VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE 2000 – 2013

2010 Volkswagen New Beetle BlackOrange

During the 1960s and into the ‘70s the original VW Beetle was a major player in the Australian market. It was built here for most of that time and was often in the top three in the sales race; beaten only by Holden and Falcon. It grew increasingly out of date and was eventually replaced by the Volkswagen Golf. When the New Beetle arrived in Australia in 2000 many past VW owners looked at it with loving eyes and fond memories. Some bought New Beetles for themselves, though more often… Read more

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF WAGON COMBINES FUN AND FUNCTION

Conventional station wagons have been one of the main casualties of the ongoing SUV boom with buyers opting for the more adventurous styling that they provide. We’ve just spent a week in one of the survivors, the Volkswagen Golf 7 wagon, and have come away thinking that perhaps there has been somewhat of an over-reaction and that many of the growing number of small SUVs don’t offer any significant advantages over Euro-style wagons such as the new Golf, especially not in terms of driving enjoyment. Like many cars of its… Read more

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, JETTA 2004 – 2013

2007 Volkswagen Golf GTi

  Those who need a sensible car, yet who also enjoy spirited driving will find the Volkswagen Golf does a good job of meeting these apparently conflicting needs. Even by Australian standards the Golf has grown in size with each new model, going from small to small-medium and finally to medium in overall dimensions. This is partly to provide the extra space needed for occupant crash protection though there is some more interior room as well. Aussies tend to regard them more as transport for a family with preteen children,… Read more

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R IS THE QUICKEST AND SAFEST GOLF YET

Volkswagen new Golf R is much more than just the flagship of the Golf range – it is a giant killer. Some of the stats tell the story: power is up 18 kW, torque by 50 Nm while going down rapidly is the 0 to 100 km/h sprint – now just 5.0 seconds flat. This is serious stuff. As fast as a Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) Clubsport R8 which boasts a hot 6.2 litre V8. It is VW’s quickest and safest Golf ever. Several hours at the wheel of Golf… Read more

GOLF GTI PERFORMANCE LIVES UP TO ITS NAME

Let’s just cut to the chase. The new Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance edition is the best GTI ever. Not because it has a few more kW above the standard GTI. Not because it looks great. Not even because it stops as well as it starts. The bottom line is GTI Performance kicks butt where it matters – driving dynamics. Power into a nasty corner and the GTI Performance, being front wheel drive, should show some signs of understeer and head for the bushes on the opposite side of the road…. Read more

VOLKSWAGEN’S CUTE LITTLE UP!

Volkswagen up! was launched almost a year ago, yet hasn’t managed to make the splash on the Australian sale’s charts that we had anticipated. So it made sense to carry out a re-test and see what we think about it almost 12 months down the track. STYLING One of our favourite car shapes of recent times, Volkswagen’s up! manages to make a functional box look interesting. It has a cheeky shape like nothing else on the road so perhaps it’s yet to make its mark because the small-car segment often… Read more

VOLKSWAGEN ADDS WAGON TO ITS GOLF 7 RANGE

Volkswagen has launched the third variant in its new Golf 7 range with a five-door wagon joining the hatch and GTI that arrived last year. The hotshot Golf R will follow later this year. STYLING Volkswagen Golf has never been an ostentatious car with its designers over the years opting for neat and conservative styling. The seventh-generation model continues that trend. Though the body is all-new there are plenty of cues to the outgoing Golf 6, indeed to many other Golfs over the years. The Golf 7 wagon is identical… Read more

2013 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI REVIEW

The VW Golf GTI earns its place as the 2013 World Car of the Year

After months under ’house arrest’ keeping the weight off my feet after badly breaking my right ankle, the bid to get back behind the wheel again took on something of the quest for the Holy Grail. What better way, then, to get back in the groove than with the 2013 World Car of the Year, the Volkswagen Golf GTI. ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS When it first came out in 1976, the VW Golf GTI scraped together 81 kW of power all up; the latest model, with its 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine… Read more

VOLKSWAGEN POLO 1998 – 2013

Volkswagen Polo is a small car from a German giant, but hadn’t done a lot in Australia until recent years. That was chiefly because the local importer concentrated on the larger Golf and Passat models, but the somewhat dull styling of the Polo didn’t to it any favours. The all-new 2010 model improved the looks and Volkswagen Polo finally become a serious contender in the small car market in Australia although it has been recently been upstaged in the styling stakes by its smaller brother the VW up! To make… Read more

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI

What a blast! This is the one we’ve been waiting for! Volkswagen Golf GTI was one of the earliest entrants in the affordable hot-hatch scene. Indeed the German giant claims its Golf was the originator of the title. There had been hot small cars before, the Golf certainly lifted the game when first introduced to keen drivers way back in 1976 as it was the one of the first small hatchbacks to have a fuel-injected engine; hence the ‘I’ in the GTI. Though Australian hot car drivers were more into… Read more