Golf Generations

Teeing off backwards
It’s not every day you get to sample 39 years of motoring history in a single sitting. But thanks to the Volkswagen Classic collection motoring.com.au had a chance to drive each generation of Golf in the brand’s hometown of Wolfsburg, Germany.

Marketing types at the model’s international pre-launch explained how the DNA of the Golf was important to its buyers – and how a Golf is more than the sum of its parts. Each new model must embody the strengths of its predecessor, while at the same time gaining those new technologies so valued by its repeat and new buyers alike.

Volkswagen says it's important that return buyers are greeted "as if by an old friend" each time they sit behind the wheel. This is a virtue, it adds, that is equally important to impart upon those stepping inside their new Golf for the first time.

Sampling the headline act of the Mark I, the Golf GTI, I find myself at the wheel of a car that would not only become the catalyst for a cult-like following of Volkswagen loyalists, but a model that would become the source of much imitation through its numerous generations.

The originality and simplicity of this model are as impressive as they are obvious. The car makes do with a 1.6-litre engine but its light weight means it extracts maximum performance. And perform it does.... albeit with a little work.

Spinning past 6000rpm Golf GTI enjoys wide open throttle. It never struggles and requires only a moment’s patience as you fish for another gear and ease the clutch out for a second helping of mechanised rhapsody.

The steering that is heavy in slow-moving traffic frees itself as the little hatch floats and pitches across lumpy German back roads. Aim for a bend and you suddenly remember what it is to really drive a car. The GTI feels as if it’s poised on tip toes as you quickly correct what feels like understeer and oversteer all at once.

The brake pedal requires as much attention as every other control in the car (as few as there are!) with a serious amount of forethought required in estimating the distance required to stop.

The pedal quickly starts to fade as the fluid in the brake lines gets hotter. The little Golf communicates its every indiscretion directly to the driver, letting you know exactly where its limits lie, and reminding you that the pace of a hot hatch was more or less lukewarm back in 1978.

Volkswagen Golf Mark II (1983)
Arriving in September 1983, the second-generation Golf retained much of the look of its predecessor. Growing in size, the model introduced firsts such as antilock brakes, all-wheel drive and supercharging to the Golf range. Mark II was also the first Golf to feature the option of a 2.0-litre petrol engine.

Driving a lower-spec petrol model this time around, the lack of power is immediately evident. And although Golf II is enthusiastic in its upper reaches, it takes a fair amount of shuffling through the four-speed gearbox to keep the hatch at pace with modern-day traffic.

Like its predecessor, Golf II’s gearstick is rubbery, contradicting the well-sprung pedal box and tight body. In spite of its longer suspension travel and skinny tyres, the handling is reasonably grippy and the ride quite soft.

The steering seems to slop about on-centre but loads up quite well once you’re committed to a corner. The lack of assistance here is felt when manoeuvering at lower speeds – though it's still not as heavy as some small cars of the era.

Like the Mark I GTI, the brakes require a fair amount of preplanning – even at the lower speeds encountered on this section of the drive loop.

With less focus on performance, I have more time to take in the interior and am surprised by the amount of space. The thin doors and thin pillars (compared to modern cars) leave you feeling quite vulnerable, however.

Also noticeable is the lack of oddment storage or drink/cup holders. There’s also no adjustment in the steering column and the temperature gauge creeps northward every time you stop. Still, it’s an enjoyable drive. Hand on the heart honest.

It’s funny that we think of idle stop-start, coasting mode, robotised manual gearboxes and low-output diesels as a new idea, yet here we are in 1991, so to speak, with all of the aforementioned at hand… And it's all working rather well.

That is, I should say, until you rush things. But that’s not what saving fuel is about, now is it?

The engine’s performance is a little lacklustre and the vibrations horrendous. Still, the little oiler plods along, its slow-revving diesel rarely raising a sweat while we click slowly but surely though five gears – all without the use of a clutch pedal.

The car felt heavier and the steering seemed to be assisted slightly to compensate for this fact – even if it's weighting was somewhat inaccurate under load. And that’s not the only issue you’ll face mid-corner – forget you’re in fuel-saving mode and the car shuts off the engine all together as you lift off the throttle. The lack of engine braking is disconcerting, to say the least.

Coming to a stop is also a curious experience for, although the car has more braking power, the pedal seems to lose pressure when the engine dies. This means you need to anticipate when shutdown will occur and adjust your input accordingly.

With a couple of extra creature comforts, a higher belt line and more seat cushioning, the Golf III is starting to feel more modern. The cabin feels more 'enclosed' but there are also more closed storage spaces, there's more equipment and seemingly more thought given to ergonomics – especially for the driver.

Volkswagen Golf Mark IV (1997)
The Golf Mark IV ushered in the modern era. The hatch had grown again, adopting high-performance V6 variants dubbed Golf R32 which were offered as standard with 4MOTION all-wheel drive. The usual petrol and diesel variants remained available in hatch and sedan (Bora/Jetta) variants with the notable 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol arguably the most memorable in the range.

It’s obvious even before you take a seat that the Mark IV Golf is a more modern car. The styling seems almost current, the wheels fill the arches and the quality of construction presents uniformly from part to panel.

Inside, the car is obviously well screwed together and with more focus on technology and equipment. The driver-biased dashboard is filled with gadgets that wouldn’t seem out of place in a current car. The instrumentation, too, now resembles closely the same layout of the current Golf – the two main dials bisected by an MFD screen.

The car feels 'thicker' around you and the seating position lower, and with even better adjustment than the Mark III. The switchgear and controls operate intuitively; such is the closeness of their operation to the current model.

Despite this big step into modernity, the Mark IV still feels like a Golf to drive. Power delivery is stronger and you don’t have to work as hard at the gears to extract the acres of torque on hand from the turbo diesel engine.

There’s a noticeable level of turbo lag as you set off from standstill, but once the tacho has cleared 2000rpm performance is strong… So strong it triggers the traction control on a test loop now slick with rain.

The stability control system, crude by today’s standards, is obvious in its intervention. This is a stark reminder of just how far electronic driver aids have progressed in the past 15 years.

Steering the Golf, though, is a pleasure. The hydraulically-assisted steering is quite neutral and well weighted. The road feel is still tangible and the amount of turns from lock-to-lock is ideal for navigating the tight roundabouts of Wolfsburg’s outskirts.

Volkswagen Golf Mark V (2003)

The first thing I noticed about the petrol-powered Golf Mark V was just how far DSG twin-clutch gearbox technology has come. Climbing through the gears, the transmission seems to think each shift, pausing momentarily on upshift, and even longer after setting off from standstill. This is in stark contrast to the latest seven-speed DSG boxes.

Despite this, the linearity of the engine impresses. It’s quicker in response to throttle inputs and such smoother across the rev range. The brakes are fantastic, grabbing the asphalt as if four large anchors had been deployed from each corner of the car.

The car itself is quieter and better insulated from road and wind noise and the whir of the drivetrain. The steering is more responsive and the ride quality biased more towards handling that comfort – a fact noticed more so via low-profile tyres.

Dimensionally, the car feels bigger and, like many modern cars, it’s hard to see the colour of the paintwork from inside – something we hadn’t noticed on any generation until now.

It also feels as if the driver is slightly more removed from the process. Much of the 'effort' of driving is managed instead by driver aids and technology we’ve come to take for granted.

That technology is evident as I cast my eye across the steering wheel onto the dashboard, which is alive with buttons. The bigger screen of the centre stack and higher-res instrument panel MFD screen stand out when placed in context with the previous models.

The Golf Mark VI was not available to drive ahead of the new model’s launch. But as we’ve recently road tested the model that will remain in showrooms until next year, we’ve decided instead to use an excerpt from a recent review:

Handling is utterly free of vice, roadholding is unshakeable and the steering feedback is pretty good. On flowing, winding roads, the Golf feels very nimble and there's virtually no change in attitude on the exit from a corner with the power applied. In tighter stuff, the strong roadholding comes into play, permitting very rapid changes of direction with confidence.

In conjunction with the swift-changing seven-speed DSG and its twin-charged 1.4-litre engine, the Golf feels fast, frisky and fun...The way power and torque is produced is a regular delight, yet the drivetrain NVH is better than some large cars.

It's a refined engine that is willing to rev freely in the higher ranges and pull smoothly from very low speeds, although it does labour a bit around 1500rpm. That happens because the DSG box 'adapts'. Frequently, it will select higher gears for lower fuel use if you're not giving it some stick, but it will pull lower gears for enhanced engine braking if you are.

Since the Golf in its sixth-generation form remains very heavily dependent on the fundamentals of its fifth-generation predecessor, there's an element of 'not fixing what ain’t broke' about the car's packaging. The Golf's build quality sets a high standard and the doors are at once light to open and close, but solid and secure.

Read the current Volkswagen Golf VII launch review at www.motoring.com.au

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