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Model specific boards => Golf mk6 => Topic started by: 08micsta on 04 June 2009, 18:21

Title: Launched & Tested - Golf TSI
Post by: 08micsta on 04 June 2009, 18:21
Launched & Tested – Golf TSI

Only a few days ago a feeble little man knocked on the door of my lodge swinging a newspaper in my face with a look of utmost contempt on his face. Naturally I was terrified and fearing my life I quickly swung a 10 rand note at the man and slammed the door shut.

You see I have spent the last few days living in bachelorhood (Is that even a word) on a small farm in the middle of nowhere. This on its own is unusual much like the report on the front page of the newspaper I was holding. In bold letters at the top of the page were “57 False Killer Whales stranded”.

With a look of disbelieve I turned on the television and to my amazement I watched as countless volunteers attempted to push the whales back into the ocean with no success. A day later over 47 whales had been shot which obviously set off the SPCA, human rights activists as well as Green Peace. Naturally the queen also got involved and a week later the scandal still continues.

Do you realize that the killer whale is a toothed whale and is a member of the Dolphin family? This means that the killer whale is not only a sophisticated fish but also an intelligent mammal. Do you know that the best place to view Killer Whales is off Vancouver Island in British Columbia in Canada? What on earth were they thinking when they swam 10 000km to South Africa? What were they thinking when they decided to tan on the beach with a dodgy tide?

This brings me onto the new Golf 6. What were the Germans thinking? Have they finally lost the plot? Are their shoe laces choking the blood supply to their heads? Have they turned into Killer Whales?

I think so.

Today I had the pleasure of driving the new Golf 6 in TSI form. What an experience.

It’s not often that I am taken aback by a 1.4 Litre powered car but this vehicle truly has left me trembling. Volkswagen began producing the Golf or Rabbit as it is known in America in 1974 and is the only company in the world to produce a model for over 34 years. Five generations later the new Golf 6 has a lot to prove after the huge success of the 5th generation golf which in GTI form won car of the year in 2005.

At this point I would like to introduce you to the car that redefines the car. The Golf is no longer the aftermath of the glorious beetle. It is accentuated; more defined and with a brand new engine line up it has a huge amount of potential. Launched only recently in South Africa the new Golf also dubbed as the Golf 5.5 has truly turned heads.

The vehicle I tested is the 1.4 Litre TSI which produces a phenomenal 118kw a mere 30kw less than the current 2.0 litre GTI. This is all due to the new TSI engine which utilizes both a supercharger and turbocharger to produce a vehicle that has recently won World Car of the year for 2009.

Performance:

This is the most incredible part of this vehicle. You expect to have to over rev it. To have to beg for it to go just that much faster. But this vehicle is the exact opposite! With over 240NM of torque, a 0-100km time of only 7.5 seconds and a 6 speed manual or DSG transmission you have the ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing. And you get all of this in the sublime body of Golf with the fuel economy of 6.5 litres per 100km! That’s simply astonishing. Even more astonishing is the power delivery.

You get the instant power of the supercharger up to 3400RPM and then with seamless ease the turbo kicks in and attempts to break your neck. And it doesn’t end there. Throughout the rev range its just power, power and more power! The new Golf 6 is truly a driver’s car. The clutch seems manly; the power is breath taking and the gearbox although a bit notchy is great fun to play with due to the longer rev range. And all of this from an adolescent little 1.4 Litre engine! I love it.

Comfort:

Volkswagen set the benchmark with the 5th Generation Golf and this trend has been continued with the Golf 6. Enter the cabin and you will find yourself in the quietest car in its class. You will find yourself surrounded by Napa Leather and slight hints of chrome. The seats are extremely supportive for cornering and VW has seriously reworked the sound system. Expect to find a highly innovative touch screen Sat Nav unit with Media functions for both Ipod and an Aux port for cellphones and other devices all standard.

Even in the rough roads of Cape Town the car flowed effortlessly in silence over the bumps only to be disturbed by the fruity growl of the TSI engine and the occasional squeal from the tyres as you put the car sideways in the corners. For the love of the drive hey?

Design:

This vehicle is unmistakably Golf. Volkswagen have carried over a variety of parts and styling cues from the original 1st generation and 5th generation golf and incorporated them into a car that is truly hideous in pictures but absolutely beautiful in reality. The 17 inch Porto alloy rims similar to those seen on the new Scirocco mixed with the cars strong contours are truly refreshing. Even more refreshing is the lack of the VW corporate look in the front and back. Although Xenon’s are not currently an option they will be in August when the GTI is officially launched in South Africa.

Safety:

The new Golf 6 is the safest vehicle in its class. Achieving a 5 star NCAP Rating and getting a ranking of 36 out of a possible 37 points is a remarkable achievement. The vehicle also incorporates over 6 airbags including knee airbags for collisions and improved pedestrian safety scores.

Conclusion:

If you buy one of these cars you will hate to love it. Simple.

Every time you beat a Ford Fiesta ST off the lights you will feel like a complete tart because you have spent R270 000 (R30 000 less than the Golf 6 GTI will cost) on a 1.4 litre engine. Much like the whales you will be revered at for being intelligent and beautiful which is what the new golf is. But secretly Green Peace will be laughing at you for being cheap and buying a performance budget car at an inflated price.

You won’t get shot but you will constantly find yourself looking for cars to race to prove that you are in fact a man with a working set of balls and you will feel like you constantly need to floor it between robots to show those Yaris’s that you are in fact faster and that you didn’t waste your money.

And when you look in the back of the car magazine you won’t find your car because much like the killer whales you won’t know where you are or where to look because your car has no category. And you will be stranded when you want to sell it because nobody likes a dead whale much like nobody wants a car that doesn’t know what it is. It’s like an ugly boy who is dating a supermodel. You have the chick – Well done. But you’re still ugly. The new TSI Golf is very much like this.

And yet I don’t care.

This is an amazing piece of technology. It’s the coolest thing since breast implants. It’s the cherry on the cake and its so much fun!

Volkswagen has put the fun back into small engined cars. Yes the price is excessive but the look on the face of the Ford Fiesta ST owners face when you fly past him is priceless and so is the quality, the practicality and the performance is simply astonishing!

It’s the Ou Revoir of the Volkswagen range and leaves us with huge expectations for the GTI. The Golf 6 TSI truly does redefine the car. It left me speechless and with its superb dynamics, class leading interior and long standing heritage I would recommend it to anyone.

Well Done Volkswagen. The Golf lives on!

Images:

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x255/08micsta/1-11.jpg)

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x255/08micsta/5-5.jpg)

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x255/08micsta/4-9.jpg)

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x255/08micsta/3-13.jpg)

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x255/08micsta/6-5.jpg)

(http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x255/08micsta/2-9.jpg)

Mike

**The above article is copy-righted. Should you want to use it or the images please obtain my permission first**
Title: Re: Launched & Tested - Golf TSI
Post by: carl1 on 06 June 2009, 09:07
I read a review on this car in (160 ps) vwdriver and it was faster than the 170ps mk5 version in all but one test, seems very good car