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William Kimberley test drives the new VW Golf Unbelievable though it may be, this May will see the 30th anniversary of the Volkswagen Golf, the car that saved the German carmaker from a downward spiral into certain oblivion as it sought to replace the outdated but much-loved Beetle. Again, almost unbelievably, the Golf Mark 1 is still available today, albeit in much modified form, as an entry-level model in South Africa. Times move on, though, and after many iterations, the fifth generation has now arrived, replacing the earlier version which has been in production since 1997.

Like previous Golf models, much of VW's sucess in the next two years will be shaped by the new fifth-generation Golf

Updating successful models is always a headache for all those concerned. There is the danger that if it is too radically changed, the spark at the heart of the vehicle will be dulled. At the same time, though, models need to be refreshed if they are not to become dated. It is always a fine line to tread.

VW has been treading this line with caution for a long time and have got it right to date. So what does the fifth generation version offer?

The most obvious thing is its looks. While it is still recognisably a Golf, changes to the face and the rear are the most apparent while the car itself has grown quite substantially. At 1.759 metres wide, it is 24 mm wider than its predecessor, 41 mm higher at 1.485 metres and 55 longer at 4,204 metres.

The new Golf incorporates all the latest technology to meet current and future safety requirements including new additions to US FMVSS301 that take effect next year. In order to comply, vehicles must withstand certain specified rear impact tests without any fuel leakage at all. The tank filler neck and pipes are consequently located in front of the rear wheel and outside the crumple zone. The load is also distributed as uniformly as possible by a high-strength bumper to both sides of the car. The rear side members crumple specifically at the rear end but remain stable in the passenger cell area.

Passenger safety and comfort

The new Golf is equipped with six airbags – front, head and side with the latter incorporating innovative new sensors for faster triggering times. Rear airbags can also be ordered as an optional extra. Other safety features include pyrotechnical belt tensioners with integrated belt force limiters and active head restraints. A new type of clamp on the steering column for longitudinal and vertical adjustment, together with the steering track rod, prevents the steering wheel from moving upwards in the event of a crash.

As far as passenger comfort is concerned, the new model features completely redesigned seats for maximum comfort. Those at the front can now be adjusted over a wider range, both longitudinally and vertically, while the standard seat height adjustment is accompanied by automatic inclination adjustment – it is flatter for smaller people and more pronounced for larger ones. VW is also proud of the fact that its new model is the first in its segment to offer electric four-way lumbar support, which is integrated into the electric seat, as an option. This new system has vertical adjustment compared with the familiar two-way support. Rear seat legroom has been increased by 52 mm and headroom by 24 mm while the driver and front passenger benefit from 8 mm of extra headroom. The car is adorned with more storage space while the luggage area in the back has been increased by 20 litres to 350 litres.

The manual air conditioning system of the outgoing model is replaced by Climatic, a semi-automatic system although a fully automatic system – Climatronic – is available as an option. This features some innovative ideas including changes to recirculating air mode when reversing and the fresh-air supply being cut when the windscreen washer system is operated to prevent unpleasant odours entering the car interior. The air ducts themselves have been enlarged for improved airflow as have the rear footwell vents. Located downstream of the powerful system fan is a pollen filter that operates in both fresh-air and recirculating-air modes.

The powertrain

From launch, the new Golf has been available with two petrol engines- the 75 ps (55 kW) 1.4 and the 115 ps (85 kW) 1.6 FSI. However, these are being joined by two FSI engines – the 90 ps (66 kW) 1.4 and the 150 ps (110 kW) 2.0 – and a 1.6 litre engine developing 102 ps (75 kW). There are also three diesel engines available – the 75 ps (55 kW) 2.0 SDI, the 105 ps (77 kW) 1.9 TDI and the 140 ps (103 kW) 2.0 TDI. This latter engine is the first turbodiesel from VW to have its innovative unit direct injection supplemented by four-valve technology. It has two overhead camshafts; the valve gear features low-friction roller rocker fingers with hydraulic backlash compensation; the unit injection elements are actuated via roller-type rocker arms by the exhaust camshaft; and a turbocharger with variable turbine geometry is also used. The transverse-flow cylinder head has two tangential intake ports per cylinder and a “rotated valve star” – a special arrangement of the four valves in relation to the crankshaft resulting in the most favourable port geometry possible, complete with an optimum combination of swirl and cylinder fill.

The 2.0 TDI - the first turbodiesel from VW to have its innovative unit direct injection supplemented by four-valve technology

Other important features of this engine include the centrally positioned 6-hole nozzle with tapered, flow-optimised injection holes and the central combustion chamber recess with a new, emission-optimised geometry. A new generation of unit injection elements – characterised by their very compact design – have been developed for the four-valve engine which sees around an 8% improvement in fuel consumption compared to the two-valve engine of comparable power.

As with the 1.6 FSI and optional on the 1.9 TDI, the 2.0 TDI is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox that features a magnesium selector housing, cable control and very short shifting strokes. The Golf 1.4 and 1.9 TDI have a 5-speed gearbox as standard. Both the 1.9 TDI and 2.0 TDI can also be mated to VW’s direct shift gearbox (DSG), and from the start of this year, VW’s Tiptronic 6-speed automatic gearbox can also be had as an option on the 1.6 FSI.

Vehicle dynamics

As far as the vehicle dynamics are concerned, VW has paid a great deal of attention to the suspension and axle set up. There is a newly developed multilink axle at the rear while the suspension strut-type axle with lower A-arm at the front has been further refined with a number of improvements. These include optimisation of oblique springing, a new mounting concept for the lower wishbone, a separate mounting of the spring and damper on the suspension strut tower and a new developed twin-sleeve shock absorber.

While the car is equipped with a newly developed electromechanical power steering (EPS) system with a more direct steering ration, the improvement in the steering precision has been attained by higher transversal axle rigidity under lateral force at the tyre contact point. There is also a lower tendency to roll due to the highly effective anti-roll bar at the front. Particular attention has also been given to the “centre feel” in straight-line driving while the “self-learning” steering also features a straight-line correction function.

The braking system has been uprated on this model with both ABS plus ESP that has added functionality. These include Adaptive Engagement Model (AEM), in which the car is continually monitored so that fast corrective action can de deployed if it senses the car is becoming unstable, and Low Dynamic ESP (LDE) that can intervene in the event of minor deviations in the braked driving state. Another feature is HVV – maximum rear axle deceleration – that actively increases the pressure on the rear axle into the ABS control operation if the front wheels are already subject to control when the rear ones are not.

Body building

The body itself has been the subject of much improvement with a 15% increase in torsion and 35% in flexion. Its static torsional rigidity – 25,000 Mn/° - has been improved by 80%, which VW claims is the best in class. The high rigidity has been boosted by the use of 70 metres of laser-welded seams – compared to five metres in the predecessor – while use of tailored blanks on the side members has helped the car meets its crashworthiness.

A cutaway diagramof the Golf V

VW is also proud of the doors on the new Golf that it claims are a worldwide innovation amongst steel bodies. This is because they have been constructed as modules so that in the event of accident damage only the outer “metal skin panel” need to replaced rather than the entire door, thus saving repair costs and time. The outer skin is bonded to the door inner panel, which comprises two so-called hybrid bars, that serves as a load-bearing structure. The inner and outer panels are also bolted together in the sill and topshoulder areas leaving the outer skin to be easily detached in order to remove dents.

The new Golf is a marked step forward both in form and function. VW’s engineers have cleverly brought the car up to date without losing the essential character of this much-loved car. In western Europe, the fourth-generation model accounted for 46%of total volume in its sector. There is no reason why the new version will not only match, but probably increase, this share.