Test drive Volkswagen Golf of the eighth generation
Test Drive

Test drive Volkswagen Golf of the eighth generation

The most popular of modern European cars offers its own digital universe, but gradually departs from the former canons of simplicity and naturalness.

On toll roads in Portugal, there are restrictions at 120 km / h, but the locals do not hesitate to drive the usual +20 km / h and even faster. A wide three-strip whimsically meanders between hills, dives into tunnels, takes off on beautiful bridges over gorges, and the eighth Golf keeps a high pace here without the slightest difficulty.

But on local paths one and a half cars wide, cut much more thinly, the tight connection with the car begins to disappear somewhere, and the reactions cease to seem polished and verified. In the dense cockpit, which surrounds the driver with colorful screens, glossy surfaces and the persistent embrace of the ErgoSeat, the focus is no longer on the feeling of the car, but on the degree of its connectedness.

Of course, nothing critical happens, and in civilian modes the Golf is still as good as ever. In addition, there are so many insurance electronics on board that you can, it seems, do nothing at all. The lane control system forcibly turns the steering wheel so as to take the car back into the lane, and if it does not react at all to a change in the situation, the system will decide that the driver is bad and will simply stop the car. In general, it looks safe, but does not answer the main question: at what moment and why did the driver suddenly cease to subtly feel the best European car.

Test drive Volkswagen Golf of the eighth generation

“Here you are, number one. Do you know how to handle a manual transmission? Great, colleagues will tell you how to start the engine. " You don't have to prompt. Check the handbrake, move the gearbox lever to neutral, depress the clutch and brake pedals, pull out the “choke” handle and turn the key.

In terms of the design level, the first generation VW Golf roughly corresponds to the Soviet "penny" adjusted for front-wheel drive: a weak 50-horsepower engine, a 4-speed gearbox, brakes and a steering wheel without an amplifier, and of the options only a radio receiver and a rear window wiper. A thin steering wheel requires a fair amount of effort, a frail engine hardly moves the hatchback uphill, and in terms of spaciousness and ease of landing, this 1974 Golf loses even to our "classics".

Test drive Volkswagen Golf of the eighth generation

The car of the second generation of the early eighties no longer needs to be revived with the help of "suction" (single injection!), But it is worth comparing it with the "nine". The 90-horsepower gasoline engine is much more fun, the handling and dynamics are already reminiscent of modern ones, although it's still hard to drive this car today. Alas, then our car industry actually stopped in development, but the Germans continued to churn out more and more new models.

The third Golf is already in the nineties with their bioforms and attempts to find what driving pleasure is. The fourth is even more perfect, and the version with a 204-horsepower V6 engine, even with a mileage of well over 100 thousand km, and today impresses with the sound of the engine and the energy of acceleration. Even taking into account the fact that, in terms of numbers, this car can easily go around any modern Golf with a 1,4-liter engine.

Test drive Volkswagen Golf of the eighth generation

The fifth and sixth are quite modern cars with turbines, preselective gearboxes and excellent chassis tuning. The difference is in the style and interior design. Well, the seventh generation model on the current MQB chassis generally seems perfect: fast, lightweight and absolutely understandable. It seems that it is no longer possible to do better, and therefore, against its background, the supernova eighth Golf does not at all cause a desire to immediately run to the dealer.

Test drive Volkswagen Golf of the eighth generation

In terms of design, the model of the eighth generation is identical to the seventh, because it is built on the same platform and carries approximately the same units. They almost do not differ in size and weight, but the beginner still seems heavier. It is quite possible that this is only a psychological feeling from a more expensive and solid interior, burdened with a large number of shiny and colorful devices, and it is possible that this is exactly what the Germans were trying to achieve.

Test drive Volkswagen Golf of the eighth generation

The thing is, the new Golf looks and feels more expensive than the old one. The familiar form factor now seems to be a very fashionable and modern, but slightly synthetic car with a computer simulator interior, in which there will be a minimum of tactile sensations. The steering wheel and pedals are still in place, but a shiny non-locking lever has already taken the place of the gearbox selector, the rotating light switch has been replaced with a number of touch buttons, and the driver's cockpit generally consists of screens and glossy tactile elements.

In order to change the temperature or volume of the audio system, you need to touch the area under the center screen or slide your finger over it. There are shortcut keys, but they are also touch-sensitive. You can only press the buttons for the power windows or the buttons on the steering wheel, which you can still use by touch.

The media system menu is organized like a smartphone, and this solution seems logical and understandable. The eighth Golf is announced as connected, but of the obvious advantages so far, only working Internet radio stations can be found. The stock voice control system has not yet learned to understand spoken speech, but the Golf now has Google's Alexa wired up, and this solution seems to be more convenient. Finally, the car can be controlled from a smartphone, and it also knows the Car2x emergency and traffic information exchange protocol.

All this fundamentally raises the rank of the new Golf, but at the same time takes it further and further from the category of folk. But there is a feeling that a comfortable ride in a digital capsule is not exactly what customers expect, who love this car for its ride quality. Because the steering precision and the ease with which the old Golf responded to the driver's commands were slightly blurred, becoming only the backdrop for the presentation of the new model's chic digital universe.

Test drive Volkswagen Golf of the eighth generation

It comes to the strange: the initial version with a beam in the rear suspension instead of a complex multi-link in terms of handling seems more honest, because with it the reactions are obtained, albeit not refined, but completely predictable. Such a machine is equipped with a 1,5 TSI engine with a capacity of 130 hp. with. and with the "mechanics" goes absolutely decently, albeit without showing any particular agility at speeds over "hundred".

On the 150-horsepower versions, there is already a multi-link, with which the Golf allows a little more in corners and rides more comfortably, but, alas, it does not give one hundred percent understanding of the car. And the motor itself promises more than it gives out: the former ease of lifting, as well as the declared high-torque at the bottom, is not felt. To understand this, it is enough to ride a seventh generation car with a 140-horsepower 1,4 TSI engine. Or even on the fifth Golf with the very first version of this engine, which sighs very loudly with a turbine when the gas pedal is released.

In theory, the 1,5 TSI engine, to which the Germans transferred all their models in Europe, is much more modern than the previous 1,4 TSI, because it operates on a more economical Miller cycle with a different tuning of intake and exhaust strokes, a higher compression ratio and a turbocharger with variable geometry. According to the characteristics, such a motor should be more high-torque at low speeds, but in real operation it is quite difficult to feel the difference. And it is, of course, more expensive.

The Russian market has so far passed Euro 6, and therefore, instead of this engine, Volkswagen continues to put the old 1,4 TSI with the same 150 forces on all "our" cars. And it is possible that such a Golf will go just as well. Although there is one more nuance: not a DSG is planned to be paired with this motor, but an 8-speed automatic, which even the Mexican Jetta will not have.

Test drive Volkswagen Golf of the eighth generation

The second - conditionally budget - option will receive a 110-horsepower 1,6 aspirated engine made in Kaluga, which will be sent to Wolfsburg for installation on Russian cars paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. It would be logical to make such hatchbacks with a beam instead of a multi-link, but the importer has not disclosed such details yet. And we will not have two-liter diesels, which are transported reliably and firmly, but overall a little boring, we will not have at all.

The eighth Golf will come to the Russian market next year, but when exactly this will happen is still unknown. The hatchback will not be localized, so there is no hope for a moderate price tag. It will remain a niche model for connoisseurs who do not need a large sedan or SUV to be comfortable in the city.

Those who have a slightly tired car of the previous generation, in any case, will have to go to the dealer, and this will be the right move. Along with the model update, the owner will receive the expected status upgrade and a ticket to the new digital universe. And owners of conditionally fresh cars of the seventh generation, perhaps, should not rush. Unless they really like this form-fitting digital cockpit, in which, by the way, you can easily find a menu for disabling the annoying lane control system.

Body typeHatchbackHatchback
dimensions

(length, width, height), mm
4284/1789/14564284/1789/1456
Wheelbase, mm26362636
Cargo space, l380 – 1237 Feet380 – 1237 Feet
engine's typeGasoline, R4, turboDiesel, R4, turbo
Working volume, cubic meters cm14981968
Power, hp with. at rpm150 at 5000-6000150 at 3500-4000
Max. cool. moment,

Nm at rpm
250 / 1500-3500360 / 1750-3000
Transmission, drive6-speed manual gearbox, front7-step robot., Front
Max. speed km / h224223
Acceleration 0-100 km / h, s8,58,8

Add a comment