VOLKSWAGEN GOLF Hatchback 2004‑2008

Fast, good on fuel averaging 31mpg, but not enough feedback in the bends and rust starts after 5 years, at the wings and and rear arches. VW service charges a joke.

to be honest this car is the best ive owned. Will most certainly be buying another golf. The car is utterly fantastic in every way, the only downside is the cost of petrol nowadays which can be a little expensive for a sporty car but even so this car is better than most for mpg.

The car is everything a gold should be and i cant fault andything about practicality or ease of use, the ride is perfect and comfortable with the added bonus of sport seats. Would definately recommend to anyone looking for a sporty type car.

A real gem overall.

I have just sold this car after 3 years and 90,000 miles, and for me it beats the GTI hands down. All the usual VW good points apply - solid, reliable, comfortable, decent image, plus it has a cracking engine. Drive sedately and its not much different to a 1.6 Golf, but when you want to put your foot down the turbo kicks in and it's like a 2.0. Aside from the smile on your face the big plus was the economy this gave, 40 MPG around town and 45 MPG on a long motorway journey at 90.

It never let me down and felt as solid at 105,000 miles as the day I bought it. The only problem I had was one of the injectors leaked (felt like the turbo wasn't working) and this caused a few headaches for VW who had the car a week trying to diagnose the problem. The only other gripe I would raise is the poor equipment levels. It had leather trim, but no cruise control or bluetooth phone connection which you get on a Golf Match.

Overall a great car, I would have another one without a doubt.

This car has it all really, fast, comfy, doesn't drink fuel and looks amazing!!

A lot of people who have been in it say how fast it is, this car has quite a bit of torque! Even when you rag it I can still get 46mpg on a combined cycle which is pretty good considering my lead foot!

The interior is a really nice place to be, the sports seats are really comfy even on long journeys and the standard stereo is pretty good, quite basey!

The car has a really good image, although there is quite a few about the 3 door looks brilliant!

I have had some trouble with it mind, it is quite common for these cars to go into 'limp home' mode after a long drive. This is due to the turbo been full of soot. There is two ways of sorting this, turn the car off an on again to reset it or to get the turbo cleaned, there is some places that put some kind of cleaner through it, has done the job on mine!

Firstly, This is a fantastic car to drive,

when it has not been pushed into 'Limp Home' mode by the Engine Management System.

The DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) is a disaster.

I have spent about £1500 in the last 2 months on problems with the DPF sooting up and causing the EMS to go into 'Limp Home mode.

VW say you can 'regenerate' the engine yourself, but with my car, it is not always successful.

I drive mostly motorways, and use 6 th gear most of the time.

This does not suit the soot burning process as the revs are too low.

My car is presently, once again, off the road - waiting for a specialist to physically cut out the DPF filter from the exhaust.

This DPF problem is not unique to VW (VAG) but from reading many forums, VW are the worst.

Try to trade in a VW with DPF filter, or sell it.

This VW Golf is an absolute dream of car to drive especially the as its a GT TDi, great in all weather conditions and very economical to drive and cheap on road tax.

Quite Spacious for a hatchback and ideal for young family with 3x3 point rear seat belts with Isofix, Folding rear seats with headrests.

All the necessary add-ons are in place MP3 cd player, Service indicator, ABS, Alarm, Air conditioning, 2 Remote Central Locking Keys, Airbags, Traction control, Electric Heated adjustable door mirrors, Heat Insulating Tinted Glass, Trip computer, Front fog lights, electric windows, Power Assisted steering, Privacy Glass, Dimming rear view mirror and Outside temperature with ice warning.

Having purchased my Golf MK V GT Sport TSI 140 10 months ago, I now feel I have had enough time driving it to post a review.

Firstly it looks stunning, 17 inch alloys as standard, sport's front bumper and valance with fog lights, bucket seats, metallic pearlescent black paint and since the GT sport models are all lowered by the same height as the GTi[15mm] it just sits beautifully.

As far as practicality goes it really cant be faulted, features a proper shoulder seatbelt in the centre back seat, not a lapbelt, which comes in very handy. Child friendly enough as we can comfortably fit our pram, which is not huge but fairly square even when collapsed, in the boot along with an average shop and random bits like fuel cans etc. Very suited to either town or motorway daily commutes as the engine is flexible enough to handle either very well and still return good MPG[35+] if driven well. Boot could be a bit larger but hey its a hatchback.

Have had no issue with reliability or faults in general, I have had to have some work done but I belive that is more down to the previous owners lack of care as it was a motorbility car, and general age as its approaching 5 years old now.

Insurance is about the same as a GTi or equivalent which is not super cheap but its not ridiculous either, its group 16 or 17. Tax again is not the cheapest but not extreme either. Fuel economy is very good, I dont drive particulary gently and im currently getting 36.6MPG based on 10x 20 mile trips though the country and about 20 miles town driving per. Front tyres can wear very fast.

Important bit. Drives absolutely magnificently, nice and smooth on the corners and grips forever, pulling away can be a little rough due to the supercharger putting a lot of power to the front wheels[this can lead to rather quick front tyre wear]. 0-60 in around 8.5s and top whack of basicaly 130mph from a 1.4 is mad nuts. I cannot stress how much fun the GT sports are to drive.

Overall I am extremely happy with my Golf MKV GT Sport TSI 140. There seems to be some negative opions on the TSI range but these seem to almost exclusively effect the 170 version.

Positives

head height (I am 6'2)

auto box

stereo

suspension

steering

fuel economy

everything really.

Go get one if you are thinking about it as you will not regret it.

Great all round car. This is my third golf and it beats the others hands down. Its very reliable, spacious and the 2litre diesel has great performance. Although you can certainly tell its a diesel the pull from low down is astonishing and makes progress and keeping up (ahead more like) of the other traffic a doddle. Plenty of space compared against the last model and a very good all round car. Only gripe is that the ride is a tad harsh as its the tuned GT Sport model but thats it really. Buy one and you'll not be disappointed

The first thing I noticed about it was how well built the Golf was inside. Not once were there any problems inside the cabin during the time I owned it and, considering it was 6 years old when I sold it, still looked as new. The radio/CD was good and the sound produced was better than I had expected - especially with the controls provided via the main unit. The seats were comfortable and could be adjusted up, down, forwards and backwards and I could quite happily drive for multiple hours without having to get out because of feeling uncomfortable. The dials were easy to read however one thing which let it down was the absence of a mpg calculator (this is available on the Highline multi-function display but not the Lowline that comes with this car).

The car could fit 5 people comfortably (as long as they all weren't too large) however the power was noticeably down when the car was full. The boot was also of a practical size and I never needed more space than was provided. Bear in mind I’m only 18 so my space requirements aren’t the same as someone with a family.

Onto the performance and general driveability. As it's a naturally aspirated 1.4, it's nothing fantastic however will keep up with traffic around town and on the motorway. Whilst on the motorway, anything over 65mph will cause the mpg to fall however I often did motorway journeys in it which the car managed without incident. Its biggest test was a 3 hour trip to Devon in December '11 and included all manner of road you could imagine. The car got us there and back without any problems at all and was actually quite good fun.

Reliability in terms of the underlying car was good but not flawless. During the time I had it, it had new front fans and a new O2 sensor (altogether costing £450). Apart from these two hiccups, nothing else went wrong and there weren't any strange noises that appeared during the time I had it. Average consumption was 25-35mpg around town, 45-55 mpg on A roads and 40-50mpg on the motorway.

Overall, it was a lovely car to own and drive which is why to replace it I got another Mk5 Golf, however this time in the 1.9TDi guise.