hey all,
looking at upgrading the wife’s corrolla and have been looking at the golf wagon tdi. anyone have any experience with them or has one. would be interested in feed back on them.
cheers barls

Great choice!

505 litres of rear storage space with the rear seat up; with the rear seat lowered that increases to 1,495 litres. 60/40 split rear seat allows more flexibility.

For Australia you have a choice of two diesels - the 77TDI or 103 TDI. The 1.6-litre 77TDI makes 77 kW/250 Nm and has a choice of 6-spped manual or 7-speed DSG. It comes in 'Trendline' trim. The 2.0-litre 103TDI makes 103 kW/320 Nm and comes with 6-speed DSG as standard. It has the higher-class 'Comfortline' trim.

http://www.volkswagen.com.au/en/models/golf_wagon.html 

Here's a typical review of the base 77TDI version: http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=69453 

Here's a comparo of the 103TDI wagon with a Hyundai, Peugeot and Skoda. The Golf comes out best: http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/head-to-head-diesel-wagons-20100423...

Overseas they got wagon versions of the Mk3, Mk4 and Mk5 Golfs as well (going back to the early 1990s) but they were not sold here. The Mk3 and Mk4 wagons were made by Karmann but the Mk5 and the current Mk6 wagon are made in Puebla, Mexico. Interestingly, in the US the Golf wagon is sold as the 'Jetta wagon' as the Americans much prefer the Jetta over the Golf.

cheers Phil,was looking at the 77tdi couldnt remember the model number last night. any other opinions about them

Hmmm... should it be Gollf Wagon... or Golf Wagen ???



Never driven the wagon version, but I think they're a great looking car !!! HEAPS of room in the back for the overall size of 'em.

A friend has the 103 TDI Hatch with 6 speed DSG and she absolutely loves it... I found it was pretty punchy if keep it on boost, but launching from stationary always felt a bit odd to me. From what I understand the 1st gear of the 7 speed DSG is slightly lower, so may improve that.

cheers sides thats the sort of info im after. havent driven ether yet

I had one for a day as a loan car when mine was being serviced. They are very comfortable and handle well. As mentioned above, they are a little slow when you first hit the go pedal but then the turbo kicks in and they fly. The only thing I had an issue with, and I am sure you would get used to it, the brakes are very touchy on light touches. I also don't like having a convex drivers side rear view mirror. I would be getting a flat one put on instead.

These are just minor things though and the car overall seems great. Lots of room and feels solid.

Yogie

great to hear mate, might have to take one for a drive on friday and see.

Great name but it would only confuse things more - how many people still spell VOLKSWAGON after all these years?!

Yes the 103TDI is a ripper, I drove an Eos with that motor last year but with the six-speed manual. Unbelievable torque, so smooth and instant go straight from idle, far more oomph in that rev range than any petrol engine of similar size.

It's interesting how perspectives change over the years. A standard 1600 Superbug, which we all thought went quite well compared with the old 1200 and 1300 Beetles, made 60-bhp SAE, which is 50-hp DIN. That's 37 kW. It also made 72 ft-lbs torque, which is 98 Nm.

Compare that to the Trendline 77TDI - 77kW and 250 Nm. Slightly more than twice the power, and two and a half times the torque, of a Superbug. Yet the 77TDI wagon averages just 4.7 L/100 km, compared with the Superbug that does maybe 9 or 10 L/100.

The big brother 103TDI - with 103 kW and 320 Nm - has 2.8 times as much power and 3.2 times as much torque as a Superbug. 103 kW is 138 hp in the old measurements, more than the Mk1 and M2 GTIs had, and much more than all but a few full-on race air-cooled VW engines. Yet it drinks just 5.7 L/100 km, and is quiet, reliable and comfortable.

Just amazing.

Not quite - the 1.8 16V Mk2 engine (KR engine) actually made 102 kW. Non-metric 'horsepower' figures are confusing as there are different conversion methods. Whether you use the '137 hp' or '139 PS' horsepower conversion doesn't matter - it's 1 kW less than the current 103TDI! Best to stick with metric measurements to avoid the confusion. In addition, that 16V GTI engine made 168 Nm torque - not comparable with the 103TDI's 320 Nm ! As well, the Mk2 16V was not sold in Australia - sadly.

http://www.carfolio.com/specifications/models/car/?car=40458 

Again, just goes to show how amazing modern VW TDI engines are.

Of course the G60 made 120 kW and the G60 Limited made 150 kW - but how rare are they?!

Sorry, I was thinking about about 2.0 16v ABF's used in MK3's.
They're a common conversion into MK2's, I got a bit confused, in which case I was still entirely wrong as the ABF's make more than 139hp.
I can only think of one G60 in Australia (imported) atm haha.

Yes, the 16V engine was enlarged from 1.8 to 2.0 litres for the Mk3 Golf GTI, available for European buyers from 1993. And yes, this engine did make more power than the current diesel Golf - 110 kW compared with 103 kW - but the current TDI makes 320 Nm compared with the 16V's 180 Nm.

The Mk3 GTI (in 8 AND 16V forms) was not sold in Australia. We got the VR6 as the 'sporty' model - 128 kW and 235 Nm. I also know of a couple of G60s in Sydney - hope to see a few of them at the VW Nationals in May.

As an aside, the Amarok's 2.0-litre TDI engine makes 120 kW and 400 Nm !

Barls did you end up looking at a Golf wagon? I'd love to upgrade from my Mk3 Golf to one. Although I think my next VW will be a 2000-02 Bora in a year or two.

test driving on monday. will let you know

Hey Phil

Are you a salesman ? Since you are in the know I have a few questions.

If the new gen VW's are so good , then why do the Auto Transmissions Fail at low klms VERY often ?

Ring any auto Transmission shop and ask how many T4/T5 autos they see or how many 6 speed auto golf boxes (made in Asia) they see fail early.

Why can't they make water pumps yet ?

Why do the power windows fall down ?

Also why do VW Australia charge double the price of some VW genuine spare parts OS. ?

I wouldn't buy a new VW , there recent history is checkered to say the least.

No I do not work for VW (I work for a govt utility in fact) but I have been a VW enthusiast since the early 1970s and have been in VW clubs since the early 1980s. I am the current editor of Club VW (since 2006 and a few times before that too). So let me respond to your queries.

Firstly, current VWs do not have 'Auto Transmissions'. They have twin clutch DSGs, which are entirely different. There is no evidence that they fail 'VERY often', and plenty to the contrary. I know plenty of people who drive modern VWs every day and are happy with them. My work runs a number of T5s (and are now buying Caddys too) and they work fine - as you'd expect from a Volkswagen.

Where is your evidence that VW DSGs are made in 'Asia' ? VW makes cars in China (VW is the market leader in that market, selling over 1,200,000 VWs a year) but other than the Polo Classic of 2002-03 our VWs don't come from there. T4s/T5s are made in Hanover and their running gear is made in Braunswieg.

VW has been making water pumps since the early 1970s so I'm not sure what you mean. My Mk3 engine has passed 150,000 km, for example, and it's still on its original pump. Some owners change their pump at 100,000+ km when they replace their cam belt. Big deal - that's good preventative maintenance.

I am aware of some issues with power windows on Mk3 and Mk4 Golfs, as the window glass retaining bracket on the regulator is made of plastic. These occasionally break - the drivers rear on my Mk3 did just that not long ago. But it's not a difficult repair. I'd expect the odd part on a 15-year old car to break occasionally.

Most people on this forum would spend their weekends working on their old air-cooled VWs - they do it because they like it. It's what we do.

You mustn't be familiar with VW's history in Australia. VWGA has only existed since 2001 and before that, private importers such as Inchcape, TKM, Ateco and LNC Industries cointrolled the brand, the dealer network and parts/service. VW fans are very happy that there have been 10 years of stability and growth after years of disruption (have you tried buying a 1982-89 Golf ? There aren't any). Yes VW parts are dearer here than overseas - but so are Ford, Toyota, Mazda etc etc. Borders and Angus and Robertson bookshops have recently gone into receivership because people are buying online overseas instead of higher prices in bookshops. There's no law against looking for a better deal - I buy VW parts OS all the time and so do people on here.

I agree that more work needs to be done on the Australian dealer network - there are no 'flagship' VW dealers, and the ones that do exist seem to sell VWs as an additional money making sideline to all the other makes they sell. That's not the fault of the VW product so please don't confuse the two.

Your post seems to imply that new VWs are somehow more unreliable than other makes. There's no evidence for that (and you can ignore US surveys). Read the Smithy column in the Telegraph every Friday - week after week of glitches with Fords, Holdens, Mazdas, Subarus, Toyotas - you name it. VWs have won the World Car of the Year the last two years running, as well as all the Australian awards. That doesn't happen for nothing.

We are VW enthusiasts here and we are prepared to go 'out of our way' for our favourite make. VW enthusiasm doesn't end at air cooled models and I can assure you that new ones are great. Still, if you'd rather go drive a Toyota instead, go right ahead. I'll stick with my old AND new VWs.

Read above I am not sure about the DSG boxes , The T4's and T5's did not use a DSG they have 5 or 6 spd Auto boxes so do the mark 5 golfs and N beetle .

These fail early more often than not, may be thats why VW seems to be using DSG instead of full auto, across almost all models now.

Water pumps from golf mark 4,s fail all the time. !!

The window regs on the golf 4's are crap , just check it out with DR Google.

I love VW's but when you see from direct experience the greef they can cause the customer even I loose all faith .

I often see VW auto transmissions fail very early , even in very low stressed applications example.. running the kids a few klms per day to school in a T4 carravelle

after only 40,000 klm the auto Trans fails to the point of no drive at all.

the local VW stealership quoted $12000.00 to replace the tranny.

The owner was understandably very upset and will never buy another VW.

I could quote several other similar instances .

Wrong, the T5 had DSG since its Australian introduction in 2004. The Mk5 Golf had a six-speed Tiptronic auto, not the old-fashioned 4-speed auto that my Mk3 has (and is still going fine). The NB is based on the Mk4 Golf and is an obsolete model.

DSGs have replaced the old automatics because they're more efficient, flexible and have more gear options, not for failures of the older designs.

My Mk3 auto runs perfectly but if it failed, I would NOT go to a VW dealer for a rebuild! I would go to somewhere like Camden GTI and get them to fit a second hand one; seems like common sense to me. There are plenty of VW shops that would do the work for a fraction of the dealer price. Do you have your air cooled VW serviced at Barloworld? Of course not. VW dealers are for NEW VWs still in their warranty period, and sorry but T4 caravelles are not in that category. And if that makes you 'never buy a VW again,' then good bye and good luck.

For every horror story you raise, I can quote you many others who are very happy in their quiet, comfortable and reliable new VW. Go to vwwatercooled for example. But that wouldn't matter to you - your mind is already made up. So enjoy your Hyundai!

To quote the great Australian aviation pioneer, Lawrence Hargrave: "I know that success is sure to come, and therefore do not waste time and words trying to convince unbelievers."

ok back on topic. i test drove the 1.6tdi and 2Ltdi yesterday.
both handled really well and the seats suited me more than the corolla as they were a little wider in the base. the 1.6 cruised nicely with the weight of my foot on the throttle where as the 2L was doing the same speed at idle with no weight on the throttle. both engines seemed responsive with the 1.6 with just a bit of hesitation. all in all ether would be fine but i think the 1.6 would struggle just a little bit on the highway once kel loaded it up with everything, where as the 2L wouldnt.
now just to convince the wife that its a good idea.