Which Golf should I buy?

[Dead Cell]

Hi All,

I started a thread in the BMW section regarding the crisis I'm going through with my 3 series E90.

On that back of that, I'm considering purchasing a Golf and the budget is roughly £9000.

The E90 was my 2nd car so I'm not very experienced with cars hence why I'm here seeking help.

I want to buy a car that's not going to cost an arm and a leg to maintain and has good fuel efficiency.

It must be automatic and petrol.

My current E90 is a 2 litre petrol engine which has all the power I need, but it isn't very efficient.

I'm seeing a lot of 1.2 and 1.4 litre Golf's in TSI, TFSI, Bluemotion etc.

The Bluemotion variants seem the most efficient and also very cheap to tax, I'm currently paying £260 annually for my 3 Series!

Anyway, are these cars going to be powerful enough to drive around especially on motorways etc? I'm not a speed freak as I usually always have a 2 year old in the car, but even without him I'm still very sensible on the road.

I usually do 70-80 on the motorway, but would these cars struggle going a little higher?

Also, are Golf's quite reliable and I assume the parts should be cheaper than BMW cars?

Any other cars I should consider?

Would appreciate your thoughts on this, thank you very much.

[Terzo123]

I have, well the wife has a 1.4 tsi act seat leon FR, which is essentially the same as the golf/audi A3.

In 1.4 guise the leon has150 bhp and costs 20 quid a year to tax. Performance is good. Economy varies from over 50mpg on the motorway to around 36 when driven about town.

It well get to, and sit at 70 or 80 on the motorway with ease.

We really like it and bought it specifically as the wife had previously leased an A3 with the same engine.

It's all down to budget and brand prestige really.

The Audi we leased came with very little optional extras.
The Leon we bought is jammed packed with optional extras and cheaper into the bargain.
The golf will be somewhere in between.
They are all essentially the same car.

[Dr G]

Golf is nice with that engine; performance absolutely fine for a 'normal' car (particularly so with DSG box):

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

A lot of Golfs at this money will be S/SE/Match which are a bit basic. The above is a GT which is nicer.

Leon also a good shout and should be better equipped for the budget, I'm not 100% sure it got the 1.4T auto at the time but there are 1.8s within budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[p4cks]

Terzo123 said:

I have, well the wife has a 1.4 tsi act seat leon FR, which is essentially the same as the golf/audi A3.

It's a sweet little engine, which I also recently had in an A3 I owned. I'll be back in a car with this engine soon hopefully, I really rate it that much.

The Leon is the sensible choice as you get a lot for your money. The Golf is also well equipped and the Audi being the least well equipped for your budget.

[va1o]

Mk7 GT is the one to have if you can. The 1.4 TSI ACT suits it pretty nicely

This one is relatively low miles and priced well - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Dead Cell]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply, I did consider the Seat Leon but I read in a few reviews that the drive was better on the Golf.

Va10, is the one you linked to the GT version or are you saying that the GT is the best to get, but the 1.4 TSI ACT is also a good option?

I'm actually now considering the Focus as well in 1.6.

Any thoughts on that?

I'm thinking it'll be more reliable and cheaper to maintain.

Thanks guys

[cheddar]

Another vote for the MK7 1.4 Golf, lovely engine, a friend has one and averages over 50mpg, in sport mode it's really brisk too.

[acme]

As is often the case on these threads I’ll chip in.

Up until February I had a MK7 Golf GT 1.4 TSI ACT DSG & did 86k miles in 4.5 years. It was a company car & got 46MPG across all the miles. I loved it & would happily buy one with my own money. I had a few issues, leaky boot for example, but my only real complaint was the low speed hesitancy, well documented. I think it’s the DSG & could be related to the fact it’s a dry clutch, certainly never heard complaints on the wet clutch 6 speed.

[Dead Cell]

Thanks guys for the replies, I still need help though.

I now have 12k to play with. The car has to be an automatic and petrol.

It has to be economical and cheapish to maintain and service.

I'm leaning towards the Golf mark 7.5 as I prefer the dash and the refined looks, unless you guys can tell me reasons why I shouldn't and instead stick to just mark 7.

The GT sounds nice, but I'm guessing the fuel economy isn't going to be great?

I guess that leaves me with the 1.4 TSI Match which I believe is the better equipped in the budget range?

I am confused about ACT, TSI, TFSI and Bluemotion. I just need it to be the best equipped in terms of navigation, rear view camera and the tax to also be as cheap as possible.

Thanks for helping me out guys, I really appreciate it.

Cheers