Class: Small Hatch, Compact
Rivals: Ford Focus, Citron C4, Nissan Almera, Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Peugeot 207
Sister Cars: Audi A3 MkII, Audi TT MkII, VW Jetta, VW Eos, Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia,
Variants: 3 Door Hatch, 5 Door Hatch, 5 Door Compact MPV (Golf Plus), Estate
Engines: Petrol, 1.4i 16v, 1.4i FSI, 1.6i FSI, 2.0i FSI, 2.0i Turbo FSI (GTI), 2.5i 20v,
3.2 VR6 24v (R32)
Diesel, 1.4 TSi, 1.9TDi, 2.0 SDi, 2.0TDi,
Gearbox 5 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Tiptronic, 6 Speed DSG
Awards Top Gear Car of the Year 2004
Fifth Gear Car of the Year 2004
What Car? Car of the Year and Best Family Small Car 2004
CNN Best Sporty Car (GTI/R32) 2008
To commemorate the launch of the MkV Golf in October 2003, Wolfsburg, where the Headquarters of the VW/Audi group are based, was named "Golfsburg" for the week following the launch.
Thanks to a wide variation of body styles and a great selection of engines to choose from, VW have ensured that their is a Golf to suit everyone!
To counter act the criticisms of the average dynamics of the MkIV Golf, Volkswagen introduced a new multi-link control blade independent rear suspension system on the MkV. Along with chassis refinements, the MkV Golf became the class leader for ride and handling! However, this led to having to increase the body size even though the boot size is still down on the MkIV. The interior quality of the MkV is well ahead of its rivals, its not on a par anymore with its Audi A3 cousin which is a step ahead of it again in refinement.
The 1.9T TDi MkV is definitely the Golf of choice to go for for the average motorist. It combines decent road handling, good performance and great fuel economy with a return of on average of 50mpg mixed driving. With the new rear suspension system and longer wheel base over the MkIV, the road handling and cornering is much improved over the traditional rear happy Golf of the previous generations. The only compromise is an increase in road noise inside the cabin but still much better than its rivals.
The MkV Golf proved to be expensive to build, mainly due to the 50 hours taken to build from start to finish which is why the MkVI was released a year early in 2008. This lead to a high residual value and genuine parts being slightly more expensive than average. Now you can do a full engine service on the MkV from €90.
You will buy a 1.4i 16v MkV cheaper than a TDi version but the diesel version is the pick of the range. Unless of course you can stretch to the 200bhp GTI or the 250bhp 3.2 V6 R32 which still are the benchmark in terms of performance and handling for the Hot Hatch class.
The Golf has always been a fun car to drive, very reliable and mostly economical and as we said before on this blog, most people who have owned the MkV will definately go on to own the new MkVI.
Gary
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