Faults:

Cold start sensor caused engine to surge in traffic

Service indicator reset itself

Key fob had to be reprogrammed

Alarm & remote locking work when they feel like it

Water pump impeller sheared off

Engine management system died

Lambda sensor broke

Car pulled to one side & refused to drive straight. Dealer says this is a tyre problem despite having changed wheels round. Tyres are standard ones originally fitted.

Weld on front suspension broke

Rain water leak on drivers side

Rattle from stereo speakers

Clunk from inside door (dealer could not find a problem)

Oil consumption <800 miles per litre (this is "within normal limits" according to dealer

Door hinges & windscreen wipers groan

Sluggish performance for a "GTi" but economy OK.

General Comments:

Car was an ex-demo with low mileage. Was OK for 3 weeks, but then things went wrong all the time.

Put £30 worth of oil in the engine between services.

Dealers were hopeless in fixing anything & could never get a courtesy car within 3 weeks.

Volkswagen don't want to know. Their help line should be called a helpless line.

Very, very disappointed with this car and the dealers.

This is not a GTi - the performance is so slow and the handling pathetic round the bends.

Faults:

There haven't been any major problems with the car the only small things have been a slight crunching noise when changing up into 3rd gear, the radio reception is very poor wherever I happen to be and on any station as well.

The drivers front seat has started to wear slightly, but other than that nothing to complain about.

General Comments:

I had read previous reviews about this car and they said it didn't warranty 6 gears, and it wasn't all that special. I disagree with this.

This 4motion was an import from Germany and had Satellite Navigation, heated leather Recaro seats, bigger alloys etc and all for 20 grand.

The performance is excellent and it's very fast indeed. 1st gear is a little short, but it still pulls hard even in 6th from 40mph. Sounds really good as well with those large twin tail pipes.

The rear cabin space is a little small and leg room is limited, but its performance and equipment soon makes up for this overall.

Servicing and parts can be expensive, but this only to be expected with a car like this and the extremely good build quality from Volkswagen.

Faults:

Air control system failed.

General Comments:

Such a great car for the money, so well built.

Was a company car so was not cosseted, but remained like new.

Very quick for what it was, handled and stopped OK, great on fuel.

Had the best factory fit sound system I have heard in any similar car.

Faults:

Breather hose faulty when car was new, this caused a reduction in performance. The engine fault light came on after a couple of hundred miles.

The electric central locking mechanism did not open the rear hatch lock. This fault was present from new.

A fault occurred on the drivers door switch pack. The switch that disabled the rear electric windows kept popping up when depressed.

An annoying vibration noise has developed. It starts when I am driving at 30mph plus and it seems to be coming from the passengers side rear door. The noise stops if I lower the rear passenger door window a fraction. I can only assume something is loose behind the panel.

Electric engine cooling fan seems to start up more frequently than it used to when the engine is idling. It starts up even though the temperature gauge never moves.

General Comments:

The car has a very solid feel to it, the doors are heavy and close with a satisfying clunk. The seats are comfortable and the sound system is 'sound'. The interior finish seems to be to a high standard. The damped action of the glove box door and grab handles and the delayed interior light shut off add to this. The climate control works well and the dashboard is laid out in a simple and logical way.

Gear selection is reasonably good, short travel with nice definite changes up and down the box.

The handling is good and the car feels solid on the road, brakes are great and the steering is responsive. The 2.3Ltr V5 engine sounds nice and performs well though it needs to be revved high to achieve best acceleration. I do a lot of motorway driving and the car cruises effortlessly at high speed, wind noise is reasonably low. I am regularly getting 30mpg on decent runs.

One thing I have noticed is that the wheels collect a lot of brake dust and the tailgate of the car attracts a lot of dirt due to the design. The dust and muck swirls around in the turbulent air behind the vehicle then sticks to the rear end of the car.

The nice thing about a golf is that it's class-less and looks good parked anywhere.