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12/05/2011
By EWAN KENNEDY in St Tropez
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There are times in the life of a motoring journalist when all the hard work and endless deadlines are traded for times of sheer pleasure. Such as this morning when we cruised the new Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet along coastal roads in the south of France. What better place for VW to carry out the international launch of one of its most famed models.
For a while the Volkswagen Golf cabriolet seemed to have been laid to rest, the decision having been made to discontinue it after a lifetime of almost three decades. The thinking was that Volkswagen lovers who wanted affordable open-top motoring could opt for either the new Eos or that was a vehicle in its own right, or if they were chasing nostalgia, they could settle into the great little New Beetle convertible.
So great has been the demand for open-air cruisers that VW’s management decided there was room for a third convertible in the lineup. The fact that Audi released a convertible version of the cute little A3 helped as well. Audi is, of course, part of the Volkswagen Group so when the new Golf 6 was introduced it made sense to take the Audi platform and turn it into at Golf Cabriolet.
This time around the Golf is strictly speaking not a cabriolet, but rather a convertible. The difference being that cabriolet’s aren’t fully open, but have roll hoops installed to provide rollover protection.
Modern technology means rollovers are far less likely because electronic systems sense when a car is starting to slide sideways and do everything possible to bring the car back on course. If everything still goes wrong and a new VW Golf Cabriolet does start to turn turtle then protection hoops spring up almost instantly to keep the occupants as safe as possible.
The lines of the new Volkswagen Golf cabriolet work brilliantly. The sharp-edged theme which is being introduced across the entire VW range, even including the new Amarok pickup are especially suited to this open-top Golf. Though there’s a strong resemblance to the hatchback Golf, the cabriolet uses a sportier look to match its fun characteristics. This is particularly noticeable in the windscreen angle.
Combine the sharp lens of the front of the Golf with clear taillights set in a stubby rear end with an inbuilt aero spoiler and you get a car that looks great with the top down. However, the slightly angular shape of the rear areas of the soft top don’t work quite as cleanly as the rest of the car.
But who cares, because folding roofs are for folding down, not for looking pretty when they are raised. This VW has one of the cleverest tops in the business. It goes up or down in just 10 seconds and can be lowered or raised at speeds of up to 30 km/h. Even if the weather looks threatening you can drive topless until the last possible moment before slowing and powering the roof up.
Look carefully and you will see one of the tricks that lets the roof work so quickly - when the top is down the rear cover isn’t a specific rear cover, rather it’s the top section of the roof itself.
Naturally you lose some boot space when a roof has to be folded into the boot, but a soft-top takes up significantly less space than a folding hardtop and we were able to fit a couple of small suitcases and some soft bags into the available space.
There’s good room for two in comfortable front seats and a further two adults can be squeezed into the back seat with less discomfort than in many in this class. Mum, Dad and a couple of kids could make an easy cruising trip and all would love the wind in the hair feel, so this Volkswagen could be used as the only family car.
We found body rigidity to be excellent in this open Volkswagen, with little of the trembling scuttle-shake that can trouble some cars when they lose the strength provided by a fully enclosed body. We found some rough roads – well, rough by European standards - and felt that the VW soft-top felt fine. But our final decision will have to be made when the new open Golf comes to Australia late in 2011.
Handling is sharp and positive, with good feedback through the steering. You wouldn't really describe a cabriolet like this as being a sports machine, but it comes pretty close and there’s no shortage of driving pleasure on offer.
Power comes a variety of petrol and diesel engines, ranging from 1.2 to 2.0 litres. It’s likely the Golf cabriolet will be introduced to Australia with the two largest powerplants, the 155 kilowatt petrol and the 103 kW / 320 Newton metre turbo-diesel. At least initially, but don’t rule out the chances of a smaller engine in a lower cost model.
Transmissions are six-speed manual or seven-speed double-clutch DSG.
Prices and final specifications for Australian imports have yet to be finalised, as has the exact date of introduction. Stay tuned and we will give you further information, as well as driving impressions in Australia, as soon as we can get our hands on them. |
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