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13/11/2011
REVIEW By ALISTAIR KENNEDY
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Earlier this year we reported from Europe on the return of the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, now the soft top has arrived in Australia.
Although convertible cars with retractable hardtop roofs have become common, there’s still sufficient buyer interest for a number of European carmakers, including Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, to continue producing soft-top convertibles.
Convertible purists want people to know that they’re driving a convertible and say that the roof being closed should be exception rather than the rule. So have no interest in a car that looks like a closed coupe when the roof is up.
Unlike its predecessors, which date back to 1979, the roof folding mechanism in the fourth generation VW Golf Cabriolet is now fully automated, by way of a switch on the central console. It opens in just nine seconds, significantly faster than the more intricate folding procedure of the Eos which takes 25 seconds. The Golf’s roof can also be opened and closed with the car in motion up to a speed of 30 km/h.
When the top is down there is no separate cover for the folded roof, rather the upper surface of the front roof bow becomes the top surface of the roof storage box.
Because the folded roof effectively sits on top of the boot rather than inside it there’s good luggage space of 250 litres. The rear seat backs in the Cabriolet can be folded flat to significantly expand carrying space. Previous models only had a small ski hatch.
The Golf Cabriolet’s windscreen angle and length are ideal, providing protection from the wind without interfering with the open air feel that is critical to maximising the fun of travelling in any convertible.
When the Volkswagen Mark I Golf Cabriolet was released in 1979 the dominant rollbar led to the car being colloquially known as the ‘Strawberry Basket’. The Mark IV model is the first to come without a fixed roll bar. Rollover protection is now provided by two recessed bars that operate in conjunction with the car’s airbag controller and spring upwards within 0.25 seconds when an impending rollover is detected.
The front windscreen frame is reinforced and also acts as a rollbar.
In any case, the chances of rollovers in are much less likely with the various electronic systems able to sense when a car is starting to slide sideways and do everything possible to bring the Golf back on course.
Interior space in the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet is good with plenty of leg and headroom for the front seat occupants and reasonable space for adults in the back. The front seats are supportive and comfortable.
At this stage Golf Cabriolet comes only with Volkswagen’s clever 1.4-litre TSI twincharger engine mated with a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed double-clutch DSG transmission. The model designation of 118TSI refers to the engine’s peak power of 118 kW, at 5800 rpm, while the maximum torque of 240 Nm runs through an excellent spread that goes all the way from 1500 to 4000 revs.
At the official media launch of the new Cabriolet road tested the new Golf soft top in some delightful roads to the south of Adelaide in weather conditions that were close to perfect for open top driving.
Despite the absence of a fixed roof the body is very rigid and we found almost no evidence of the characteristic scuttle-shake that used to affect convertibles.
The interior is also surprisingly quiet with the roof in place thanks to a special insulating filler layer.
There’s good feedback through the steering wheel and handling is sharp and positive. It’s no sports machine but it comes close and it’s most enjoyable to drive.
For those that wince when they see the car’s modest 1.4-litre capacity we’d recommend that they get down to their local VW dealer for a test drive before jumping to conclusions. They’ll be amazed at how well this advanced little unit performs.
Official fuel consumption is listed at 6.6 litres per 100 kilometres on the combined city/highway cycle with the manual gearbox and 6.5 L/100 km with the DSG. We were able to sit around these numbers during our test in a DSG equipped car, but didn’t get to try a manual.
The manual Golf Cabriolet very competitively priced at $36,990 with the six-speed manual gearbox, or $13,000 less than the auto-only Eos. DSG transmission adds $2500.
Standard features include five airbags, ABS brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist, electronic stability control, hill start assist, front and rear foglights, 17-inch alloy wheels, lowered sports suspension, Bluetooth connectivity for both phone and audio, USB and Auxiliary sockets and Media Interface Unit.
Options include satellite navigation ($3000); rear view camera ($1400), which is only available with SatNav; leather seat upholstery ($3300) and Bi-Xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights ($2100).
The arrival of the new Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet has certainly revived interest in the soft top convertible. Its combination of attractive looks, light weight, lithe performance and very competitive pricing could well help mark a swing away from the more trendy hardtop convertibles back towards these traditional tops. |
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