I have just had the pleasure of putting the new Golf MkVI 1.6 S through its paces and what a pleasure it was too.
Last year I drove Volkswagen's latest Golf Estate and was very taken by how 'right' everything seemed with the car.
Changing the subject slightly to teenagers, I have to say that there's rarely a dull moment when there are teenagers around. Contentious moments, stroppy moments, lethargic moments – yes, but there are always 'moments'. One of those 'moments' came at 4.30pm on Thursday. Our two daughters were due to leave on a skiing trip early on Friday morning. Ah, great, we thought! Peace and quiet for a week. For the two weeks running up to this time we had, on a daily basis, been nagging the living daylights out of them by asking repeatedly if they had everything ready, were they sure they'd packed everything, shampoo, toothbrushes, hats, gloves, clothes, tickets, passports? We thought we'd covered every possible scenario in our preparation by proxy. The last thing we wanted was for them to be arriving at their ski resort with something missing from their inventory. Then the bomb dropped: “What day is the 19th?” asks one. “Wednesday” was the reply... “Why do you ask?”.... “It says here on my passport that it expires on the 19th of this month”.
I always like to try to vary the type of driving each time I review a car to compare its merits in a variety of circumstances. On this occasion I had spent a few days running around my own locality, lots of town driving, heavy traffic, urban side streets and more, and it was my plan to give it a 'bit of a run' on the weekend. Where, I wasn't really sure yet, but I was sure to think of somewhere to go.
The next 36 hours proved to be some of the most stressful 'moments' for a long time: Phone passport office to make extortionately expensive emergency application appointment. Dash to Post Office to pick up forms, dash to supermarket to get photos done, frantic phone calls to airline to rearrange flights, calls to other members of skiing party to arrange new rendezvous in France, drive to passport office to be waiting as they opened the doors on Friday morning, hang around for four hours Friday morning waiting for said passports to be processed, set off just after midnight to drive across country to enable daughters to check in for early morning Saturday flight. The things we do for our kids!
However, all was not lost because our little dilemma concerning where to go for our 'run' was solved. A 400-mile round trip to the airport through the night would suffice, we thought. Despite the particularly unsociable hours, despite the sub-zero temperatures outside, it proved to be a really comfortable and easy drive. There was ample room for all the teenage paraphernalia that teenage daughters need to take. In fact, their bags simply disappeared into the huge void that was the boot! Never be tricked into thinking that a hatchback car can't have a big boot space.
There's always been something about the Golf; something quite unique in a small mid-priced car. It is conspicuous by the fact that it is ironically so beautifully inconspicuous when you drive it. It is quiet and comfortable, it sticks to the road like glue, it is nippy and responsive but at the end of the day it blends into the periphery and lets you get on with enjoying the whole experience. Everything is where it should be and it all works so well. It takes away the need to wonder about the car and to concentrate exclusively on the driving and the road ahead. This in turn makes the experience much more relaxed and less tiring. I could have kept driving for hours even after we got back home but unfortunately time and fatigue had got the better of me and I bade it farewell for the day.
Would I buy one myself? Most definitely! It is one of the few cars in its class that I think has got it ALL right: comfort, performance, style, economy, practicality, reliability and more. It is one of those cars that puts the pleasure into driving but without being pretentious or flashy and costing the earth! This latest MkVI version keeps the essential aspects as they were in previous versions, but now presents them in its new, more economical and slightly better performing way.
Nigel Crawford.
Feb 2009
Model Driven: GOLF S 1.6-litre 102 PS 5dr 5spd manual
Basic ‘on the road’ recommended retail price* £14,372.00
* includes £719.50 (delivery, number plates, VAT, £170 VED (band E) and £55 registration fee)
Engine capacity (litres / cc): 1.6 / 1595
Power output (PS @ rpm): 102 @ 5600
Max torque (lbs ft / Nm @ rpm): 109 / 148 @ 3800
Top speed (mph): 117
0-62 mph (seconds): 11.3
Fuel economy (mpg): Urban – 29.1; Extra-urban – 50.4; Combined – 39.8
CO2 emissions (g/km) 166
Insurance group: 5
Warranty: 3 years / 60,000 miles; 3 years paint; 12 years body protection; 1 year Volkswagen Assistance (UK & Europe) |
The New Kia Sorento
