UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

I had the ‘pleasure’ of having a facelift (mk8.5) Golf today in entry level ‘Life’ trim as a courtesy car while my car was back at the dealership for its fourth service and second MOT (which it passed).

Impressions of the Golf; it was OK. After initially being very aware of the new large (oversized?) ‘stuck on the dash’ iPad style infotainment screen when I first got in the car, I didn’t really notice it after that; it didn’t obscure forward vision. The temperature slider / audio volume control panel just below the infotainment screen wasn’t a problem to use either. The car seemed reasonably well screwed together and with only 1,300 miles on the clock it still had that nice new car smell. The seats were comfy, handling was good, it had a nice positive gear change (first time I’ve driven a manual in two years), but the brakes weren’t as responsive as the brakes on my Polo GTI+. The engine seemed a bit lacklustre, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been that surprised - a 1.5 litre / 115ps engine in a larger car than a Polo GTI+ isn’t going to have the performance of a 2.0 litre / 200 ps Polo GTI. The car didn’t feel significantly bigger than a Polo IMHO; it was easy to drive, manoeuvre and park.

The parking sensors threw a wobbly while I was waiting at a set of traffic lights on red; they sounded a continuous tone for around thirty seconds and the park pilot image was displayed on the infotainment screen. There was nothing in the vicinity of the car (no other cars in front or behind me) to cause them to go off and thankfully they stopped of their own accord. The mk8.5 Golf was the first car I’ve driven with Lane Assist; it felt a little weird but I didn’t bother switching it off as I wanted to experience whether or not it was as annoying as some owners on other forums have said; I didn’t really find it too intrusive although in normal daily use, I’d probably switch it off.

I think the car also had the new mandatory speed limiter thingy - I experienced a flashing speed limit sign accompanied by an audible warning a couple of times when I hadn’t slowed down quite enough when entering a speed limit zone. I don’t know if the car would have slowed me down if I’d ignored the warnings.

Would I buy a Golf? - based on my experience today, I don’t think I would - at least not in Life trim level. As I said, at the beginning, it was OK but nothing special and I wasn’t sorry to get back in my own car. I might have felt differently though if the Golf had been a GTI or an R.

On a positive note, I did find it was a really good car to use for a trip to the local recycling centre this afternoon though - better to load up a dealer’s courtesy car with rubbish and dirty up its interior than the interior of my own car!

Thanks for the review, an interesting comparison. Makes you wonder what you get for the upgrade in comparison to a Polo - more space obviously. I expect the ride quality was superior, something Golf's are known for in standard trim. Ideally I would choose an automatic, opt for the comfortable and easy driving experience. The concern over technology overload and niggling faults remain.

Interesting review, thanks. I was really hoping that the mk8 gremlins had been sorted for the 8.5, it sounds like that may not be the case? Did you mention the parking sensors wobbly to the dealer?

Interesting review. We’ve test driven the 8.5 vs our current r line polo and much preferred the golf. The sound deadening was better on the motorway, the softer plastics were nicer, the ratcheting arm rest makes a huge difference for me as the polo one never was in the right position, less rattles from door pockets etc due to being cloth lined and so on. The boot isn’t much bigger but the space for our family in the car was bigger.

However compared to a gti a low spec golf may come off worse depending on your priorities. When I was younger the speed of the gti would woo me, but now I’m getting older the golf is just more comfortable from my experience. Doesn’t come close to the Tiguan though, my Tiguan was like a mobile couch and I miss it dearly!

Simonz wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2024 9:07 am Thanks for the review, an interesting comparison. Makes you wonder what you get for the upgrade in comparison to a Polo - more space obviously. I expect the ride quality was superior, something Golf's are known for in standard trim. Ideally I would choose an automatic, opt for the comfortable and easy driving experience. The concern over technology overload and niggling faults remain.

Ride quality in the Golf was certainly more compliant than it is in my Polo GTI+. When driving the Golf, it doesn’t feel noticeably larger than a Polo. Agree with you on technology overload, although that probably applies to most of the latest generation cars these days, whoever the manufacturer is.

TurboTrev wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2024 2:17 pm Interesting review, thanks. I was really hoping that the mk8 gremlins had been sorted for the 8.5, it sounds like that may not be the case? Did you mention the parking sensors wobbly to the dealer?

I think that with the complexity of the tech in most modern cars, most will suffer from gremlins at some point. Unfortunately, no I didn’t mention the parking sensors gremlin to the dealer.

@lancslad1985; I agree with regard to the quality of the interior plastics. I did also notice the better sound deadening and the ratcheting of the armrest. Rear seat space seemed very generous and the larger boot was really good when I did my trip to the recycling centre - IMHO a good use of a dealer’s courtesy car .

Age and advancing years does tend to influence car choice IMHO. My next car is likely to be something with a more compliant ride than my GTI+ and out and out speed won’t be a big priority. It’s quite likely it won’t be wearing a VW badge - or be anything manufactured by one of the other VAG brands. I fancy something different but need to research what’s out there and what would work for me. If I do find I’m not a VW owner at some point, I’d still pop in on the forum on a regular basis though.

The golf is much better for tip trips than the polo. I’m currently being tempted back towards a golf gti or a Tiguan but we shall see. I like the new golf and my wife’s car is gorgeous, but my Mazda hasn’t put a foot wrong so far to be fair to it so it’s a tough ask to get me back to VW.

Been stuck with a qashqai the last three days on a work trip as a hire car. Bar no sat nav or car play on a 73 plate it was actually a really good car, very comfy and quiet and did 50mpg as an auto petrol with minimal effort. So lots of other non vw options out there.

SRGTD wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2024 8:11 pm Age and advancing years does tend to influence car choice IMHO. My next car is likely to be something with a more compliant ride than my GTI+ and out and out speed won’t be a big priority. It’s quite likely it won’t be wearing a VW badge

That's where I am now. My 2015 SEL has been pretty decent & only really lacking in excessive road noise at speed. But I bought that from a VW dealer at 8 months old with 1500 miles on it & paid £12k. the equivilent Style simply doesn't seem to exist & as we touched on in my other thread, R-Line prices are pretty much double what I paid for the SEL. Inflation is one thing but's that's ludicrous for a Polo.

Similar money buys a BMW 1 Series, which is where I'm looking. Same old problem for me of oversized wheels & tyres except on the entry level SE, with faux "sports" features being their priority. But as a model for that size of car, it seems to have the best balance of build quality, usable infotainment & reliability.