9 February 2011
New car report; A small price to pay
At only 1.2 litres in capacity, the latest addition to the Golf range is the 77kW TSI. If ever there was a car that punches above its weight, squeezing awesome grunt out of a seemingly wheezy little engine, this is it.
The 1,197cc 77kW turbo-charged powerplant produces 175Nm of torque at 5,000rmp and provides seat of the pants performance in keeping with an engine twice the size, with power delivered to the road via one of our favourite transmissions, Volkswagen’s seven speed DSG unit.
The people at Volkswagen NZ tell us that the Golf TSI 77kW has already attracted interest from company and fleet buyers due to its sharp pricing and sparingly mean fuel consumption.
Impressive performance, well priced and easy on the pocket
At $37,750 the Golf TSI 77kW competes in territory not usually familiar to the German brand. At this price, Volkswagen has managed to undercut many rivals traditionally positioned well beneathe them.
From an environmental perspective, surely we’re nearing the pinnacle of development, with fuel consumption getting about as low as can reasonably be expected of an internal combustion petrol engine. Fuel is lightly inhaled at a combined rate of just 5.8L/100km and CO2 is gently exhaled at a mere 134g/km.
Although it isn’t the highest spec Volkswagen ever to see the light of day, it has everything that’s important and in no way leaves you feeling as if you’ve chosen the poverty pack.
There’s a chilled glovebox, auto hill hold, cruise control, multi-function display, eight speaker CD/audio system with Aux-in multimedia socket, tilt and telescopic steering column and height adjustment for both driver and passenger seats.
With seven airbags including rear curtain and driver’s knee airbags, the full array of electronic stability and braking aids including ESP, daytime running lights, ISOFIX anchorages, LED turn signals incorporated into the mirrors and hazard light activation under hard braking, safety ranks highly.
Safest Car and Best Car awards
Awards bestowed on the Mk VI Golf to date include the 2009 EuroNCAP Safest Car of the Year Award, as well as 2009 World Car of the Year.
And the driving experience lives up to expectation, offering a high quality German car feel, similar to that of this entry-level Golf's more pricey sibblings. It's solid feeling on the road, well balanced and predictable through the corners, has just the right amount of feedback through the steering and has sure, sharp braking ability.
On the deficit side of the ledger, some of the goodies you’d get on more expensive Golfs go out the window. Gone is the lumbar support; black interior trim inserts make way for silver, there are no storage drawers under the front seats, alloy wheels are replaced with steels and there’s a different seat fabric.
But that’s a small price to pay for the small price you’ll pay, the small size of your fuel bill and the small amount of CO2 you’ll emit.
It's plenty spacious enough, with loading capacity behind the back seat of 350 litres of luggage room, expanding to 1,305 litres with the seat folded flat.
There’s a 1,200kg towing capacity for those with a need to tow a trailer to the tip or a small dingy to the beach.
The Golf TSI 77kW offers German car feel, finish and safety for less than the price of most mainstream competitors. No wonder the companies and fleets are taking notice.