2012 Volkswagen Golf TDI – Review and Test Drive – The Green Car Driver –
DRIVING THE 2012 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF TDI
In a week with the Golf in Northern California, the Golf saw some city driving, lots of freeway traffic, and the magnificent Pacific Coast Highway. A highlight of the drive was a run down the 17-Mile Drive, an extraordinarily scenic road through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach on the Monterey Peninsula (see the slideshow at the end of this article). A good part of the road runs along the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses and mansions.
A few months earlier, I spent a week with the Golf TDI on the east coast in the New York metro area.
The first thing I noticed was how quiet the interior was. I didn’t have to remind myself it was a diesel since I regularly drive diesels but the fact that it was an oil burner did come as a surprise to several passengers.
It’s nimble and surefooted and provides a nice balance between sportiness and driveability. In fact, I can easily visualize this as a great daily driver, especially for longer commutes where the diesel’s superior fuel economy would shine.
The Golf held its own going through corners and the steering felt just about perfect, both at higher speeds when the freeways were free of traffic and in town, where parallel parking is part of the bargain. Responsive is the word that comes to mind.
The Golf was perfectly at home at higher speeds, something that of course comes as little surprise since slower cars go at 80 mph (130 km/h) on German Autobahnen. Indeed, the only real indicator of your speed at that point (besides the speedometer) is the increased wind noise.
A two-hour drive, mostly on Northern California’s freeways but also on some secondary roads, is indicative of the fuel economy one gets in the Golf: 40.2 mpg (5.85 l-100 km) at an average speed of 68 mph (109 km/h). The Golf has an EPA rating of 42 mpg (5.6 l/100 km) highway and 31 mpg (5.85 l/100 km) city.
Overall, after a week with the Golf, we saw this figure remain unchanged, in part perhaps thanks to a mixture of shorter drives in and around Carmel plus longer traffic-free runs on the freeway.
BOTTOM LINE
The 2012 Volkswagen Golf TDI, like its Rabbit and Golf predecessors, has come to stand for a combination of quality and refinement that other automakers find hard to match in the price range. When you add in the Fahrvergnügen that only VW can offer, you can see why the Golf is not only Volkswagen’s best-selling model but the world’s third best-selling automobile after the Toyota Corolla and the Volkswagen Beetle (which will be available as a diesel for model year 2013).
| 2012 Volkswagen Golf TDI | |
| Base price/price-as-tested | $24,935/$25,705 |
| Drivetrain | Front engine, front-wheel drive |
| Engine | 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 |
| HP/Torque (lb-ft) | 140/236 |
| Transmission | 6-speed manual |
| Curb weight (lbs) | 3,073 |
| Wheelbase (inches) | 101.5 |
| Length x width x height (inches) | 165.4 x 70.3 x 58.2 |
| 0-60 mph (seconds) | 8.6 |
| City/Highway fuel economy (mpg) | 31/42 |
DRIVING THE 17-MILE DRIVE
Pages: 1 2