You learn to despise the thick rear roof pillar, which creates a blind spot big enough to hide a Chevy Blazer, but the mirrors, thankfully, are big and adjust far enough outward to cover it. In traffic, you also appreciate the car's excellent eight-speaker sound system and effective climate controls (the heater is especially powerful). The steering feels a little numb, though, and has the annoying trait of wanting to stay at full lock once it's there. The 2.0 L, 115 hp four — making the proper growly Golf-type sound — pulls it around speedily, even with the optional ($1100) automatic. Unlike most cars of comparable size and weight, the Golf isn't upset by crosswinds and doesn't readily follow road imperfections.Ĭall it Autobahn breeding if you wish, but the Golf feels completely at home on the 401.Īround town, it feels equally at home because of its small size. Its stability and solidity at speed make it feel like a much bigger car. They make long cruises down the highway painless.Įqually painless is how the Golf tracks down the highway. The seats are excellent, supportive and comfortable in all the right places. The dash's quality seems especially bothersome in light of the quality plastic on the roof pillars, the fabric headliner, the damped grab handles and the solid sun visors. Its many pieces creaked over pavement ripples, and I counted more than a dozen slightly mis-matched textures and shades of poorly moulded off-black plastic. While the layout is logical enough, with high-mounted radio controls and big rotary ventilation knobs, the Wall of Black dashboard is neither particularly attractive nor well-made. If only the car's interior were as well-made as it is spacious. The efficiency of the Golf's chunky two-box design (with its almond eyes, also bette-rlooking than the Jetta), in my opinion is astounding. It has more rear head room, more front leg room, more shoulder room and greater trunk volume. The Golf's interior packaging is without a doubt its greatest achievement.Īn interior that's fractionally larger than its cousin Jetta's is carved from a body that is almost a full half-metre shorter. Here is a car that frees up enough space for three bikes in my garage. Here is a car with carrying capacity, with a folding rear seat and a removable package shelf. From the moment I guided the Volkswagen Golf into my one-car garage for the first time, I wondered why North Americans have abandoned hatchbacks.
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