USED Volkswagen Golf Hatchback (97 - 06)

My car

I adore this car.

VWs are synonymous with quality and refinement, even after buying a three-year-old, it still drives like brand new. (I did test-drive a new Golf (05) and the MK4 is marginally better.)

Although the 1.4 E is fairly devoid of functionality inside (no central locking, no electric windows/mirrors etc - which is its only downfall to be honest), the car istelf is superb. The quality inside is second to none in this car's class.

This car does everything a car needs to do to get you (extremely) comfortably from A to B and it gets you there quietly... and with a smile on your face.

This car simply smacks of quality for me and, although on the expensive side when it was new (when other cars in the small family hatchback offering have all the functions the Golf lacks), I would still buy this over anything else (having driven the alternatives like the Focus and Civic).

I couldn't ask for more - well, the lack of central locking is a pain but hey, it's a VW and it's mine.

My car

The Golf GT TDi PD130 has been a dream so far. I have covered 14,000 miles and had no problems. It's great fun to drive with loads of torque and superb economy even when driven quite hard.

I have used one litre of (rather expensive) synthetic engine oil. Overall the quality of trim and equipment is very good. The only real downside is the rear legroom, which has caused comment from some passengers. Residual values look to be good at present despite the new model. Buy one, it'll put a smile on your face!

My car

A solid car that is comfortable and a good performer on long motorway journeys. However, fuel consumption could be better (it seems to return less than 40mpg even at consistent moderate motorway speeds). There's also quite a bit of road noise in the cabin. But, with the full body kit, the car looks kind of cool.

In terms of reliability, the vehicle had warped front disks at the time of purchase second-hand (corrected under warranty) and the rear wash-wipe then flooded my boot (also corrected under warranty). I think there's plenty of precedent for both faults. At around 40,000 miles, my engine-management unit went AWOL and had to be replaced (£600) and now at 48,000 it's overheating (possibly a symptom of a broken plastic impeller on the water pump).

All in all, it's a bit costly to run and now likely to be replaced!

My car

Superb, when you drive a full spec GT TDI 130 PD with heated seats and sat-nav it turns a journey into a pleasure.

The 130bhp engine is full of useable torque and is more than enough to find that gap in the roundabout during the rush hour. When you bear in mind that the engine could be chipped to 186bhp, it's food for thought.

63.2mpg when you turn on the cruise control, you have to try very hard to return a value below 40mpg and you will not be able to do less than 40mpg for a whole tank's worth of diesel.

Build quality is strong and solid with a lot of clever additions. The computer is worth its weight in gold and will even tell you which door is open or when you're running low on screen wash.