By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(January 3, 2015) Over the span of a few weeks three 2016 model Volkswagen Golfs made their way into the parking lot for one week each. First up was the two-door GTI SE, which was followed by the four-door Golf S, and the SportWagen S. Personally, I expected the GTI and SportWagen to act as intriguing bookends to a so-so center, but what I discovered is that even the least exciting Golf model (on paper) holds its own in this company.

Golf GTI SE

For three years I leased a fifth generation GTI, and I loved every minute of it. Which was something of a surprise considering that it replaced a 2003 Mini Cooper. Despite its run-flat tires and somewhat harsh suspension, the first generation BMW Mini was like an extremely happy — and mischievous — puppy. You could throw it into corners, balance it on a trailing throttle, and shoot out the other side, all with a big smile on your face. On the downside, the plastics were cheap, the overhead drain lines for the panoramic sunroof kept coming loose and drowning the occupants, and the fuel economy was good but not great.

The GTI, on the other hand, was much more grown up and sophisticated. You could carry real people in the back seat, hear yourself (or the radio) at speed, and cruise comfortably and quietly if you wanted.

But, when the itch had to be scratched, the turbocharged 2.0-liter four could take you from zero to wow in no time — all while returning fuel economy numbers that were at least the equal of the much smaller and less powerful Mini. However, the Golf had a major flaw: a kinematics problem with the rear suspension that needed the electronic stability control to intervene early — and hard — to keep everything headed in the right direction.

I quickly discovered that the benign lift-throttle oversteer that I so loved in the Mini was not to be found in the GTI. If you tried, the fun came to a screeching halt as the ESC jumped in. Turn off the ESC, however, and you better have a lot of room in which to play. Otherwise, there was a good chance of reaching your destination backwards.

The seventh generation GTI is bigger, quicker, and more comfortable than its predecessors with better rear suspension kinematics. Michigan’s roads are not known as paragons of smoothness, but I never once felt that the Tornado Red GTI’s 18-in. alloys, which were covered by licorice whip-thin all-season 225/40R-18 Pirelli Cinturato P7 tires, were in danger of damage or the cause of undue harshness. In fact, they reminded me of the all-season Pirelli P-Zero Nero tires fitted to my GTI in that the turn-in was crisp but not frantic, the ride was surprisingly composed, and the build up in slip angle as cornering forces increased was predictable.

Had this been my car, I would have ordered it with the six-speed manual, not the six-speed DSG automatic. However, this gearbox does make the GTI more approachable for a larger audience (cue rant on the lost art of driving a manual gearbox), especially if they spend a good bit of time in traffic jams or on city thoroughfares. Nor, I think, would I have ordered the $695 Driver Assistance Package with Park Distance Control and Forward Collision Warning.

If you can’t park the Golf with its short overhangs and nicely delineated corners, you shouldn’t be driving. Ditto if you are so busy doing other things such that you regularly need the help of a system to tell you when an emergency is brewing ahead of you. That said, I would order the $995 Lighting Package as the bi-xenon headlights that turn with the steering wheel. They are worth every penny.

To the chagrin of of interior designers at other automakers, the quality of design and materials in the GTI has improved. It may be a bit Teutonic (joyless), but there is no question that everything fits together as it should, with neat, consistent and small gaps; soft-touch materials where they count; and high-end finishes. The steering wheel is satisfyingly thick, but it — like all of the Golfs — suffers from the shape of its rim. Instead of having a round cross section, the wheel rim is oval, and this creates a ridge that raises pressure points between your index finger and thumb. (In contrast, the first generation Mini has an almost perfectly shaped steering wheel.)

It also creates a shadow line that highlights light and dark, enhancing the visual design of the wheel. In other words, design wins. So much for form following function.

One problem did crop up during its week with us, a tapping sound from the glovebox area at startup or shutdown. A quick look at the various VW forums shows one of two possibilities: a fuel line rattle or an ill-fitting blend door in the HVAC unit. Neither is serious, but the sound is very annoying and not what you would expect — or accept — from a $31,395 car.



Golf S

On the introductory drive of the new Golf, I was surprised to find that ordering the panoramic sunroof locked you into the four-door body style, while moving up to the SE and SEL trim levels narrowed your choices even further. Go for the glitz and you can forget the two-door look, an all-steel roof and the manual gearbox. However, my biggest concern was that the car would not have the responsiveness and heft you associate with a German car, especially as the new Golf is lighter in both body and steering weight.

I needn’t have worried. Despite coming out of the GTI, I soon discovered that this base sunroof car transitions crisply and cleanly, and has the reassuring feel you expect from a German automobile.

In many ways, the Golf is the template for the segment, and the car the Asian makers should default to when looking for the right combination between ride and handling. The variable-speed electro-mechanical steering has more feel and finesse than their all-electric systems. In addition, the car corners relatively flat, with a well-controlled lean angle and suspension damping. You never get the feeling that you will run out of suspension travel or find yourself in a situation where the damping goes AWOL. This keeps the Golf rom feeling either overly light or overly harsh, and adds to its composure.

Like the GTI, the interior materials are top notch, but the reliance on blacks, grays and silvers (very Teutonic) — though it is quite rich looking — robs the interior of a sense of mirth or even of humanity. It’s too perfect, too well done and too bland. Nor was in helped in this case by a Tungsten Silver exterior, and a restrained looking set of alloy wheels. Then again, this is the base four-door, a vehicle that makes its living as a family runabout.

Unfortunately, that description does the Golf S as little service as its silver-gray color palette. Like all Golf models for 2015, its comes standard with the XDS differential that formerly was the exclusive property of the GTI. This system brakes the more lightly loaded front wheel when cornering to quell understeer, and it gives the Golf a competence its rivals can’t match.

Then there’s the new 1.8-liter turbocharged engine mated to a conventional six-speed automatic. It produces the same 170 hp as the outgoing 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine, but has more low end torque and an EPA highway mileage rating that’s a staggering six mpg better than its predecessor. And though both lighter and more fuel efficient, the engine is also quieter and more refined. In combined driving with a moderate bias toward highway travel, the Golf S returned a strong 35.6 mpg, just 0.4 mpg below its EPA highway rating. That’s impressive.

Equally impressive is the Golf’s ability to eat miles without complaint. Yes, it might not be the most exciting car to look at, but it does perform its highway duties faultlessly. And its shades of gray demeanor means you don’t draw either the notice or the ire of the constabulary. Plus, the four-door body style and up level in terror make it easy to transport friends or colleagues, while the split-fold rear seats turn this people carrier into a cargo hauler. And all for an as-tested price of $23,215.



Golf SportWagen S

The talk around the house has been of enlarged carrying capacity, and the contenders for the family vehicle narrowed down to the Golf SportWagen and Ford’s Transit Connect. An interesting pair to be certain, but each a cargo hauler with an engaging personality and decent fuel economy. The Transit Connect has a much cheaper looking and feeling interior, is heavier, but is roomy, efficient and fun-to-drive. What it’s not is a SportWagen.

Despite the fact that most people don’t like them — and can’t explain why — there is something about a station wagon. They aren’t as bulky as a crossover, and often have more cargo area length, if not height. Since the end of the golden age of station wagons, they have dispensed with the idea of a third row, and provided comfort for five. And, most importantly, they ride and handle like a car.

This certainly is true of the Golf SportWagen. If it was possible to not look in the rearview mirror, or hear the slight increase in road noise coming from the cavernous cargo area, you would never know this was a wagon. Of course, you’d be missing out on the point of this body style, 30.4 cubic feet of space with the rear seats up and 66.5 cubic feet with them folded. Think of it as a capacious hatchback.

Even in its lowest trim level, as seen here, the interior of the SportWagen is very upscale. Unlike the Golf S above, the wagon we tested benefited from a two-tone black over cornsilk leather interior that made it feel airy and upscale, and banished the monochrome dreariness of its hatchback brother. It’s amazing what a difference in material color can make to how you feel about a vehicle.

The hatch opens to a tall, wide, regularly shaped opening with only a slight liftover from the bumper to the load floor. Remote levers on either side of the car let you drop the rear seatbacks while standing behind the car, and there is a modicum of storage beneath the cargo floor. This makes it easy to hide valuables, and is supported by a standard window shade cover that keeps prying eyes from seeing what’s in the load area. With the seats up, the contrasting interior colors highlight the long and deep cargo area, minimal wheel well intrusion, and additional small storage cubbies on either side of the load floor.

If you haul young kids around, occasionally go to the big box store for materials and equipment for the projects around the house, or spend all your free time going to garage sales, this is the most important — and easily used — real estate the SportWagen has to offer.

But this car isn’t all about space, It’s also about driving enjoyment. Despite its increased size and weight, the Golf SportWagen is a pleasure to drive. Our tester was fitted with the five-speed manual, which made it slightly more engaging than the automatic-equipped Golf S reviewed above. It also brought to mind the capabilities of the chassis, and dreams of creating a GTI SportWagen or, for those not willing to swap out powertrains, a GT version at least. It’s that good. In fact, the SportWagen is smooth, quiet, capacious, fuel efficient and — at $22,215 as tested — reasonably priced.

However, because VW does not support the lease price of the SportWagen (or any Golf, for that matter) in the same way it does the Jetta and Passat, the new car in the driveway is a closeout 2015 Passat Special Edition. I may have wanted the SportWagen, but the deal on the Passat was too good (way too good) to pass up.

The Virtual Driver