Price: If costs stay in line with the outgoing model, then expect a range of about $18,000 to $25,000.
Competitors: Ford Focus, Mercedes-Benz A-class, Audi A3, Volvo V40
Powertrains: 2.0-liter four-cylinder TDI, 148 hp, 236 lb-ft; 2.0 turbo, 217?227 hp (GTI). The U.S. also gets a base-model TSI gasoline engine of as-yet unknown capacity. Five- and six-speed manual or six-speed, twin-clutch DSG semiautomatic; FWD.
EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): N/A
What?s New: Everything, and nothing. It looks just like a Golf, but this seventh-generation model is longer, wider, and lower than its predecessor, with a bigger trunk. It is also 220 pounds lighter than the outgoing Mark VI model. The new Golf?s dimensions give it a lower and sleeker look than its predecessor. The grille has been redesigned with influences from the original Giugiaro-designed Mark I, and the old model?s slightly blobby look is gone.
The Golf uses VW?s new MQB body structure, which allows the same basic structure to be used by all of the Volkswagen Group?s transverse-engined cars, including Audis, Seats, and Skodas. However, the structure has fixed dimensions between the firewall and the engines, so its adoption dictated a major redesign of all the VW Group?s engines. The new Golf is a complicated car to build, demanding a high level of manufacturing accuracy and consistency, which raises questions about whether VW?s Puebla, Mexico, plant could build it to sufficiently high standards.
Two chassis will be offered, with MacPherson strut suspension at the front and a torsion-beam rear for cars delivering less than 120 hp, and a revised independent rear suspension for the more powerful models. There?s an optional adaptive damping system that provides Sport, Normal, and Eco modes and also adjusts the weighting of the electronically assisted power steering and throttle response. VW has fitted a multicollision brake system, which automatically keeps the brakes applied if the airbags are deployed.
Tech Tidbit: Improvements on the new VW engines include pocketed crank webs, hollow camshafts in a ladder frame that sits on the cylinder head, and exhaust manifolds in the cylinder head of the gas-powered models to manage temperatures more efficiently. One detail we really liked was the new small-end bearing on the connecting rods, which has a narrower width at the top, where there is less stress, than at the bottom, where the piston bears down. The resulting bearing looks like a wedding ring.
Driving Character: For all the changes, it?s recognizably a Golf. And that feeling continues when you climb in the cabin.
The seats and steering have a wide field of adjustment, so it?s simple and speedy to find a good driving position. Plus, the driver?s seat has a lumbar massage function for those with bad backs. There?s plenty of storage around the driver and the glovebox and center console are spacious. Rear passengers get more headroom and legroom. The large trunk has a wider opening and the load lip is half an inch lower, which makes it less of a chore to drag the groceries in. You can even fit two full-size golf bags in the back.
The overall quality is of a higher-class car than the Golf really is. The doors thunk, the switches click, and the dials whir. It?s so pleasingly tactile you could spend an extra half-hour on each journey just playing with the toys. There?s a 5-inch touchscreen in the center console and spiffy new sat-nav graphics.
There were two engines to drive at the launch, both four-cylinder units: a 1.4-liter TSI turbo gasoline and a 2.0-liter turbodiesel. The 1.4 is smooth, refined, delivers a top speed of 132 mph, accelerates 0?62 mph in 8.4 seconds, and gets gas mileage in the NEDC cycle of about 50 mpg (U.S.). It also debuts the first-ever cylinder deactivation on a four-cylinder engine; it?s virtually undetectable.
At 2985 pounds, the diesel weighs 190 pounds more than the gas-powered Golf, and feels rougher with noticeable vibration through the steering. Still, it delivers equivalent performance of 134 mph, 8.6 seconds from 0?62, and 57 mpg. It also feels faster, with a satisfying midrange slug of torque that fires you up the road. In the real world it?s likely to be a lot more economical to run. For most users the twin-clutch transmission provides the best compromise for city traffic crawls and open-road driving. The six-speed manual shifter in the diesel is a great unit, however, and it?s also lighter and less expensive that VW?s DSG box.
"This is not only the best and greenest Golf," says Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, VW board member responsible for development, "it is also fun to drive."
Fun is a debatable point here. The new Golf certainly corners neatly and has high levels of mechanical grip, with a torque vectoring system to reduce nose-on understeer. But in terms of fun, it ranks alongside cutting your toenails. There?s no feedback to the steering wheel, so it feels inert. Lift off the throttle in a bend and the nose barely registers. They?ve even taken out the mechanical hand brake?so no fun there, either. Hackenberg promises that the R-Line models will have more spirited chassis, and that the GTI and its 190-hp diesel counterpart, the GTD, will be barnstormers.
For the moment, the standard Golf does what it?s always done: rides well, while feeling dainty, neat, and efficient.
Favorite Detail: We?ve grappled with a malevolent ball hitch at some point. But the Golf has a spring-loaded deployable tow hitch that swings down from under the rear bumper and locks in place. When you want it out of the way, you simply press a button and kick the hitch so it swings back up out of sight.
Driver?s Grievance: Dynamic chassis control (which sharpens the damping) and progressive steering (which gives a variable steering-rack ratio) are optional. But neither makes much of a difference in the driving character, and that seems like a wasted opportunity.
Bottom Line: "This is the most important car for the entire VW Group in terms of sales, jobs, and revenue," Hackenberg says. One in four Volkswagens sold wears a Golf badge, so the company put a lot into this little hatchback. Existing Golf drivers will have no cause for complaint. The Mark VII Golf is more refined, more economical, and bigger inside. It rides better, feels nicer to drive, and you won?t find a better-quality interior in this class.
Where VW missed the mark is with its inability or unwillingness to improve the driver appeal of the standard car. Modern electronics and steering systems can do so much, yet the Golf feels stodgy compared with the Ford Focus. This just means we?ll just have to wait for next year?s GTI model to see if the seventh generation of Golf can live up to its predecessors.
Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/drives/2014-volkswagen-golf-test-drive-13619063?src=rss
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