VW Golf Match 2.0-litre TDI 140
by Tim Barnes-Clay, the man behind the wheel.
Date: 01 December 2010
I’M NOT going to be very objective about this car review.
Why? Because I was a VW Golf addict in my youth and the memory of my 1989 black Golf GTI still lingers.
To this day, no other car in this sector, GTI or otherwise, unifies delight and comfort as well as the Golf.
It’s extraordinarily poised on challenging roads, thanks to lots of grip and well-weighted steering and it’s also easy to drive around town.
Everything A Family Is Likely To Need
The VW Golf is all most families will ever need too. There are competitors with more exalted badges, larger load capacities, and lower prices, but as a dad of two young children, if I had to choose one model to cope with everything a family is likely to need for a couple of years, it would be a Golf.
The VW Golf Match, on test here, comes with good looking alloys, four electric windows and a well-dressed interior. Its muted cabin makes it a first-rate cruiser, with negligible wind, road or engine noise interfering at speed.
All-rounder
The 2.0 TDI diesel engine is smooth and all of the major controls work with polished precision.
The oil-burner delivers 140bhp and a healthy 236 lb ft of torque, which gives the Golf real pulling-power and exciting performance when you put the pedal to the metal.
In fact the car is so good at pulling that is has been named the winner of the £20,000-£25,000 price category in The Caravan Club Towcar of the year 2011 awards!
Inside, the use of materials and equipment, usually associated with a vehicle in a higher class, give a high quality feel, enhanced by new soft touch plastics and tasteful aluminium and chrome highlights.
The kit list is good, including ‘climatic’ semi-automatic air conditioning, Bluetooth telephone preparation, multifunction computer, cruise control and automatic driving lights. The audio system is impressive too, with a digital radio and dash mounted MP3 compatible six-disc CD auto-changer including SD card reader and AUX-in socket.
As well as panache, power and might, the iconic hatch in the 2.0 TDI 140 form, can achieve very respectable fuel consumption figures of up to 58.9 mpg on the combined cycle.
And when you’ve finished cruising or ferrying the kids to school, the Golf is equally impressive to park, with good visibility and helpful parking sensors at the front and rear. It’s a real all-rounder.
Indeed, very few cars are like the Volkswagen Golf, yet with global sales now topping 26 million, and in its sixth generation, the latest version continues to offer buyers a car which sets benchmarks in quality, style, safety and refinement.
PROS ‘N’ CONS
PROS
- Fun
- Good engine
- Economical
- Stylish
- Comfort
CONS
- Load space is adequate, not huge
FAST FACTS
- Max speed: 130 mph
- 0-62 mph 9.3 seconds
- Combined mpg: 58.9
- Engine: 1968 cc, 4 cylinders, 16 valves, turbo-diesel
- Power: 140 PS at 4200 rpm
- Torque: 236 lb ft at 1750-2500 rpm
- CO2: 126 g/km
- Price: £20,310 OTR
