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Review: 2010 Volkswagen Golf -- it's closer to ideal, but still an engine shy of 'perfect'
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The new 2010 Volkswagen Golf drives very well and has an unusually high-quality interior for its price point, but it's let down overall by a noisy and fuel-thirsty engine and must compete against its roomier Jetta Sportwagen variant. See more photos of the Golf in today's slideshow. (Photos by Brady Holt)
Volkswagen has always pitched its least expensive cars as a quality cut above the competition, with a higher level of refinement and solidity than the average econobox, and the company’s new 2010 Golf lives up to that standard in most ways.
Featuring mostly evolutionary updates to its styling and interior compared to its Rabbit predecessor, the Golf retains the outgoing car’s fine balance of ride and handling and improves much further on an already high-quality interior.
But this compact hatchback retains Volkswagen’s much-criticized 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine, which continues to be noisier and less fuel-efficient than in many economy cars – knocking it a bit short of “the perfect city car” this Golf’s window sticker calls it.
Furthermore, the 5-door Golf hatchback is priced barely $1,000 under its own much roomier station wagon version – which is sold as the Jetta Sportwagen but is based on the new Golf rather than the Jetta sedan (which was not upgraded). Though as a true city car, the Golf’s tighter exterior dimensions are an asset over the Jetta.
It would be difficult to overstate the quality of the new Golf’s interior, which some reviewers have correctly identified as luxury level in a sub-$20,000 car. The Rabbit’s interior was nice but overrated; this Golf is the real deal, with the highest level of materials and superb fit and finish. Any car billing itself as a “premium compact” should pay attention; the Mazda3, for all its other merits, would need a major overhaul to come close in this area.
Every surface of the Golf’s interior is appropriately padded in a rubbery material. Panels have tight, even fits. The cloth on the seats is pleasant to look at and touch and feels durable. Bins in the front doors are carpeted, and the doors shut with commendable solidity. Common problem areas on other cars – such as the interior door pulls, which had a poorly finished edge in the 2009 Rabbit (and the Jetta sedan) – are conspicuously well-done in this car.
This Golf's test drive came immediately after that of a fully-loaded full-size sedan with nearly twice its $19,940 sticker price, but that clearly did not set an inappropriate frame of reference. That $39,175 car’s interior materials and assembly quality were demonstrably inferior to this Golf’s. (Check back next Sunday for a full review of that vehicle.) Volkswagens have long enjoyed a reputation for exceptional interior quality, but it’s been a few years since one of the company’s products did more than rest on its laurels.
Two slight interior quality exceptions include a stiff handbrake with a loose plastic piece and a poorly finished edge along the side of the center console next to the driver’s seat.
See more photos of the Golf's interior in today's slideshow
A discussion of the new Golf’s interior takes up a disproportionate amount of this review because it represents the primary substantive change to the vehicle over the outgoing Rabbit. The mechanical bits are the same, and although the front and rear styling is new, the middle and most dimensions carry over.
As noted, one of those carryover components is a 2.5-liter 5-cylinder engine that generates suitable pep managed by an alert six-speed automatic transmission (five-door Golfs using regular gas aren’t offered with a manual; the three-door, the Jetta Sportwagen, and the diesel TDI version both offer stickshifts) but that’s raucous under any acceleration and that returns an improved-over-2009 but still mediocre estimated fuel economy of 23 miles per gallon in the city and 30 on the highway – lower than an increasing number of midsize cars.
(The diesel was newly reintroduced to the Volkswagen hatchback line and returns commendable EPA estimates of 30 miles per gallon in the city and 42 on the highway, but the TDI costs thousands more than the base Golf.)
The gas-powered Golf’s refinement further suffers at cruising speeds, where booming road noise drowns out the engine, but where firm steering and an impressively controlled ride do indeed feel premium. TDI models have a sport suspension that biases the car further in favor of handling over ride quality, but the responsive and well-weighted steering and tight suspension help make even this base version one of the more fun-to-drive compact cars.
Besides its quality, the Golf’s interior is also a comfortable place for up to four adults to spend time. The front seats are nicely padded and have aggressive – if widely-spaced – bolsters, and offer plenty of space; the rear is mounted high and comfortable for two passengers, but though the seat is wide enough for three, a center passenger would need to straddle a wide console.
The 2010 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen includes the same
upgrades as the new Golf but includes much more cargo
room.
Cargo space is unchanged from the Rabbit, and remains unremarkable compared to the latest gee-whiz space-efficient hatchbacks. 15 cubic feet behind the rear seat is not voluminous, but the seat folds easily to a more impressive 46 cubes.
But for $21,115, you can step up to a comparably-equipped Jetta Sportwagen with more than twice the cargo room behind the rear seat – nearly 33 cubic feet – which represents the difference between carrying four adults and four adults and their cargo. The Sportwagen also has a 20-cube advantage over the Golf with the rear seat folded. City-dwellers may appreciate that the Golf is 13.5 inches shorter than the Jetta, but as it’s still a small car, few others would likely be inconvenienced. The Sportwagen also offers a greater variety of options and transmission selections than the Golf hatchback.
On its own merits, the Golf is an impressive vehicle for continuing to offer good ride and handling, a comfortable interior, and newly outstanding levels of attention to interior detail. But a review of the specifications after leaving the Volkswagen dealer suggests this review may be going into detail on the wrong car. It’s the Jetta Sportwagen that looks like the car to get for anyone who doesn’t have a major shortage of parking space, and a future test drive will have to see if it can improve on the Golf’s excessive engine and road noise without giving up its agility.
But even offering the same comprehensive list of merits with more space and for not much more money would make the Sportwagen the sort of premium compact car Volkswagen has spent too many years only pretending to offer.
Neither is a bargain, of course. Someone looking for a small car because it's inexpensive could easily find comfortable and practical transportation for $5,000 less than these Volkswagens, and could probably do better still. Many midsize cars can be bought had for well under $20,000.
But Volkswagen has now earned the business of those who like how small cars drive and want a small car that doesn't feel cheap. The Golf and presumably the Sportwagen are now challenging the king-of-the-hill Mazda3 for luxury and sport-seekers alike.
Vehicle tested: 2010 Volkswagen Golf
Vehicle base price (MSRP): $17,490
Version tested: 5-door
Version base price (MSRP): $19,190
Vehicle price as tested (MSRP): $19,940
Vehicle transaction price as tested: $18,917
Test vehicle provided by: Wes Greenway's Waldorf Volkswagen of Waldorf, Md.
Key specifications:
Length: 165.4 inches
Width: 70.3 inches
Height: 58.1 inches
Wheelbase: 101.5 inches
Weight: 3,102 pounds
Cargo volume behind rear seat: 15 cubic feet
Cargo volume behind front seats: 46 cubic feet
Engine (as tested): 2.5-liter I5 with 170 horsepower
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
EPA city mileage: 23 miles per gallon
EPA highway mileage: 30 miles per gallon
EPA mixed driving: 26 miles per gallon
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