Well folks the time is nearly here. Today I handed over my 55000 miles Skoda Superb and received a VW Tiguan to keep me going over the weekend until my new GTD is handed over on Monday. I anticipate driving it around 35000 miles each year and thought there might be some interest in a journal which paints a picture of Golf ownership while pounding the highways and byways of the UK. After picking the car up in Aberdeen on Monday it will have it’s first serious outing on Wednesday when it travels to Lincolnshire (425 miles). I will let you all know how it performs.
It took a while for me to finally decide on a Golf. I drove my local dealers to distraction requesting test drives. The Leon FR184 was first. I found the performance to be addictive and although the press seem to prefer the looks over the Golf I wasn’t sold. Make no mistake it was a great car but I think VAG have got it right to market it at a younger audience. Then I drove the Golf 2.0GT. Instantly I felt the quality and it just felt good to be in. The performance and refinement really surprised me and I was kinda hooked. However….. the dealer had a GTD demonstrator and suggested I tried that. I was blown away – refinement and performance. He then did his sums and discovered that a GTD on business lease is cheaper than a GT!!!!! Next came A3s in 1.6 and 2.0 guises both Sportline variants with sports suspension. They were sharper to drive than the Golfs but I found them to be noticeably noisier and less comfortable. But…. I prefer the looks of the A3 to the Golf. And (oh the shame of it) the badge snob in me liked the thought of driving an Audi (but please don’t hate me.) The real difficulty came when my VW dealer showed me the waiting times for GTDs. I would have chosen a bog standard car in red. However that would have meant a long wait whereas he had a white one on order with the 19inch rims for March delivery. I looked at my monthly tax bill for running these cars and, was faced with a dilemma. The wheels and paint on the GTD took my monthly tax bill (I receive company fuel) to a significant amount more than the A3s and GT. I was also concerned that the 19inch wheels would upset the refinement of the GTD. The dealer however took delivery of a new demonstrator shod with 19inch rims and I was able to take it for a spin. First impressions were excellent. I suspect it was a little noisier and rode with less pliancy than the standard car but without driving the cars back to back I couldn’t be sure. Everything was great until………. I deliberately ran over a pothole! Ouch!! The car really jarred in a way the standard car avoided when I drove it into the same pothole. But not being able to spot any significant difference between the two if I avoided potholes I took the view, ‘life is for living,’ pay the extra and enjoy the car! I cant wait ‘till Monday.
Finally, and I do apologise for the length of this post, the last word goes to the old Skoda. It was brilliant at taking me the length and breadth of the country. Boring and slow? Yes, but refined, and after a regular 7 hour drive left me feeling fresh. I believe anyone who knocks the quality of the current range of Skodas is prejudiced. Mine was the Greenline version and according to the computer always returned over 50mpg. I replaced the front set of tyres at 52000 and the rears are still originals. (They are hard compound eco tyres). It was serviced twice in the 18 months I ran it for. The quality of the interior is miles above the quality of the Leon and I would say on par with the Golf. So, on to the next chapter and a completely different sort of car. Watch this space.
It took a while for me to finally decide on a Golf. I drove my local dealers to distraction requesting test drives. The Leon FR184 was first. I found the performance to be addictive and although the press seem to prefer the looks over the Golf I wasn’t sold. Make no mistake it was a great car but I think VAG have got it right to market it at a younger audience. Then I drove the Golf 2.0GT. Instantly I felt the quality and it just felt good to be in. The performance and refinement really surprised me and I was kinda hooked. However….. the dealer had a GTD demonstrator and suggested I tried that. I was blown away – refinement and performance. He then did his sums and discovered that a GTD on business lease is cheaper than a GT!!!!! Next came A3s in 1.6 and 2.0 guises both Sportline variants with sports suspension. They were sharper to drive than the Golfs but I found them to be noticeably noisier and less comfortable. But…. I prefer the looks of the A3 to the Golf. And (oh the shame of it) the badge snob in me liked the thought of driving an Audi (but please don’t hate me.) The real difficulty came when my VW dealer showed me the waiting times for GTDs. I would have chosen a bog standard car in red. However that would have meant a long wait whereas he had a white one on order with the 19inch rims for March delivery. I looked at my monthly tax bill for running these cars and, was faced with a dilemma. The wheels and paint on the GTD took my monthly tax bill (I receive company fuel) to a significant amount more than the A3s and GT. I was also concerned that the 19inch wheels would upset the refinement of the GTD. The dealer however took delivery of a new demonstrator shod with 19inch rims and I was able to take it for a spin. First impressions were excellent. I suspect it was a little noisier and rode with less pliancy than the standard car but without driving the cars back to back I couldn’t be sure. Everything was great until………. I deliberately ran over a pothole! Ouch!! The car really jarred in a way the standard car avoided when I drove it into the same pothole. But not being able to spot any significant difference between the two if I avoided potholes I took the view, ‘life is for living,’ pay the extra and enjoy the car! I cant wait ‘till Monday.
Finally, and I do apologise for the length of this post, the last word goes to the old Skoda. It was brilliant at taking me the length and breadth of the country. Boring and slow? Yes, but refined, and after a regular 7 hour drive left me feeling fresh. I believe anyone who knocks the quality of the current range of Skodas is prejudiced. Mine was the Greenline version and according to the computer always returned over 50mpg. I replaced the front set of tyres at 52000 and the rears are still originals. (They are hard compound eco tyres). It was serviced twice in the 18 months I ran it for. The quality of the interior is miles above the quality of the Leon and I would say on par with the Golf. So, on to the next chapter and a completely different sort of car. Watch this space.