Faults:

Pump for central locking & electric windows wailed at 40,000 miles - fixed under warranty.

Electrical fault on windows also fixed under warranty.

Everything else is consumables.

General Comments:

We bought the car after our daughter was born and my wife's old Polo could not cope with buggy's etc.

The load bay is not vast, but it is flat (no load lip like on some estates) which makes it easy for my 5 foot wife to slide in stuff into the back.

Being the 90 BHP turbodiesal it has good low down grunt. It will pull 5th gear at engine idle (i.e. no accelerator) and do 30 mph up a gentle gradient. Acceleration is good, except when going up very steep hills, when some times you have to drop down to 3rd or even 2nd.

It's quite happy at 80, but won't go above 85/90. Handbook listed speed is 110, but I don't believe this.

Economy never goes below 55 mpg even when fully loaded and with 2 bikes perched on top of the roof.

The seats aren't comfortable after 3 hours for me. The cabin is OK. We have a rattle from the dashboard, caused by the previous owner having an upgraded stereo, I think.

This is a Mark III, not a mark IV estate. Equipment is not good. No ABS, A/C or even a high level brakelight. I would swap the rear electric windows for any of the above.

The ride is a bit bumpy and wallowy. It goes round corners OK. Brakes are front disk with rear drums, which for a comparatively heavy car is a bit weak.

We bought the car second hand from a VW dealer. The warranty was good, but the dealer did not fix any of the minor faults as promised when we bought the car. We now get the car serviced at an independent garage specialising in VW's (their courtesy car is a Petrol Passat with 250K+ on the clock).

Reliability has been 100% so far.

Faults:

I have not experienced any major problems with my Golf at the moment except for the suspension, it's fairly hard.

General Comments:

This car has great styling and solid bodywork. the metalic black paintwork gives the car a great shine.

The recaro sport seats are very comfortable and the luminous blue interior lighting is unique from other cars. The standard sound is awesome producing great output.

What I like best about my Golf is the performance, it is very impressive as the turbo produces to give the car awesome pick up and also has good top end too.

It is rather expensive on fuel, but can't complain because of the performance it provides.

Faults:

It appears to be common knowledge to the criminal fraternity and Volkswagon alike that thier cars are very easily broken into.

Volkswagon cause more damage to the car (at your cost) repairing the damage.

Only main dealers are allowed by Volkswagon to sell the parts needed for said repair.

Main dealers do not carry the said parts in stock.

Approximate time needed to sauce said parts, two weeks.

Your vehicle remains unsecured for a period of approximately two weeks.

Volkswagon quote one day as time needed to carry out said repair. Which in actual fact takes two.

The total cost to you approximately £400.

General Comments:

Prior to purchasing my vehicle I received reasonably good service from VW, since I have only experienced bad service wherever I've been.

Whenever I have had to purchase parts for my Golf I always feel completely ripped off.

I have always driven Volkswagon although my current car is up for sale. This shall be my last Volkswagon I will never buy one again.

Volkswagon product, service and brand name is no longer anything for anyone to be proud of.