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Dear Martin Winterkorn, The current Golf Mk V is a fantastic car. It is sophisticated, yet exciting. It is practical, yet sporty. It is reliable yet has character. in short, the Golf is all things to all men (and women). After slightly losing the plot with the Mk IV GTi, the current version is simply superb. The powerful yet frugal 2.0 litre TFSI engine combined with a DSG gearbox is a marriage made in heaven. Unlike so many other hatchbacks, you've also got the styling right. To quote one of Autocar's competitors, if you've got no more than three kids, this is all the car you'll ever need. I have to agree. Every evolution of the Golf seems to make a good thing even better. This should make me excited about the forthcoming Golf Mk VI due to be presented at this Autumn's Paris Autoshow. Unfortunately, I am nervous more than excited, because I keep hearing how expensive the current Golf is to build. I keep hearing how you intend to reduce the build cost and I wonder what you'll do to change the next version. Will the suspension be less sorted and cheaper? Will you use tacky plastics in the cockpit? Will you reduce the quality of the many components that make a Golf a Golf? I hope not. But just in case you're tempted to make the Gof cheap and cheerful for the sake of cost, I'd like to remind you that superior quality is precisely the reason why people buy them instead of Astras, Aurises and Focuses. Thank you.

Let's hope the reduction in build cost (man-hours?) will enable them to raise the quality of materials used in the Mk. VI. The plastics are pretty poor in the Mk. V, the carpets are shoddy, and the seating materials are poorly-wearing. Also the general fit and finish, shut-lines, are poor - probably because it is so complicated to build. Agreed the actual design concept is good. 

And what's more...I have three kids and I couldn't get three booster seats across the rear bench on our test drive. So, should that read 'so long as you have no more than three kids over the age of 11'?

Kerrecoe is absolutely right. There's no way that a Golf is a big enough car for two adults and three kids plus all their clutter. Total rubbish. Nice looking car though. Great gearbox too.

The Golf has a good reputation for "percieved" quality.

The current Golf is ugly and bland.  With it's MPV styling, straight up front and over inflated blob like rear end it's appalling and i think some people have just accepted this styling rather than remained critical.  It's time volkswagen employed some decent imaginative stylists and created something handsome with real detail, something that you would be truly proud to own and not styled for people with lack of style or eye sight issues.  After all, a car should look and feel amazing both inside and out before you even turn the key!!

Fingers crossed for the next version, but i wouldn't hold my breath.

I don't know many cars that allow you to fit three child seats across the rear seats. But what a Golf will allow you to do is to fit three booster seats across the back, which works well. The centre-mounted seat belt is essential. But your point is well taken, Kerrecoe, I would like to see the ability to fit three child seats in a Golf. I'd like to see ISOFIX booster seats for kids that are comfortable. Despite these concerns and the title of this post, i have high hopes for the next Golf. With Winterkorn in control, Volkswagen is suddenly rediscovering its ability to produce great cars. The Passat CC and Scirocco are fantastic. I really don't see them dropping the ball with a model that is their mainstay of revenues. in these tough economic times, frugal four cyliners with a bit of pep are suddenly looking very attractive again. Having not driven a Golf since generation III, I am looking forward to getting the next one.

I was in Vienna the weekend before last and saw a gorgeous, beautifully dressed, woman (she may have been a model) getting into her immaculatly clean black Golf - its only adornments were the VW supplied alloys and beige colured leather upholstry.

The point is, she would not have looked any better in a Lamborghini, a Range Rover or a Maserati - certainly not in an A-Class Merc. In fact, all of those would have taken something away from her appearance. The Golf actually enriched it.

Pure design leads to pure class.

 

 

James Read:

Kerrecoe is absolutely right. There's no way that a Golf is a big enough car for two adults and three kids plus all their clutter. Total rubbish. Nice looking car though. Great gearbox too.

Well, it might be... but only if you resort to what most of us will need to do in coming years and employ a luggage rack or roof-box to hold the 'clutter'.

Seriously I've been a great proponent of the medium-sized car for more years than I care to remember, but I think my present M5 (E39, V8 - May 2001) will be the last car of it's size that I shall own.  It gets three boosters across the back seat OK for my granddaughters - but I am doubtful that I shall afford either fuel or repairs in coming years, let alone the punitive motor theft tax imposed by our current bunch of (elected?) parliamentary thieves...

So a Golf it is likely to be!  My wife uses a 2 litre turbo diesel with DSG and a mighty enjoyable tool it is.  It also sips diesel frugally - 50 plus regularly now it's well run-in.

The three seat-bases fit (just) but the backrests need to be removed first...  

sierra:

The plastics are pretty poor in the Mk. V

I would disagree - apart from perhaps the plastics below knee level, like the front door pockets; but too be honest I couldn't give a damn because I never see them, although I've noticed that since the mk2 Focus came out that Autocar seem to moan about the quality of plastics below knee/bum/steering column level or whatever when they're at a loss to find anything negative about a car! Personalyl I hope the next Golf maintains as much as possible that is good about the current model, but with a much much much much more exciting exterior design!! I've always felt that the current model only looked good in GTi or GT specification.

julianphillips:

sierra:

The plastics are pretty poor in the Mk. V

I would disagree - apart from perhaps the plastics below knee level, like the front door pockets; but too be honest I couldn't give a damn because I never see them, although I've noticed that since the mk2 Focus came out that Autocar seem to moan about the quality of plastics below knee/bum/steering column level or whatever when they're at a loss to find anything negative about a car! Personalyl I hope the next Golf maintains as much as possible that is good about the current model, but with a much much much much more exciting exterior design!! I've always felt that the current model only looked good in GTi or GT specification.

 

 

Is the Golf a lifestyle statement though more than it is an engineering statement?

Because if it is, I don't want anything to do with it because IMO it says more bad things about the driver than good. It's one of those rhetorical questions it seems to me on the two points I've just raised.

When you look at this sector - there is an awful lot of nice metal out there if this is your bag. As dull as it sounds - I'd be looking at the KIA or HYUNDAI I30 varients and lapping up a warranty second to none. We have Astra's at work, not a bad car either. And the Focus.....

My Korean love matches might be worth sod all at the end of the warranty but given the miles I do, I would not really be that bothered. Dynamically, the road tests have been very positive. That's a lot of peace of mind. If the Golf was that much of a quality product - why is it not offered with something similar?

But I don't really give a stuff about the lifestyle thing anyway.
 

Nice comment about the black Golf with beige seats looking good, we can't buy beige seats in the UK anymore, I drive an old Passat Variant at work with 120,000miles on it, the light beige interior still looks beige and is really pleasant on a blustery dull July day, and keep getting comments about how smart it looks, would swap it for a Focus or new Fiesta if only I could have beige seats (not that fussed about another VW at the moment, have never had to wait for breakdown as many times and I used to drive an '83 Panda)

So basically this is to all manufaturers more colour choice on interiors, though stick to black dashboards (I went in an M coupe yesterday and the black and red reflection in the windscreen was plain stupid)