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Compression ignition ups the economy of VW’;s hatchback mini-Benz.
After upon a long-ago oil crisis, the VW Golf was Germany’s cubic answer to OPEC and the Honda CVCC. Those of you accustomed to considering of it as the cheap little heir to the Rabbit, itself the heir to the original hippy-tippy Beetle, need to get up and adjust the rabbit ears on your signal receiver. Presently, VW is out of the low cost-car company and the punched-out, buffed-up, brushed-metal-trimmed 2015 Golf is a Mercedes-Benz with the trunk hacked off. Go for the 2.-liter EA288 TDI diesel, just becoming accessible next month, and you can revel in this hatchback’s epicurean comforts for more than 450 miles among pit stops.
Upon very first glance at the spec sheet, the TDI’s 13.2-gallon fuel tank seems a cruel joke, till you begin driving and the fuel-gauge needle resolutely refuses to budge. Drive some far more, and some a lot more, and a bit a lot more, and then just a bit farther, and it finally lifts off the full line, from which it sweeps very, very gradually, like the hour hand of Huge Ben (if Huge Ben went backward), to the half-way mark. Then the needle picks up a bit of speed, and finally gets its wind up by the quarter-tank mark, suddenly dropping to E with the kinetic power of a plummeting boat anchor.
Diesel-Only, Dummkopf
All the although, the 150-hp TDI putters away with such smooth refinement and such a distant and muted diesel growl that the author’s mother, who once owned a 1982 Chevy Caprice Classic diesel and breaks out in hives at the thought of even accepting a package from the driver of a diesel delivery van, refused to think that this Golf TDI runs on diesel. She had to be shown the fuel door, behind which it says “Diesel ONLY, Dummkopf!” in about 15 places. Plus, there is a second blue filler cap for the AdBlue diesel clean-juice. Must you accidentally fill your TDI with gasoline, the vehicle sends a signal to Germany and you are denied future entry to the nation on the grounds of getting an idiot and a menace to the nation’s rental-vehicle fleet.
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In our hands, the roomy and comfy Golf TDI equipped with a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic averaged 34 mpg, a good outcome given that we have a tendency not to drive with economy in mind. You’d have to get into a a lot smaller gasoline car or an equally pricey hybrid to match this fuel efficiency. We can even see sane folks obtaining routinely close to 40 mpg. The TDI’s 60-mph mark comes in 7.8 seconds and the quarter-mile in 16.1 on strong low- and midrange urge from the engine’s 236 lb-ft of torque. These are very acceptable numbers in times when everybody is driving considerably too fast—except for all the morons who are driving way too slow. At 80 mph, the Golf TDI is in a really satisfied and stable groove, the cabin remaining plush and quiet and free from wind noise. But push past 80 clicks (pretend you’re in Germany) and the engine starts to audibly strain.
Throw it into a cloverleaf and there’s .86-g worth of roadholding from the wide, deluxe Continetnal ContiProContact tires. This 3237-pound Golf has plenty of suspension travel for taming rough stuff, but the body does not wallow in a high-g turn, as did some preceding Golfs. The strong structure kills vibrations and road thrum, and the Golf has that solid German highway composure that tends to make traveling to Oma’s residence in Oberbayern such a secret pleasure.
The Price tag of Frugality
The diesel’s thrift comes at a price, nevertheless. The premium for the TDI over a gasoline TSI engine in our tested SE trim, DSG (TDI) to torque-converter automatic (TSI), is $ 2100. Six-speed manual transmission TDIs are offered in the SE and the greater-spec SEL range, but no manuals are offered in these trims in the gasoline TSI version, so direct price comparisons there are not possible.
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Nonetheless, if you’re thinking of becoming frugal and gunning for an entry-level 3-door Golf S manual, then VW nails you. The upcharge from the TSI S manual to the TDI S manual is a vengeful $ 3000, despite the fact that you also get bigger 16-inch wheels with that. That puts the TDI base prices as follows: S manual, $ 22,815 SE manual, $ 26,315 SE DSG (our test vehicle), $ 27,415 and the Eldorado of Golf diesels, the SEL, at $ 28,815 (add $ 1100 for an automatic). So that tends to make the $ 23,315 base S 5-door model the least-high-priced Golf TDI with the DSG automatic.
In the end, with VW’s diesel-engine surcharge and U.S. diesel-fuel prices getting normally the exact same or larger than gasoline, you might want to view the 500-mile cruising variety of the TDI as you would a convenience choice, such as a sunroof, sport package, or fancy stereo. Unless you routinely drive lengthy distances, although, it is going to take really a while for the TDI to earn back its premium, so do not get 1 pondering you will necessarily save funds. And whatever you do save may possibly be forgotten each and every time you—running on fumes—pull into a station only to discover that it does not serve diesel.
The Golf TDI’s massive price leap is from S to SE trim, which buys you a sunroof, 17-inch wheels, and a lot of electronic conveniences such as rain-sensing wipers, heated seats, and a rearview camera. The seats remain “leatherette,” but it is quite good leatherette. You do not get automatic climate manage, which won’t bother some, but in fine Euro-automobile tradition, the Golf’s A/C takes its time chilling a hot cabin.
Putting Out a Good Spread
The Golf’s evolution into a pseudo luxury liner has been afoot for some time, but with this 6th-gen Golf, which debuted for 2015, it reaches even far more inflated dimensions. The Golf VII is a very good 2 inches longer than its predecessor and, at a lot more than 70 inches wide, is a rather extravagant driveway customer. Just park a Golf IV subsequent to a VII to see how portly VW’s after-tiny duffer has turn into more than the previous decade. The upside is a vastly far more spacious cabin, with lots of empty air now filling the gaps among you, the passengers, and the doors. The Golf VII is a smallish car developed to really feel positively massive inside.
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Inside an SE, it’s all really critical and high-dollar, with a cockpit oriented toward the driver and brushed-metal-like trim stretching across the gauges and splashing down the center console. There isn’t this much naked stainless in Wolfgang Puck’s kitchen, and we’re not positive whether we need to be driving the new Golf or preparing dinner for a bar mitzvah at the Spielbergs’.
All this bare brigh2rk is a bit of a cliché nowadays—the slabs-o-metal ship has sailed, boys—and does not make the auto really feel present or sporty. In fact, it reminds us of old Rolex watches on old men’s wrists and of Toyota’s recent utter obsession with metalized trim, which is absolutely not a compliment. If this is VW’s youth automobile, it wants some far more youthful concepts in the cabin. See the Chevy Sonic and Spark for outside-the-faux-metal-box pondering.
Nonetheless, if you consider a $ 31,000 Mercedes-Benz CLA sedan is silly when you can alternatively have a far more practical hatchback body type with Benz-like trimmings and diesel economy, all for a bit much less money than a CLA, then the Golf TDI SE is growling your name.
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2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI Diesel DSG: Mini-Benz Comportment with a Hatchback Twist
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