- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
2.0DT, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
110kW, 320Nm
- Fuel
Diesel 4.9L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto (DCT)
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2013 Volkswagen Golf 110 TDI Highline Review
You hear about horror stories and nightmares with VW cars. More often than not any VW article on this very site is taken over by people expressing their opinion on how unreliable they are and warning to not buy their vehicles. My story is different and in the time I have had the Golf (Nearly a Year) it has performed almost without fault.
- Feature List, Premium Feel, Refinement & Quality, Clever Technology, Engine
- Stop/Start System is Harsh, DSG Behaviour when in slow driving
Getting the negatives out of the way first I have had the Audio unit hold a small strike once and wouldn't function however by switching the car off and re starting it the unit came back to life. Also a coolant level low warning appeared but once again a quick fix was found. A two second stop at the dealer on my way past and it was back to normal. Just needed a small top up.
My only gripes with how the car performs is with the Gearbox which is a little hard to get used to because if you don't stop completely at a set of lights and then go to move off it will stay in 2nd gear instead of using 1st. The last thing is the Stop/Start system which is harsh on restart (This could also be a Diesel thing).
The Golf feels and looks well built inside and out and not a single rattle has made itself evident in the time I have had it. Generous amounts of standard kit are present with things like: Sat Nav, Bluetooth Phone and Audio Streaming, Dual Zone Climate Control, Reversing Camera, Front and Rear Parking Sensors and Auto Lights and Wipers to name a few. There are also nice touches such as the Electronic Park Brake which you never need to touch. Put the car in Drive and depress the accelerator and the car will deactivate the Brake. Once you have stopped and remove your seatbelt the car automatically activates it again.
Getting Comfortable in the golf is easy with lots of seat and steering column adjustment while visibility is great with quite a lot of glass around you. There's plenty of space as well with good Headroom Front and Rear and descent Legroom in the back. The false floor in the boot is a nice touch as well if you need to carry taller items.
The Golf rides like a midsize sedan with its suspension setup ironing out lumps and bumps in the road and mid corner bumps don't unsettle the car too much. Road noise is supressed nicely only becoming noisy on the harshest of surfaces. The engine too is refined and once cruising you can barely tell there is an oil burner under the bonnet.
Talking about the engine and what a gem it is. The 2.0 Litre Turbo Diesel produces 110kw of power but the torque is what really matters here. With 320Nm on tap the Golf pulls away and accelerates without any fuss at all. Teamed with the smooth shifting 6 Speed DSG overtaking and hills are taken care of with just a slight twitch of the right foot. As mentioned previously the DSG can be a slight pain in traffic but you do get used to it and in every other scenario it does a great job.
Economy is also very good with the Official combined rating of 4.9 L/100kms. After nearly a year and 10,000kms of driving I have averaged 5.2 L/100kms with mainly town and city driving. I would love to see what this car can achieve on a longer run.
The last thing to touch on is the cabin ambience especially at night time. With Piano Black Inserts, Ambient Lighting (Foot Wells and Doors), Soft Touch Materials and well laid out instruments the Golf gives a premium feel that even cars much more expensive cannot match.
I hope my Golf provides me with many more years trouble free motoring and I look forward to seeing how VW will top the MK7 when a new model is eventually due.