 04, 2012, 10:35:47 am »

I've always had a thing for the Golf TDI, and unless something amazing comes out the next few years, it'll be my replacement car. I've driven one multiple times in various settings (urban, highway, mountain roads) and it doesn't disappoint. The interior is great too.

Yes, you can get adaptive bi-xenons in the US. However, I don't know what they were thinking making all the options into packages for 2012- to get xenons in the Tech package, one basically has to order all the packages, so it's still a $30k car. And leather is not an option, and the tester looks to have Climate Automatic which we can't get in the States either. And as always, the speedometer has the proper units of measure in Canada.

Saw lots of these a few weeks ago when I was in Montréal. Good taste.

greengs · « **Reply #16 on:** January 04, 2012, 10:43:56 am »

Quote from: dirtyjeffer on January 04, 2012, 10:14:32 am

i like this car (always have)...if only VW had some attractive low finance rates, i would slide it in as a possibility.

They do on the 2.5L gas versions, but unfortunatelly demand is such that they can afford to charge a higher rate on the diesels right now. Also it doesn't help that the diesel motor is used in a lot of other product worldwide and there is still a shortage of them.

JRM · « **Reply #17 on:** January 04, 2012, 11:02:14 am »

I'm not too concerned about reliability issues with the Golf. I bought a 2.5 '10 wagon auto nearly two years ago. It's the first car I've ever owned, and I've owned my fair share, that hasn't had a single warranty claim in that time period. I've driven mostly Toyota Camrys over the past 28 years. The best one was a '99 that I had for 5 years with only one warranty claim, at the beginning. That certainly wasn't the case with any of the others. And, Consumer Report gives the latest generation Golf an above average to much better than average rating for gas engines and average to above average for the TDI with the DSG tansmission. I thought it was worth a try and have no regrets.

SaskSpecV · « **Reply #18 on:** January 04, 2012, 11:17:18 am »

Interested to get your thoughts this week James. I thoroughly enjoyed test driving the 2011 Golf TDI (albeit Wagon) with 6MT, and considered the 5-door hatch as well. But the 5-door Comfortline TDI (with sunroof & multimedia package) was 29K + freight (so 30.5K, or 33.5K with tax here in SK). Add another grand or so for the wagon. And as others have mentioned here, no discounts available on the TDIs (either cash discounts or cheap financing - now that may be VW salesman BS, or it could be real). I really liked the TDI "push", and the gearbox was nice to row, but I didn't find the interior to be THAT impressive. It was very nice, but I didn't think it was vastly better than some of the newer compacts. And my wife and I don't drive enough for the fuel savings to accumulate much.

At the end of the day, if VW had a stellar reliability reputation, and/or repair/maintenance fees that were closer to other brands, I would have thought a lot harder about paying 33K+ (all in) for buying a Golf. The tested highline model is 33K + tax (over 37K in Ontario) - would you spend your own money on it James?

Danno001 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 04, 2012, 11:43:51 am »

Some information on maintenance cost would be useful during this article. What does a typical oil change cost at the dealer, at what interval, and what are the big ticket maintenance intervals and costs - example timing belt at 100,000 Kms. It all adds up to TCO - Total Cost of Ownership. If someone buys and Elantra for $10,000 less than a Golf, where is that break even in terms of fuel savings and maintenance costs?