Volkswagen Golf 2007 News

The new European star is doing big things in Australia off the back of impressive quality, comfort and driving enjoyment.

 Apart from European hot-hatches such as the Renault Cleo Sport and Peugeot 206 GTi seldom have we seen any manufactures brave enough to bring 3 door hatch variants into our market.  Sure you can get an entry level 3 door Yaris but what about a nice 3 door Corolla Sportivo, um… sorry they don’t come in 3 door in Australia.This pattern seems to have started in the late 80s with the introduction in droves of mass produced front wheel drive hatch backs.  Remember the Pulsar SSS?  Yep that came in 3 door hatch in Japan.  How about the Corolla GTi, or Mazda 323?  Yep 3 door again overseas.At one stage in the early 90s even the iconic Golf GTi was only available in 5 door in this country.  For years Australia has been denied many of the accessories and engine options that are prevalent in Europe, the US, and even the rest of Asia, but they are happy to throw in an extra 2 doors for nothing.  There are some companies that have bucked the trend like Honda, but even they gave in to with the “5 door hatch only” Civic model a few years back.  And now it looks like the Europeans have caught on to this trend.  We are missing out on the 2 door BMW 1 series hatch it seems…Though through the gloom comes the news that Australia will shortly see the new 2 door VW Polo.  A brief hint of fun in a sea of practicality it seams.I really can’t see any reason why the Australian market seems to be so against the 3 door hatch… especially when it comes to the performance market. 

When the doors open on the ‘project lab’ it looks like you’re going to be treated to a bit of computer-generated artwork. But in fact the track, the cars – and every possible outcome – have been filmed for real. When you crash, expect the project engineer’s giant hand to come in and pick you back up. If you get a time of less than 40 seconds (and live in the UK) you’re in the running to win a three-month visit from a Golf VI GTI. If you live anywhere else, just have fun with it. Play the GTI Project race  

They will be making a major contribution to the greening of our new-car fleet as they kill the engine at stoplights instead of wasting fuel and creating pollution as they idle at a red.I first drove a stop/start car around 1994 when Volkswagen brought an evaluation car to Australia to highlight the EcoMatic technology in its then-new Golf III. The greener Golf never got past the evaluation stage here, and only lasted about 18 months in Europe because of very slow sales, but it was the start of something special.I can still remember the horror of pulling up to a red light in Sydney's city centre and having the engine die. My instinct was to re-start it immediately, but I resisted the temptation and it fired when I selected a gear as the light turned green.I had the same mild panic when I drove a stop/start Land Rover Freelander in Britain a couple of weeks ago. As I selected neutral the engine died, but when I dipped the clutch to select first on the green it fired immediately with no drama.We are all going to have to overcome the same panic in future years as stop/start leads us into a generation of cars with all sorts of new systems. Some will have 'active' alternators which only charge on demand, others will have electric water pumps to cut engine drag, and there will be cars with all sorts of new controls for the power steering and airconditioning. Some will have the lot.We've already seen cylinder deactivation systems in cars from GM Holden and Honda, which effectively cut the size of the engine in low-load situations, and they will also be commonplace.Land Rover had hoped to be first in Australia with stop-start technology but is going to be pipped by Mini.The Cooper D will be in showrooms on May 1 with stop/start and the claim that it is the most fuel-efficient car sold in Australia.Other makers are likely to follow Land Rover, although Fiat and Citroen have already looked at stop/start for Australia and ruled it out because of the cost.But the price of fuel is creeping back up again and no-one is going backwards on emissions.So stop/start is definitely coming, although it is currently only available on manual cars because of the complication of re-starting an automatic which is stopped at the lights in drive. Many companies are already working on a stop/start system for their autos, but it usually involves some sort of special starter-alternator pack and American brands are calling theirs a new form of mild hybrid.Once the stop/start automatics start to land we are really going to see the dominos beginning to fall.

Golf GTI was already a legend by the time Mk2 arrived, but from there it was softened to attract a more mainstream buyer. “The Mk2, Mk3 and MK4 models became gradually diluted - between those models we gradually lost touch with what the car should be,” says Volkswagen's global head of engineering for Golf and GTI, Rolf Trump. “It was the marketing decisions of the time." “It was not until MkV that we tried to rekindle the values and performance of the old ideal “However I would not say the models from MkII to MkIV were unloved - they were not a failure in terms of sales. “What I find disappointing is that we did not do what we could have with the potential of the car - we went more mainstream." “From an engineering point of view I may have regretted some of the decisions taken to put the car on a wider footing." “It was not unsuccessful, when you look at the volumes sold. But it deprived GTI of that character that is so essential to it.”

Volkswagen's global head of engineering for Golf and GTI, Rolf Trump, says fans should not expect to see any more than incremental increases in power over the generations to come. “It's not all about power. We believe 210hp (the 155kW in MkVI) is sufficient and 230-240hp (172-179kW) is essentially the limit for GTI,” Trump says. “Why put extra in when in maximum situations you can't use it. Most of the systems you have to control the car simply take the power off." “From MKI to MkV, Golf GTI has been growing more and more powerful, and at this point we have realised we have nearly come to our limits with that. “I don't think we have hit the wall. But with front-wheel drive there is only so much power you can get safely.” Trump says the main area of effort now will be in optimising the GTI's consumption and emissions while still getting a little more out of the engine. “We believe that with fuel economy and emissions improvements, that a moderate power increase is reasonable for a GTI and with that — albeit modest — increase we are still in a position to improve emissions and the dynamics of the car.” “What we can continue to work on is weight reduction - and people are working on it very hard now. “We are determined to work to make it not only more efficient but lighter - that is the future of it.” However that future will not include a seven-speed DSG, even if one was developed - like stablemate Audi's seven-speed S-tronic (appearing in the sporty S-line models) that can handle up to 550Nm of torque, but is designed for longitudinally-mounted engines, while the GTI's four-cylinder is transverse-mounted . “There are no plans to ever develop a seven-speed for this car,” Trump says. “We believe the six-speed is perfectly suited to the GTI. “The seven-speed gives you an overdrive function and does not make sense for sporty cars.”  

Volkswagen has launched its most powerful Golf, the limited edition GTI Pirelli

The Golf TDI Hybrid uses a diesel engine returning 3.35 litres/100km and 89g/km of CO2. The hybrid combines an advanced diesel engine with an electric motor and the latest generation of seven-speed DSG gearbox. Around town, the Golf TDI Hybrid reverts to purely electric mode to be emission-free. At the core of the new Golf is a highly efficient 1.2-litre three-cylinder common rail TDI diesel engine developing 100kW and 180Nm of torque. Working either in tandem with the diesel engine or, if required, on its own, is an electric motor developing 20kW and 140Nm of torque. The electric motor also replaces the conventional starter motor and alternator to save weight and improve packaging. It can also operate as a generator, recovering kinetic energy from the car during braking to charge the 220-volt, 45kg nickel metal hydride battery which has a capacity of 1.4kW hours. In practice, the electric motor powers the vehicle from standstill with the diesel engine only engaging should additional acceleration be required or at higher speeds. In these situations the diesel engine takes over with the electric motor only working if required to supplement the combustion engine – for example, during overtaking manoeuvres. When at a standstill the diesel engine shuts down completely to conserve fuel and increase efficiency. Drive on the concept car is channelled through the new seven-speed DSG twin-clutch gearbox. This features a pair of dry clutches as opposed to wet (lubricated) clutches and sets a new energy efficiency standard for automatic gearboxes. Visual changes which differentiate the Golf TDI Hybrid include a new grille design, smaller front air intakes to reduce aerodynamic drag and subtle TDI-Hybrid badging. The Golf TDI Hybrid also sits lower than the standard Golf on revised suspension and adopts the front splitter from the Golf GTI Edition 30 to help further reduce aerodynamic drag. The interior further distinguishes the Golf TDI Hybrid from the conventional vehicle. The Golf TDI Hybrid is a concept vehicle, but a version is likely to go into production in the future. This study follows the recent launch of the efficient new Golf BlueMotion. Adopting an optimised 1.9-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine linked to a revised gearbox and more efficient aerodynamics the Golf BlueMotion can achieve a combined 4.4 litres/100km, while emitting just 119g/km of CO2, meaning it will be exempt from the London Congestion Charge from October 27 onwards.  

You could start with the Mazda3, Australia's most popular fully imported car.Indeed, the sedan or hatch that have thrust Mazda to Number four on the sales ladder have at times been our most successful privately-owned cars, period. If that sounds a bit tall for a (not so very) smallish car, consider that the brand doesn't sell a single unit to commercial fleets or rental companies, the sort of knockdown dealing that keeps Holden and Ford above Mazda but destroys resale values.Toyota can claim its perennial Corolla, the most recent generation of which was released earlier this year, does more business than the Mazda, but many base-model strippers wind up with 'for rent' signs on their windshields.Even in a market where used-car values have never been less reliable, the Mazda3's desirability, exclusivity and driveability seem to be keeping it slightly above the skids.For the past few months, though, the Mazda's mantle hasn't seemed so secure. The reasons are two reinvented cars; the new-generation Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Lancer.Both offer exceptional value and top-rate safety packages even in their base models, though the $21,000 entry-level Lancer is subject to a slight and quite fair option hike to get the class-leading package of seven airbags.You need to get into the top Mazda3 iterations, the more expensive Maxx Sport and topline SP23, to get comparable packages and even then DSC remains a $1000 option.Ford has had to cut the guts out of its lower-spec Focus price, reducing it to $19,990. The Mazda3 is in some essential respects the same car, but Mazdas have traditionally held their own over comparable Blue Ovals.A new SP23 is priced from almost $30,000, up towards the class-leading Volkswagen Golf FSI dollars. A used SP23, which comes with the full kit and some warranty extant, is an attractive package, not least because it, too, is starting to feel the pre-loved car price wobbles.This weekend, several Sydney dealers will offer MY05 SP23s with 12 months' manufacturer warranty remaining and upwards of 35,000km on the clock from $25,50.That's still steep, but don't be put off, especially as Subaru and Mitsubishi will sell you a highly competitive all-new car for much the same money. Feel free to mention this.While lesser 3s use the 2.0-litre petrol four, the range leader shares the bigger Mazda6's 2.3-litre four-potter, though detuned slightly to 115kW. It is still the drivers' choice in this segment, an aspect enhanced last year when it received an extra ratio each for the previously five-speed manual and four-speed auto.The manual would be our transmission choice, though at least the auto's tip shift mode, unlike most, holds a gear until you decide differently. The pre-facelift models make do with the old transmission and noticeably more raucous level of NVH.There's nothing else to complain of though with 17-inch alloys, six-speaker stereo with six-stacker, ABS with EBD, fully adjustable steering wheel, six airbags, body kit and leather trim.If the Mazda3 is facing fresh challenges, it is as markedly superior to its longer-term rivals used as it was new. You have to go up to the $36,000 XR5 to find a Focus that moves quicker than the 2.0-litre norm. Even then, side airbags aren't to be had.Honda offers a petrol-electric hybrid version of its Thai-built Civic sedan, though at a considerable premium over the underdone and drab conventional four-pot models. The Corolla is new, but it has also gained weight over the last model, while persisting with the old engine.Economy suffers and Toyota's neglect in not offering stability control even as an option makes it look further off the pace. Sure, the Corolla will probably remain Australia's best-selling car in this class but overall, the Mazda3 looks the best bet. It's just that now used-car buyers are holding some cards. 

The carsguide car of the year 2008 finalists have been announced.