Faults:

Terrible build quality - squeaks and creaks from all over the place.

Drivers seat doesn't always catch properly on the runners.

Gearbox is sloppy.

Intermittent problem with warning lights coming on at random, glowing dimly and going out again.

The passenger side window regulator came off the door the third time the window was used.

Power steering level kept dropping mysteriously until we discovered a hose hadn't been properly tightened at the factory. Back again to dealer for the problem to be fixed, and the system drained, refilled and bled.

Central locking acts up every time it rains.

General Comments:

Goes superbly and is very economical. Everything else is awful and an insult to the Volkswagen badge. Driving experience pleasant enough, but mostly down to that excellent TDI engine. The rest is very ordinary.

This car has build quality and reliability issues that you wouldn't find on most cars costing half this much.

Dealers and VW "customer care" (a misnomer if ever there was one) compound the problem by blatantly not being remotely interested. Good warranty (thankfully).

Don't waste your money.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Turbo lag and sloppy handling mar a well built if terminally dull car.

There is nothing about this car that makes it in any way desirable. As an estate car it lacks any real practicality, as a drivers car it is moribund as a status symbol- well give me a break!

A car only for those who have no interest in driving, but believe that VW's are somehow more reliable.

Faults:

Gearbox replaced under warranty at just 3,500 miles.

Loose trim on B pillar and in boot.

Central locking failed completely.

Water leaking into passenger footwell (was told this caused the central locking problem). From experience, was very sceptical this would be fixed, but to be fair it was, and first time.

PAS rack popped a seal and blew out all the PAS fluid.

Passenger window regulator broke up.

Outer CV joints started knocking (both sides, one 6,000 miles after the other)

Tailgate wiring loom needed replacing.

Three separate oil leaks. Two were fixed satisfactorily, but the third may necessitate a complete replacement engine as the block appears to have a hairline crack in it. I'm told this is not the only one the dealer has seen.

At the time of writing, the car also has a defective CD player, a creaking seat and a lazy passenger electric window, but it is sitting at the dealership while I am driving the seventh courtesy car since I picked up this Golf.

General Comments:

I'm something of a VW fan, having owned a mk3 Golf CL TDI before this, and a mk2 Golf GTi 8v before that. Both were great cars racking up 155,000 and 134,000 miles respectively without missing a beat.

I will leave it to your interpretation of the fault list above to tell you what I think of this mk4 Golf.

I am told all the above faults bar the CV joints, (blamed on "duff parts") are common faults on the mk4 Golf, and I have since read a couple of used car guides and surveys which rate the car well behind the Focus and the Japanese competition for reliability. How is it that the Golf's reputation for engineering solidity, something which until last year I would have defended to the hilt, seems to survive unblemished?

As for a new engine being required at 42,000 miles in a considerately driven diesel VW with FVWSH, I believe this illustrates on its own just how bad things have got.

Owning this car has been like a bad dream.