Opinions on Volkswagen Golf?

[madsquopper]

Considering getting a new Golf SE Hatch or Mazda 3 5 door. Spouse has a Mazda; really great car but for me it's a bit longer (and wider) than I'd like, plus visibility out the back isn't the best. Other than that it's close to ideal. The other car I drove and liked a lot was the Golf, but unsure about reliability (rated somewhat worse although Consumer Reports has the last year or two rated excellent), and also about real-world gas mileage.

The Honda Fit didn't quite make the final cut, so just need Golf comments. Thanks,

Larry

 

[Midpack]

VW makes appealing cars, but I’ve always steered clear because they’ve never fared well by Consumer Reports. CR has way more data behind their ratings than you’ll ever get asking here or a handful of random owners. But reliability is a very high priority for me, it’s not for some who rank features, looks, value or other factors first. YMMV

 

[HF63]

I think VW extended the warranty to 6 years or 70,000 miles, if you are keeping the car just for ~ 10 years you should be fine. After this period, the stuff just begins to fall apart.

 

[mpeirce]

We have a 2015 GTI and have zero problems with it. Seriously, just oil changes so far. But that's just us.

The main difference between Golf SE and GTI is the engine and tires. We got the GTI because it was the hatchback that was the most fun to drive. We even got the manual transmission for the same reason.

I've always liked hatchbacks, but they were often pretty "cheap" (always missing something I wanted), but the VW is a much better car than most of the hatchback completion IMHO.

 

[pj.mask]

Civic kind of makes a hatch (not as much head room). I have heard problems start at 100k miles. Friends car had whole computer/electrical system need replacement (was 10 years ago). They look a lot nicer than other cars you get at the price range - I don’t know how reliability has improved.

 

[mpeirce]

Civic kind of makes a hatch (not as much head room).

Ah, I forgot to mention. One really nice thing about the Golf/GTI/R is that they have plenty of head room. For some it's not an issue, but both DS and I are 6'6" and there are lots of cars we simply don't fit into comfortably.

 

[Joylush]

Considering getting a new Golf SE Hatch or Mazda 3 5 door. Spouse has a Mazda; really great car but for me it's a bit longer (and wider) than I'd like, plus visibility out the back isn't the best. Other than that it's close to ideal. The other car I drove and liked a lot was the Golf, but unsure about reliability (rated somewhat worse although Consumer Reports has the last year or two rated excellent), and also about real-world gas mileage.

The Honda Fit didn't quite make the final cut, so just need Golf comments. Thanks,

Larry

I had a four door harchback Volkswagen GTI. It's essentially a Golf but with a turbo. Fun, fun, fun car to drive. No problems with it. The Mazda 3 is a good choice too. I had a Mazda 626 (used to be smaller and is essentially like the Mazda 3 is now), best car ever but then again back then it was made in Japan. My son and daughter both have Mazda 3s. No problems with them either. They are all good choices but if you are looking for smaller and easily maneuverable the Golf/GTI is the better choice.

 

[Marita40]

I have had a series of Golfs and love them. For me they are the perfect car for the light city driving I do. Love the hatch--it holds a ton. My current car is actually a 2007 Rabbit, renamed for just that year I think.

 

[bigcmagor]

Bought a 1983 GTI new and remembered how fun it was to drive. So we bought a 2017 GTI to relive the experience. Haven't put more than a couple thousand miles on it yet, but so far it's been fine. If you are easy on the gas and tend to the shift points (ours is a manual) you can reach the fuel economy targets they advertise. I hit 39mpg on a recent 50 mile combined city/hwy trip. It's more fun to spool up the turbo than to maximize mpg however.

 

[Ready]

I would have a hard time feeling good about buying a Volkswagen after watching the diesel scandal unfold.

 

[Peter]

I see we have some happy GTI owners here! You can add me to the list; I've had mine since 2009 and it has been generally trouble-free.

But not completely. I had the (plastic!) intake manifold replaced under warranty, and there was an issue with the ABS controller - a dirty connector, now fixed. So there is some justification for the reliability reputation, but not to the extent that I would not buy again.

Back in 2009 I also looked at the Mazda 3 and the Honda Fit. I was surprised at how much I liked the Fit, but in the end the performance and finish of the GTI won out.

 

[mountainsoft]

I drank the VW cool aid when I was in high school (1980) and never broke the addiction. VW's are the only cars we have ever owned. Right now I have a 1976 Rabbit in the garage (trying to sell it), a 2000 Jetta for me, a 2003 Jetta for my daughter, and a 1997 Jetta for my wife. Like all mechanical things they break from time to time, but nothing ever really seemed like a lemon. Just normal wear and tear that any car has. But, we've always done our own car work, so I don't know how they compare to other cars.

I will probably never buy a NEW car, but if I was I would go full electric, no question (eGolf maybe). Otherwise, I'll probably stick with VW's as they are a part of our family now.

 

[braumeister]

Car & Driver thinks highly of the new Golf.

 

[haha]

Car & Driver thinks highly of the new Golf.

A friend in my building has one of these. It is really nice. Good rear space too. He is a piano tuner and I have helped him load full sized grand piano actions into his.

Years ago I had a VW Dasher that I drove ~325,000 good miles and it was still saleable. And this car is way better than my old one was.

Ha

 

[ncbill]

yes, VW vehicles are not known for their reliability,

but they are fun to drive and usually lease well.

so why not lease what you want...you can always buy it out at the end if you haven't had too many trips to the shop.

 

[Bestwifeever]

My friend has a diesel Golf that she kept and had VW fix rather than take the $, she and her DH love it so much.

Like Ha, we had a Dasher long ago. Loved that car, never a problem with it. I'd look at another VW today.

 

[braumeister]

My friend has a diesel Golf that she kept and had VW fix rather than take the $, she and her DH love it so much.

Long ago during the gas crisis of the 1980 era, I had a diesel Rabbit that was ridiculously underpowered but got 40 mpg so I was happy enough with it.

When I was reassigned overseas, I sold it to the older brother of my best friend. Since my friend lived just a block away from his brother, he would sneak over there at night and put a gallon or two of diesel in the tank.

His brother never caught on, and used to brag to everyone about his car that got over 100 mpg. Of course, nobody ever believed him and he found that pretty frustrating. Just a great practical joke.

 

[Totoro]

Nice summary:

a crowd-pleasing, endlessly popular device that covers every base 99.9 per cent of the population could ever want – or need – it to.

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/volkswagen/golf

 

[AS2019]

I have a 2012 GTI with 70,000 miles. No problems so far and it's really fun to drive. Everything seems to be a bit expensive regarding maintenance. Whatever it needs (oil filter, tires, etc) never seem to be "off the shelf". It always costs about 20% more because it requires a "special" air filter/oil filter/etc. But I do like the car. It is ultra maneuverable with the tightest turning radius of anything I've ever driven. Runs like a champ. Gets 33 mpg highway.

 

[ncbill]

My friend has a diesel Golf that she kept and had VW fix rather than taking the $, she and her DH love it so much.

Like Ha, we had a Dasher long ago. Loved that car, never a problem with it. I'd look at another VW today.

Our family's 1977 Dasher was the only vehicle we ever had that caught fire.

We joked it never needed fuses since the main wiring harness acted as a fusible link.

Before we took away mom's license she was spending a couple of thousand $ annually to keep it going.

 

[dallas27]

Gti is probably the most refined a car in that class ever been built, truly amazing in every category.

We prefer our 2015 gti over the Porsche cayman S that we sold.

 

[timo2]

I had a rabbit, then the golf, then a diesel golf. I loved them all. We also had a honda fit for our other car. We took the buy back on the VW diesels and traded in the Fit on a 2016 VW Touareg. We retired in 2017 and the Touareg is our only vehicle now. Although we would have been really happy with the Diesel fit as the only car (that was the original plan but between the cash for turning in the golf and the fit trade in, we upgraded).

 

[Bamaman]

The VWs are fine cars, but dealers are few and far between. And because VW dealers are generally low volume sales points, they cannot afford to sell cars at low profit margins.

VW is a very large manufacturer of cheap, utilitarian vehicles overseas. But in the U.S., they are a second tier car company--as is Mazda, Subaru and Mitsubishi. Parts are hard to acquire for VWs and they are hard to work on. Few mechanics have the very expensive special tools required for repairs.

There are other more popular vehicles that are cheaper and better values. The Honda Civic is leader of the pack and a very reliable and trouble free vehicle. I recently bought a 2018 Camry, and due to high volume sales they can be bought for the price of a far smaller, less equipped VW.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I've had two VW products and three Mazdas. In terms of reliability, I'd go for the Mazda without hesitation.

 

[madsquopper]

Well, I ended up going for the Golf over the Mazda 3 hatch, but it was close. One of the things that really matters to me a lot is visibility out of the car, and I really felt a bit claustrophobic with the small back window of the Mazda (viewing area is close to 50% lower than the Golf, and of my old car). As for reliability, I'll see how it goes over the next 6 years/72000 miles; could always bail out before the warranty period ends. I do like how the car drives; it was the best of any models I had been considering.