USED Volkswagen Golf Hatchback (04 - 09)

My car

My contract hire DSG goes back in Jan and I will miss it. My 25th car and first VW, it got off to a disastrous start. Dealer beneath contempt, forgot to order it then came with wrong spec (had to retro fit cruise). After 2 weeks noticed rear door was wrong colour - obviously damaged in production/transit. I'd had so many faults by this stage I asked the lease co if they were concerned and they said "no", so I've lived with it. Handling improved after 1st service (at different dealer) when they removed the transit packers still wedged in the front suspension which should have been done at PDI.

Since then it's settled down and been a joy. Initial rattles have vanished.

Good: Great DSG, hairy when you want it, relaxed when you don't. Great allrounder. Bad: Dull interior. Uses more oil than I'm used to. Diabolical rain sensitive wipers. Eats front tyres (though on contract, so who cares?!). Sounds like diesel on tickover. Double click lock to open back doors (always takes 2 goes). Easy to kerb alloys. Poor demisting. Lack of fresh air without ac on. MPG not as suggested (I've never got 30). Nightmare trying to get tracking sorted. Rear seats don't fold flat.

More faults than I expected, but still a great car. Does suffer from German sterility though. Had ordered an Alfa 159TI as replacement(gorgeous) but had to cancel due to economic outlook, so back to a 2 year old Focus TDCi :( Hopefully temporary situation!! Get spending you lot!!

My car

Bought new in March 08 5 door tonado arived with leather at no extra cost after been ordered late January.Faulty radio quickly sorted by Richard Alexander in Harrogate my local dealer the only problem to date. I love the car its a dream to drive no rattles or squeaks yet anyway,average mid 30s on ordinary unleaded with no pinking or loss of power at all would recommend to anyone.

My car

I have just had this car as a new company car,replacing a 318se Bmw.At long last the Tax man is cutting me some slack,the tax benifit is worth it on its own.We looked at this model as the co2 was under 120 and the tax was £35 with good fuel econamy for the company.And as for driving the car it had to be able to cover 30k a year in comfort,the golf does this with a good spec.Yes the engine is a bit loud and the gearing is a bit weird at first as other customers have said before you no it the 90mph has kicked in and your on your way to the 100mph.The match is geared mad,if you change from 4th as indicated on the eco arrow you are soon doing 100mph and being told to change up into fifth gear this just blew my mind and takes some getting used to.(watch that speed)Mr plods watching you.I have yet to encounter the customer service,everyone has pointed out but time will tell.1400miles on the clock and as happy if not more than with the over rated BMW.

My car

13 months and 20,000 miles later - I still love getting into my GT Sport everyday. It is a joy to drive and as long as you maintain the right gear for optimum power it'll get you where you want to go quicker than you need. The trouble I have is that is so quick between 30 - 70 that I have to be careful that I don't shoot over the national limit when accelerating onto a dual-carriage way.

I put quite a lot of extras on mine including: cruise, luxury pack, winter pack, iPod connection, and storage options. Unfortunately I bought the first edition of the new GT Sport (combining GT and Sport models together) so I missed the later introduction of standard leather trim.

The only extra that has been really disappointing is the iPod connection. I didn't realise that you could only play playlists - which if there is a song in the playlist the stereo doesn't like you end up with an error and can't play the whole playlist. The main issue I had was with the connector in the arm-rest - I have three iPods and periodically it would not either play or charge one of my iPods. So, when due for a service, I asked for it to be looked at and they replaced the connector and gave me some sleeves for each type (which helped ensure you plugged it in properly).

Had two replacement tyres was only other out-of-service expense.

Looking forward to another 18mths of bliss before I have to hand "him" (he's definately a male car!) back at the end of the lease.