![]() ![]() It's down 1 mpg in both city and highway figures, and its base price is higher than a similarly equipped Civic Coupe. On paper, the Volkswagen lags behind the Civic. Everything else has four doors, which is more in line with the Golf's four-door variant. What does have a hatchback, though, is the Mini Cooper Hardtop, but its starting price is thousands of dollars above the Golf's, which may limit its cross-shopping appeal.īeyond that, there are a few random outliers, like the Scion tC and the Kia Forte Koup. Its most prominent competitor is the Honda Civic Coupe, since it's also rather new, although it lacks a hatchback. The Volkswagen Golf is part of a strange competitive set. The world needs more cars with super straightforward dashboards. Just keep the upshifts low on the tachometer, and the car will stay thrifty. With a light foot, I was seeing closer to 30 mpg city and 38-39 mpg highway. Thankfully, the EPA figures are easy to beat. EPA estimates of 25 mpg city and 37 mpg highway are impressive in a bubble, but when you look at the competition, it falters. The five-speed's tall gearing wasn't the best on our homemade course, either, where my choices were limited to nearly banging off the rev limiter in first gear or being outside the torque band in second gear.Īs for fuel economy, it's not as good as I'd hoped. After just a few sessions, brake fade was rather apparent. I picked up on the brake fade while filming on a homemade autocross course that we created as part of our next Shootout video. The brake pedal feels solid, but the brakes themselves are prone to giving up the ghost much earlier than I would have anticipated. Steering is quick without being sensitive and twitchy, and understeer is hard to come by unless I'm really trying for it. Even with thinner tire sidewalls, ride quality is still among the best in the segment. Chunky tire sidewalls on this specific trim soak up bad roads like a champ, so despite the car's stiff chassis, the ride never once borders on the harsh side. Otherwise, the Golf's driving dynamics are a home run. I should know - I own a 2016 Golf, and while it's the heavier SportWagen, it feels quicker than the two-door manual. Honestly, the six-speed automatic transmission makes this car much snappier. If you don't have the engine's torque at the ready, be prepared for very little forward thrust. On the road, steep drops in revs between gears forced me to downshift frequently. It's restrained, it's approachable.Ī mixture of a tight chassis and tall tire sidewalls means you can have fun without booking weekly trips to the chiropractor. There's no flash here, like there is on a Civic Coupe. It doesn't matter if it's an old one or a new one, the formula hasn't really changed in decades, and neither has the design language. If you've seen one Golf, you've seen them all. It's not loaded with standout equipment, but based on what you get for the price you pay, it's a solid bet. Thankfully, the Golf won't really leave you wanting for more. So if you are looking for a small hatchback, options are limited. Most competitors don't even offer coupe variants of their vehicles, nevertheless hatchbacks, and especially not two-door hatchbacks (VW doesn't call this a three-door, for whatever reason). Two-door cars aren't the most sensible vehicles, and Volkswagen does offer a four-door Golf variant, but this Golf I tested made up for its lack of doors with a rear hatchback, providing more than enough space for both cargo and rear passengers.
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