Thought I would jot down my impressions of this car so far for anyone considering one. The kinds of things you really don't notice on a test drive.
First off, I like the car and am happy with the purchase. Some of the things I'm going to list will sound like nitpicking and they are. Take it for what it's worth.
1) The car seems put together very well. No rattles or squeaks. Handles broken pavement very well.
2) The 6 speed auto is a very good unit. Shifts well and behaves the way I would want it to. The SPORT mode actually works like it should. It's mostly an occasional curiosity for a car like this, but it's good that it actually works as advertised. Holds gears both up and down appropriately.
3) The 1.8TSI is a nice engine. It's quiet and power delivery is good. The car is no rocket ship, but it scoots far better than it needs to. Anyone who would complain about inadequate power doesn't understand what this car is supposed to be.
4) The interior has a nice, quality feel to it. Much nicer than most base model cars in its price range. People who have been in the car all think it cost much more than it did. There's even a nice felt-like material that lines the front door pockets. It's a nice touch.
5) Seats are comfortable, though I hate the fact that the seat cannot be adjusted straight up and down, It swings in a bit of an arc. If you want to lower the seat cushion, the who seat also moves back. VW has been doing this for a long time. Can't understand why.
6) The center armrest is far too low and set back too far to be of much use to me. The lid can be held open and pulled forward which fixes the problem but creates two new ones. The storage compartment is now partially open and the second cupholder is blocked. Not major but seems like a pretty stupid design. Subaru's old armrest extension would be a much better idea and add needed storage.
7) The sound system is good, but Apple Car Play is a bit finicky. Not sure if this is VW's issue or Apple's and it may be corrected later with a firmware update. Sometimes, if I unplug my phone before I turn off the head unit, the audio system will not turn off at all. It will stay on all night. The volume also becomes unresponsive. Again, this may simply be an integration issue with an easy fix down the road.
Also, the CD player and SD card slot have been relocated to the glovebox. They now take the space formerly used for the owner's manual, meaning that these books now take up much of the limited glovebox space. I would gladly do without the CD player and the SD slot could have been located somewhere else. Or the whole unit as it is could have been located in the rear cargo area like CD changers of old.
8) Don't like the way VW does the heated mirrors and never will. There is an "ON" position on the adjuster knob and they stay on, forever, unless you turn them off. Why not just have them tied to the rear defroster on the same timed circuit?
9) The rear cargo cover is very well done. It has intermediate positions between fully open and fully closed. Also, it completely covers the cargo area when closed. there is no gap on the sides like in most SUV's. As a bonus, there is a pre-engineered spot to store the cover in below the cargo floor if you need to take it out. I like that a lot.
10) Room for a full size spare. Thank you.
11) Fuel economy. Not bad, but not as good as I had hoped. I get 27MPG on average in mixed driving. That's not terrible, but not that much better than the 2014 Equinox I had before this. The Equinox was significantly heavier, less aerodynamic and to be honest, I flogged that vehicle lot more. Highway is around 36MPG. I'm happier with that. I probably wouldn't mind the mixed economy as much if the gas tank was bigger. This car needs more like 16 gallons, not 13.
12) Car is nice and quiet inside and the engine noise even under heavy throttle is not intrusive. Oddly, the sound quality on the Bluetooth speaker phone is not that great on either side of the conversation. I can live with it, but the last 2 Chevy's I had cause much fewer "What?" responses than this car does.
13) The 15" wheels are not much more attractive than a cheap set of plastic wheel covers, but the high-profile rubber makes for a good ride. Handling is not harmed at sane speeds.
I should note that I have a somewhat unique situation. My employer not only provides me an allowance for this car, but also pays for all repairs for the next 4 years which is how long I am allowed to keep the car under the reimbursement plan. As such, I was not as concerned with reliability and repair cost as most are. I really like the car a lot, but I'm not sure I would have chosen another VW if the repair costs were on me. I am hopeful that it will prove to be as reliable as a Toyota or Honda, but only time will tell. I can say that it is far better to drive and feels nicer inside than any Corolla or Focus I have ever been in. I test drove a 2016 base Forester before I bought the Golf and absolutely hated the thing. Between the CVT, interior noise and the low-rent feel inside, it wasn't a serious option for me. I also shopped the Accord and Mazda 6 which were both great cars, but more expensive and lacking in utility. I had considered the CX5, CRV and RAV4 (even another Equinox) but all were significantly more expensive given VW's incentives.
Hope this info helps someone. I'll try to update it as I put the miles on.
First off, I like the car and am happy with the purchase. Some of the things I'm going to list will sound like nitpicking and they are. Take it for what it's worth.
1) The car seems put together very well. No rattles or squeaks. Handles broken pavement very well.
2) The 6 speed auto is a very good unit. Shifts well and behaves the way I would want it to. The SPORT mode actually works like it should. It's mostly an occasional curiosity for a car like this, but it's good that it actually works as advertised. Holds gears both up and down appropriately.
3) The 1.8TSI is a nice engine. It's quiet and power delivery is good. The car is no rocket ship, but it scoots far better than it needs to. Anyone who would complain about inadequate power doesn't understand what this car is supposed to be.
4) The interior has a nice, quality feel to it. Much nicer than most base model cars in its price range. People who have been in the car all think it cost much more than it did. There's even a nice felt-like material that lines the front door pockets. It's a nice touch.
5) Seats are comfortable, though I hate the fact that the seat cannot be adjusted straight up and down, It swings in a bit of an arc. If you want to lower the seat cushion, the who seat also moves back. VW has been doing this for a long time. Can't understand why.
6) The center armrest is far too low and set back too far to be of much use to me. The lid can be held open and pulled forward which fixes the problem but creates two new ones. The storage compartment is now partially open and the second cupholder is blocked. Not major but seems like a pretty stupid design. Subaru's old armrest extension would be a much better idea and add needed storage.
7) The sound system is good, but Apple Car Play is a bit finicky. Not sure if this is VW's issue or Apple's and it may be corrected later with a firmware update. Sometimes, if I unplug my phone before I turn off the head unit, the audio system will not turn off at all. It will stay on all night. The volume also becomes unresponsive. Again, this may simply be an integration issue with an easy fix down the road.
Also, the CD player and SD card slot have been relocated to the glovebox. They now take the space formerly used for the owner's manual, meaning that these books now take up much of the limited glovebox space. I would gladly do without the CD player and the SD slot could have been located somewhere else. Or the whole unit as it is could have been located in the rear cargo area like CD changers of old.
8) Don't like the way VW does the heated mirrors and never will. There is an "ON" position on the adjuster knob and they stay on, forever, unless you turn them off. Why not just have them tied to the rear defroster on the same timed circuit?
9) The rear cargo cover is very well done. It has intermediate positions between fully open and fully closed. Also, it completely covers the cargo area when closed. there is no gap on the sides like in most SUV's. As a bonus, there is a pre-engineered spot to store the cover in below the cargo floor if you need to take it out. I like that a lot.
10) Room for a full size spare. Thank you.
11) Fuel economy. Not bad, but not as good as I had hoped. I get 27MPG on average in mixed driving. That's not terrible, but not that much better than the 2014 Equinox I had before this. The Equinox was significantly heavier, less aerodynamic and to be honest, I flogged that vehicle lot more. Highway is around 36MPG. I'm happier with that. I probably wouldn't mind the mixed economy as much if the gas tank was bigger. This car needs more like 16 gallons, not 13.
12) Car is nice and quiet inside and the engine noise even under heavy throttle is not intrusive. Oddly, the sound quality on the Bluetooth speaker phone is not that great on either side of the conversation. I can live with it, but the last 2 Chevy's I had cause much fewer "What?" responses than this car does.
13) The 15" wheels are not much more attractive than a cheap set of plastic wheel covers, but the high-profile rubber makes for a good ride. Handling is not harmed at sane speeds.
I should note that I have a somewhat unique situation. My employer not only provides me an allowance for this car, but also pays for all repairs for the next 4 years which is how long I am allowed to keep the car under the reimbursement plan. As such, I was not as concerned with reliability and repair cost as most are. I really like the car a lot, but I'm not sure I would have chosen another VW if the repair costs were on me. I am hopeful that it will prove to be as reliable as a Toyota or Honda, but only time will tell. I can say that it is far better to drive and feels nicer inside than any Corolla or Focus I have ever been in. I test drove a 2016 base Forester before I bought the Golf and absolutely hated the thing. Between the CVT, interior noise and the low-rent feel inside, it wasn't a serious option for me. I also shopped the Accord and Mazda 6 which were both great cars, but more expensive and lacking in utility. I had considered the CX5, CRV and RAV4 (even another Equinox) but all were significantly more expensive given VW's incentives.
Hope this info helps someone. I'll try to update it as I put the miles on.