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28/07/2008
By EWAN KENNEDY
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Volkswagen has undergone a huge resurgence in Australia in the last few years. The mainstay of this comeback has been the Golf, a solid and sensible car in a very German manner. There aren't a lot of older Golfs on the used-car scene, but they are worth searching for, because many still have a fair amount of life left in them, particularly if they have been well cared for.
These days the Golf is a medium-sized car, having grown in size over the years. Mainly to provide the extra space needed for occupant crash protection. But there's more interior room as well.
 Australian owners once regarded the Golf as being suited to two adults and two or three pre-teen children. In Europe, Golf is often seen as a full-sized car and it’s not unusual to see them carting four large adults about. Aussies are swinging their thinking in this direction as rising fuel prices really start to bite. If you live in an inner city area in Melbourne of Sydney you may need nothing more than a Golf to fill all your motoring needs.
The buyer who needs a sensible car, but who enjoys driving will find the Golf goes a long way towards meeting these conflicting needs. Golf is a pleasant car to drive with good handing and sharp steering feel to let you get involved in what the car is doing, and with plenty of road grip even when pushed hard. These cars remain comfortable even on rough bush roads, though they are more at home in the ‘burbs than the far outback.
Golf is sold as a three- or five-door door hatchback. The four-door sedan was called the Bora towards from 1999 until the launch of the fifth generation model in 2005, when it was renamed Jetta. Sedans aren't all that common in Australia, but boot space is substantially better than in the hatches and the four-door models are certainly worth consideration.
There was the option of a two-door Golf Cabriolet until 2003. It has good roll-over protection for an open-top car and still offers a reasonable amount of space in the back seat. The Cabriolet also lags in boot space as the roof mechanism takes up a fair bit of room. Access to the boot is difficult due to the odd location of the hinges. The Cabriolet was replaced by the New Beetle Cabriolet and the Eos convertible arrived in 2006 to further cater for those looking for an open-top Volkswagen.
 Engines come in various guises: petrol and diesel; with four-, five- and six-cylinder units. Four-cylinder petrol engines are the most common, coming in capacities of 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litres. The smallest four will suit most drivers, but those who like to pedal along may find it a bit dull. The V5 engine is a 2.3-litre unit and the V6 has 2.8 litres capacity.
Volkswagen in Australia started a big push in the diesel field a couple of years back and the engines are now far more common than in the past.
The economy-minded will love the 1.9-litre turbo-diesel that offers grunt and refinement that’s not far short of that of the 1.8-litre petrol engine, yet routinely covers more than 1000 kilometres on a tank of fuel.
Not all engine choices are available in every model, indeed you have to pick and choose carefully to get what you want.
Those who enjoy a really good drive should consider the VW Golf GTi. A real fun machine it’s rapidly becoming regarded as a classic in the hot-hatch market. Then there's the Golf R32 range of real hotshots.
A conventional five-speed manual transmission is still the most common in the used-car field. Six-speed manuals arrived with the fifth-gen Golfs in 2004. A four-speed automatic is a worthwhile buy if you do a lot of heavy-duty commuting, but doesn’t feel all that exciting to sit behind. Far better is the DSG gearbox launched in 2004, it’s a self-shifting manual gearbox that’s far more refined than older variants of its type. Indeed, there are some who will drive all day with the selector in Drive and never realise they are in a fully automatic car.
 This VW is a relatively easy car to work on and spare parts are not overly expensive. The dealer network has expanded from a low point during the mid-1990s and nowadays we hear very few complaints about parts availability or servicing.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Rust isn’t common, if you do come across it, it’s likely to be the result of poor quality crash repairs so it is wise to have the car inspected professionally.
Feel and look for uneven tyre wear, particularly on the front wheels.
Look for scrapes on the bottom edges of the front mudflaps, they will often drag on the ground if the car has been cornered hard. Brand new mudflaps could be a suspicious sign.
Interiors generally stand up well, but some older Golfs that have been kept in the open continuously may suffer from sun-dried dashboard tops.
Engines should start quickly (even the older turbo-diesel, as it has fast-acting glow plugs). Listen for untoward engine noises, especially when it’s cold.
Look for smoke from the exhaust when the engine is driven hard, particularly on hard uphill slogs.
Make sure a manual gearbox doesn’t crunch on fast downchanges. Check that automatic transmissions are positive in their shifts and don't take too long to go into Drive or Reverse from Park or Neutral.
Check the brakes pull the car up evenly. If ABS is fitted you should feel it working during hard stops.
CAR BUYING TIP
Some cars come in a big variety of models with plenty of different engine/transmission and trim choices. It pays to do a lot of homework before looking seriously at buying one.
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