Time to pick your collective brains.
A pal of mine, a decade + older, has repeatedly asked my advice on a replacement for his 2012 2.0 3 door Tdi with 130k.
His second successive 2.0 Tdi Golf. Both bought from offspring at 3yo, with high miles, who buy new every 3 years.
Offspring have offered him 3 yo 2 Series 2.0D Coupe and A3 1.0. He wants neither. Must be a hatch, not estate.
He’s no interest in modern tech gizmos or driving dynamics. Not an enthusiastic press on driver. He poured scorn on the heated steering wheel of a rented Fiesta.
Must have VW interior trim quality. 3 or 5 door.
Replacement car will be 18/24 months old. Budget unknown.
I suggested a Mazda 3. Tonight he asked my advice re a Hyundai i20, but I doubt the interior trim is up to VW standards. He’s driven the 1.0 A3 and found it ‘underpowered’ but he’s used to many years driving the 2.0 Tdi lump, letting it labour at low revs. Different driving style and I wasn’t going to upset him.
He thinks his 2012 is worth £1/1.5k...none of the online buyers want it. A (new) different tyre on each corner, decent indie service history, several paint touch ups.
Help
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He likes the Mazda Soul Red colour. A lot.
Had a rental Clio in similar colour in Spain.
Disliked the Clio.
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If he’s been happy with his last couple of Golf’s, why not another? If he’s not into tech, I’d avoid the latest mk 8 Golf and stick with the last of the line mk 7.5 models, which is arguably ‘peak Golf’ and avoids the ludicrous unlit heater and volume controls.
Could stick with the 2.0 TDI if his usage patterns haven’t thrown up any DPF issues. Having said that, I think I’m right in saying that the later models use AdBlue to achieve Euro 6, so he’d have to get used to that. On balance, the 1.5 TSI might be a better bet. Diesel-esque torque characteristics too, so he’d probably be comfortable with the driving experience.
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You here so many stories of problems with the incredibly complex Adblue systems that are required on modern diesels that I would steer clear if your friend is thinking of this as a long term car. Especially as he's not an enthusiastic driver, so is less likely to 'clear the system'. But then, as he's seen, when you are used to the low-down torque of a diesel, petrols are quite different to drive.
May be better to stick with what he's got? Plenty of life in it yet.
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Left field choice
The previous Honda HRV - slow 1.5 petrol (130BHP) Faster Sport version 180BHP both manuals & Autos.
Manual only is a pedestrian 1.6 diesel which seems to get good write-ups as it does not seem to have many of the problems other diesels suffer.
The new HRVs are Hybrid & £25K plus for a 2nd hand one.
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His usage pattern is primarily short journeys, up to 2 miles. A weekly 30 mile round trip. A quarterly 150 mile round trip. DPF light would come on and and he would take it for an unnecessary drive to clear.
His spatial awareness isn’t the best, as recent scrapes with solid scenery testify, so decent visibility required ! There seems to be lots of minor things currently going wrong with his car, and he’s now determined to change it. There is a different newish tyre on every corner and I don’t want to point out that it isn’t necessarily a good thing.
I’ll mention the HRV and Mk 7.5 Golf. His first experience of an electronic handbrake was on a rental car earlier this year. Sat next to him ( I always prefer to drive my own rental as he’s not the best ) I had to suggest that it isn’t necessary to ‘take off’ the electronic handbrake when setting off :-).
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As soon as I see a thread on Golf’s I assume it’s Oldgit ……
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It’s worth bearing in mind that the Golf 1.5 suffered from engine issues. Reports vary as to whether the fix was fully effective. Luckily there are plenty of 1.4s around. Even in the lower power 122 bhp it’s lively enough and very economical.
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>> As soon as I see a thread on Golf’s I assume it’s Oldgit ……
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No, not this time! I am still with my MK7 Golf and it's likely to stay that way for quite a time or until the car manufacturers come to their senses and ditch those touch screens where the most useful functions are buried somewhere within. Perhaps never now however. The only other VW I have considered is the latest iteration of the VW T Roc. I sampled the ridiculous MK8 for a day and could not get rid of it quick enough.
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We had a hired i20 for 2 or 3 weeks. Not nice. Poor seats too.
Some friends of ours offloaded a 20 year old Golf they'd had from new a couple of years ago. They loved it but it became unreliable. They were desperate for advice and like your friend, not really motoring enthusiasts.
I suggested a Yaris, as it matched their budget and strong desire for reliability, and they have been hugely pleased with it.
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A previous, to whom I recommended a Lexus years ago , bought a 12 month old ‘03 IS Sport Cross. An unusual beast, but she appreciated the quality, if not the mpg.
A few months ago the rust had taken over, so she too bought a Yaris. Bog standard cooking variety. Likes it a lot..
I hadn’t thought of mentioning that in conversation. Thank you.
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I’ve just been out in Lady D’Hills’s Renegade. Only because it wasn’t frozen over as she had used it for her work commute and I was too lazy to scrape the ice off mine to drive the ten minutes or so each way for my swim.
Anyway, it’s a 1.4 manual petrol turbo. Thing is, at the risk, indeed, near certainty of derision from the assembly, I really like driving it on the country lanes.
She’s had it a short two years now and loves it. I absolutely get it too, it’s a fun wee thing and so far, hasn’t been any bother reliability wise.
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Humph you have shattered my illusion!
All these late night swims I just assumed you had a pool in the house.
Unless your driveway is 10 mins long….
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Don’t even have a pond Bobby! ;-)
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, I really like driving it on the country lanes
I know something you would eek wally like driving on the country lanes
ps. It’s still in my garage. I got a lift home to check.
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I strongly suspect I’d like that a bit too much for the health of my driving licence!
;-)
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Colleague got a new Yaris hybrid couple months back and is loving it. Some sort of Yaris Cross thing.
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Volkswagen Golf VI - Changing from a ubiquitous Golf - legacylad
