10,000 Mile / 7 Month Report - 1.6TDI (105) SE

[percymon]

10,00 mile report - VW Golf 1.6TDI 105bhp SE 5dr

Having now gone through the 10k mile barrier, and with the first service completed, thought i'd summarise the good and bad to date..

• Collected 19th December 2010 - Dane Volkswagen Chester
• Majority of the miles have been spent travelling up and down the A roads of Wales, and more recently commuting 26 miles from Monmouth to Newport area down the A449 dual carriageway.

The good points..

1. engine is very smooth and linear in power delivery
2. car is generally refined and a nice place to travel - low noise levels and comfortable seating
3. fit n finish are generally good, certainly better than the Ford Focus
4. no real issues in first 10k miles / 7 months
5. sports suspension gives a good compromise between bump absorption and roadholding, especially the reduced roll during cornering.
6. tyre wear on 17" Bridgestone RE050s - 4mm left on the fronts, 6-7mm on the rears. Will swap the tyres front to back so should see 20-22k miles from the set.
7. no electrical faults
8. RCD310 produces reasonable sound quality and radio reception seems stable, no issues with iphone or usb connections
9. Booking the service using the fixed price service plan presented no difficulties - first service charge £134.64 +VAT ( £158) on the invoice, so '3 years for £250' is a worthwhile saving

The bad points.. (some well documented in numerous threads)..

1. those 105 horses aren't as strong as the old PD engine horses - don't expect anything more than the listed power output. As a result you aren't going to win any traffic light grand prix, and overtaking on A/B roads isn't what you might expect of a £20k VW.
2. fuel consumption can be good when driven sedately (65mpg on a long lightly trafficed A road jopurney at 50-55mph), is mediocre when driven at normal motorway speeds (50-53mpg at 70mph) and dire when driven in a spirited manner (42-45mpg on an A/B road blast). Urban use sees about 40mpg - good compared to a petrol TSI , but not the phenomenal result VW would have you believe from the green marketting.
3. Cabin and boot space isn't that good - no better than the Mk3 Golf - the increase in exterior size hasn't found its way into the cabin, all that technology and safety features take up a lot of space inside the bodyshell. The Golf doesn't make the best family car, you'd certainly struggle as a family with teenage children on a 2 weeks holiday without a roof box IMO
4. List of niggles presented to dealership when booking service slot - dealer asked for car for 2 days to diagnose issues, order parts for next day and fit. However, no issues were resolved, needing another visit to rectify issues.
5. sunglasses holder in roof console can't hold curved framed sunglasses
6. paintwork seems very soft and prone to marking and stone chips - i admit we had a bad winter with lots of salt and crumbling roads but the Golf is showing plenty of scarring on close examination. The lack of clear coat on the tornado red might make things worse, but there are similar reports from owners with metallic paintwork.

The niggles...

1. creaking/ticking from A pillar area - diagnosed as the air vent - new vent and hosing ordered, fitting 21st July
2. whistling from driver door seal above 50mph - new door seal and re-alignment due 21st July.
3. dribbling rear washer - new hose and nozzle to be fitted 21st July
4. battery light staying lit for a few seconds after starting - dealer checked alternator, found OK. Checked battery and looking a tad weak - may be a duff battery (not holding full charge) but charged it up and asked me to monitor. Car is never subjected to short journeys so looks like they'll be replacing the battery under warranty, as this issue has been there since delivery day.
5. poor economy - no faults found, test drove and declared typical (albeit nowhere near VW claim). Dealership implied anyone claiming more than 55mpg from either this, or the 2.0l 140bhp engine, for motorway work is lying !!

The dealerships..

1. Dane VW, Chester - purchase and collection was OK, bar the missing service pack info (arrived after 4 months of me chasing VW CS and the dealership). Contacting the sales team, and waiting hours, if not days, for return phone calls very frustrating (sadly seems to be the same across most dealerships)
2. Sinclair VW, Newport (first service) - polite, courteous service desk staff; courtesy car provided (Polo 1.2 Moda). Pity they didn;t resolve any of the reported faults during the 2 days they had it for servicing.

Overall..
No better and no worse than any other new car. With a new car I expect the odd niggle or complaint and i've resigned myself to the fact that faults always seem to take 2 or 3 visits to resolve.

Would i buy one again ? - At £15k yes (thats what i paid under scrappage with discount etc). At the current £20k RRP - no thanks, the car just isn't worth that sort of money. I appreciate the competitors aren't much different in price, so you could call the price competitive - i just think cars are all now well overpriced !

[vwcabriolet1971]

The poor economy and lack of power ( low rev torque) compared to the previous PD1.9 engine agrees with my experience so far, although at a much lower mileage. I am very disappointed with the economy as the best I've achieved so far is 56mpg at 65-70 mph on motorway. The VW claims for economy bear little resemblence to those that can be achieved in the real world .

[rachelisadog]

As a newbie to the diesel world i do find reviews like that quite interesting to read. Coming from a 125bhp petrol puma, i did find the other day whilst pootling along the motorway at 60mph when i dropped to 4th there was no power, ok there was power but no where near as much as i expected and ended up in 3rd.
As for MPG the average of the car i can get to 60mpg if i drive along at 58 to 60mph and i did get it as high as 70mpg average but driving at 58mph, driving with the hgv's just feels like such a waste of a near 20k car
OK, so the car has 1150 miles on right now so i am still driving cautiously but not sure i wanna drive this way forever, no matter how comfy the car feels....
Great review though

[SC03OTT]

4th gear at 60? You must have been touching 3000rpm? You are well past where you should be shifting for a good power surge. I don't mean to cause offense, but it does sound like you are not driving it correctly, and expecting your diesel to drive like your old petrol.

[rachelisadog]

4th gear at 60? You must have been touching 3000rpm? You are well past where you should be shifting for a good power surge. I don't mean to cause offense, but it does sound like you are not driving it correctly, and expecting your diesel to drive like your old petrol.

No offence taken
I did say in my post i am a newbie to the diesel world.
What should i have done?
I was pootling along at 58/60mph in 5th and needed to overtake.......

[SC03OTT]

Me personally, I'd have stayed in 5th and stuck the foot down. However, I do have a bigger engine, more torque, power and an extra gear lol. If you are around 2000rpm then stick to that gear. You are where most torque is produced and that's what you want when over taking. I never see the point in taking the car above 3000rpm unless I want to make a lot of noise and tyre squealing.

I have never driven the 1.6TDI so the power delivery might be different. On of the other 1.6 guys may prove me wrong.

[rachelisadog]

Me personally, I'd have stayed in 5th and stuck the foot down. However, I do have a bigger engine, more torque, power and an extra gear lol. If you are around 2000rpm then stick to that gear. You are where most torque is produced and that's what you want when over taking. I never see the point in taking the car above 3000rpm unless I want to make a lot of noise and tyre squealing.

I have never driven the 1.6TDI so the power delivery might be different. On of the other 1.6 guys may prove me wrong.

Lol and an extra room in your house?
I take your point about the torque curve mind, think i just need to play and learn a bit more it seems.
I appreciate the advice

[david25]

Thanks for the report, I feel better after reading your fuel consumption figures because I was in two minds when buying my MK6, eventually choosing the GT160.

Fuel consumption can be good when driven sedately (65mpg on a long lightly trafficed A road jopurney at 50-55mph) GT160 = 45-50mpg

Normal motorway speeds (50-53mpg at 70mph) GT160 = 45-50mpg, seems strange but that what the OBC says

A/B road blast 42-45mpg GT160 = 26-30mpg

Urban use sees about 40mpg GT160 = 25-30mpg

Luckily, I dont do too many urban miles and have a long term average of 40-ish.

[Hughesynights]

1. fuel consumption can be good when driven sedately (65mpg on a long lightly trafficed A road jopurney at 50-55mph), is mediocre when driven at normal motorway speeds (50-53mpg at 70mph) and dire when driven in a spirited manner (42-45mpg on an A/B road blast). Urban use sees about 40mpg - good compared to a petrol TSI , but not the phenomenal result VW would have you believe from the green marketting.

1. poor economy - no faults found, test drove and declared typical (albeit nowhere near VW claim). Dealership implied anyone claiming more than 55mpg from either this, or the 2.0l 140bhp engine, for motorway work is lying !!

Thanks for the report.
I've ordered a 2.0 tdi 140 Bluemotion Tech and am hoping to get 70 mpg on A roads with eco driving!

My 2.2 diersel Honda CR-V can get 40 mpg round town and easily exceeds the 43 mpg combined rating if driven on A roads: 48 mpg from a whole tank is possible in the summer.

Also worried that you think niggles are normal.
I've never owned a VW, my last three cars have been Hondas and I have had zero faults or niggles.

The new Golf seems like the right car for me now, I hope it lives up to expectations.

[vwcabriolet1971]

[/LIST]Thanks for the report.
I've ordered a 2.0 tdi 140 Bluemotion Tech and am hoping to get 70 mpg on A roads with eco driving!

My 2.2 diersel Honda CR-V can get 40 mpg round town and easily exceeds the 43 mpg combined rating if driven on A roads: 48 mpg from a whole tank is possible in the summer.

Also worried that you think niggles are normal.
I've never owned a VW, my last three cars have been Hondas and I have had zero faults or niggles.

The new Golf seems like the right car for me now, I hope it lives up to expectations.


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I would order the 140bhp engine if I had the choice again. I could get 68mpg in my old Mk4 Golf 110 bhp at 60mph and the high 50's at motorway speeds. Even around town I could get 50mph in off-peak traffic in the MK4 , 650 miles from a tankful was not unusual..