The 6 month point since owning the Golf is just a week away, so I thought I would share my experiences I've had so far with this car.
The car is a 2011 Golf with the 2.5l 5 cylinder engine and 5-speed manual transmission. For me this car is a short-trip daily driver but when I get the time I always try to take it for a good ride (which is not very often). After trading in the Z28 I was looking for something a little more practical but I still wanted something with some character, primarily when it came to how it drove.
I have heard horror stories about VW and even though it does worry me a bit I feel pretty comfortable that this car will live a good life with proper maintenance. It should also help that I have the naturally aspirated 2.5 and manual trans.
The car's 170hp/177tq is more than sufficient for a daily driver. The car has a pretty broad torque curve; power is spaced out nicely and I very rarely find myself downshifting to give it more go. Anything over 2k rpms and the car seems to have no trouble even when it comes to some pretty steep hills.
I love this car's manual gearbox. Everything is smooth and direct. The shifter feels incredibly fluid but still firm, unlike a lot of the manual Toyota's I've driven. I tried to find out more on the transmissions, who manufactures them and how reliable they are, but I came up with very little information. The window sticker on the car says they are built in Argentina.
Handling is also fantastic for a smaller FWD car. Everything feels very connected for the driver and the car itself feels very well built and engineered especially when taking it through the twisties. The car handles like it's a bigger vehicle, not a compact.
Fuel economy is sufficient but not spectacular. I have honestly done no full-on highway trips so I don't have any real world numbers for hwy mileage. All my trips have been within the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. A good amount of congestion and lights but also a good number of roads where I can hold a steady 35-50mph on. I have about 2500 miles tracked on fuelly.com and my mileage is averaged at 25.2mpg. So far nothing has changed drastically, a low of 24.3mpg to a high of 26.5mpg. To be honest I am fine with the mileage I am getting and it isn't too different from my other small cars -- Nissan Versa (26-27mpg) and an older Ford Escort (24-25mpg)
I changed out the factory fill at about 1800 miles and used Mobil 1 0w-40. I plan on sticking with this oil.
The interior on this car is above average for it's class I would say. This is my first German vehicle but it seems to be true that they do pay attention to the fine little details. The interior is laid out wonderfully and all the materials seem to be of very high quality. Lots of soft materials and almost no hard plastics to be found. Wonderful seats too. I believe it was Car & Driver who said the new Golf has a better interior than the Audi A3, and after being in it everyday I could see how that may be true. I was never picky when it came to interiors, but maybe it had to do with me never owning a car with anything that stood out?
The 2.5L does sound a bit coarse and "rough" outside of the vehicle, especially at low RPMs, but inside it absorbs noise quite well. I was surprised with how little noise is heard from outside of the car. Also so far I've experienced no real rattles from the interior.
I am not very technical when it comes to cars. I am fascinated by them, love changing my own oil for whatever odd reason, and like learning as much DIY stuff as possible. I got this car for $18,400 after all taxes, tags, etc. And for the money I feel it's a very well equipped and good car. Getting in it everyday puts a smile on my face, even if it's just driving to work or taking my daughter to daycare. Hopefully I have just as many good things to say in another 6 months.
The car is a 2011 Golf with the 2.5l 5 cylinder engine and 5-speed manual transmission. For me this car is a short-trip daily driver but when I get the time I always try to take it for a good ride (which is not very often). After trading in the Z28 I was looking for something a little more practical but I still wanted something with some character, primarily when it came to how it drove.
I have heard horror stories about VW and even though it does worry me a bit I feel pretty comfortable that this car will live a good life with proper maintenance. It should also help that I have the naturally aspirated 2.5 and manual trans.
The car's 170hp/177tq is more than sufficient for a daily driver. The car has a pretty broad torque curve; power is spaced out nicely and I very rarely find myself downshifting to give it more go. Anything over 2k rpms and the car seems to have no trouble even when it comes to some pretty steep hills.
I love this car's manual gearbox. Everything is smooth and direct. The shifter feels incredibly fluid but still firm, unlike a lot of the manual Toyota's I've driven. I tried to find out more on the transmissions, who manufactures them and how reliable they are, but I came up with very little information. The window sticker on the car says they are built in Argentina.
Handling is also fantastic for a smaller FWD car. Everything feels very connected for the driver and the car itself feels very well built and engineered especially when taking it through the twisties. The car handles like it's a bigger vehicle, not a compact.
Fuel economy is sufficient but not spectacular. I have honestly done no full-on highway trips so I don't have any real world numbers for hwy mileage. All my trips have been within the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. A good amount of congestion and lights but also a good number of roads where I can hold a steady 35-50mph on. I have about 2500 miles tracked on fuelly.com and my mileage is averaged at 25.2mpg. So far nothing has changed drastically, a low of 24.3mpg to a high of 26.5mpg. To be honest I am fine with the mileage I am getting and it isn't too different from my other small cars -- Nissan Versa (26-27mpg) and an older Ford Escort (24-25mpg)
I changed out the factory fill at about 1800 miles and used Mobil 1 0w-40. I plan on sticking with this oil.
The interior on this car is above average for it's class I would say. This is my first German vehicle but it seems to be true that they do pay attention to the fine little details. The interior is laid out wonderfully and all the materials seem to be of very high quality. Lots of soft materials and almost no hard plastics to be found. Wonderful seats too. I believe it was Car & Driver who said the new Golf has a better interior than the Audi A3, and after being in it everyday I could see how that may be true. I was never picky when it came to interiors, but maybe it had to do with me never owning a car with anything that stood out?
The 2.5L does sound a bit coarse and "rough" outside of the vehicle, especially at low RPMs, but inside it absorbs noise quite well. I was surprised with how little noise is heard from outside of the car. Also so far I've experienced no real rattles from the interior.
I am not very technical when it comes to cars. I am fascinated by them, love changing my own oil for whatever odd reason, and like learning as much DIY stuff as possible. I got this car for $18,400 after all taxes, tags, etc. And for the money I feel it's a very well equipped and good car. Getting in it everyday puts a smile on my face, even if it's just driving to work or taking my daughter to daycare. Hopefully I have just as many good things to say in another 6 months.
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