Volkswagen Golf Cabrio 118TSI DSG 2012 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $39,490
Options fitted (not included in above price): Metallic paint, RNS510 satellite navigation, Bi-xenon headlights with LED, RCV/parking distance sensors, Vienna Cool leather upholstery
Crash rating: Five-star (Euro NCAP)
Fuel: 95 RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 6.5 (DSG)
CO2 emissions (g/km): 153
Also consider: Audi A3 Cabriolet, MINI Cooper Cabrio, Peugeot 308 CC, Renault Megane CC

How long can Volkswagen keep the price of the Golf Cabriolet so low? There's practically nothing else that comes within striking range of the hatch-based soft-top Veedub. It is a lesser car than the Eos in some ways, but it also starts off at a price $10,000 lower than the other convertible in the local Volkswagen range.

The particular Golf Cabrio on test came with enough optional features to take the as-tested price up to $49,790, but that's still cheaper than the basic price of all the car's competitors listed above — with the exception of the Renault.

Typically a keen price means cost-cutting somewhere. It's not apparent in the VW at all. The advanced, forced-induction 1.4-litre engine concedes next to nothing against its rivals. One of our favourite engines from the Volkswagen stable, the Twincharger engine is a highpoint of any vehicle powered by it, in this writer's opinion. We're yet to find an example that's not sporty, not refined, not capable of pulling consistently through the rev range from 1500rpm up to the redline. There's a slightly greater sense of urgency around 4000rpm from the engine powering the vehicle on test, but that's part of its charm too. Performing well enough to catch out drivers of cars featuring significantly larger powerplants, the VW's engine can also return fuel consumption below 8.0L/100km on freeways and doesn't guzzle fuel excessively around town.

Coupled to Volkswagen's DSG transmission, the engine is pretty sweet on the move, but there can be a bit of a delay launching as the ‘box sorts itself out. Drivers will soon get in the habit of anticipating green lights or gaps in traffic as a consequence. Once the engine is on boost and the transmission is conveying torque to the front wheels, however, it's good as gold.

Structurally, the Golf Cabrio doesn't feel as taut in the body as we recall for Audi's A3 Cabriolet, which is built on the same platform. Nor is the Golf quite as sharp turning into corners as other Golf variants, but once committed it handles neatly and isn't easily deflected off the line by mid-corner bumps. Ride comfort is good (arguably a little too soft for some tastes, but the Golf is more a tourer than a sports car) and the steering weight is about right for most buyers. One never expects drop-top cars to be especially quiet, but the Golf puts its best foot forward. With the roof up at open-road speeds the drivetrain is inaudible, but there's some road and wind noise. All the same, conversation can be conducted without resorting to a shouted exchange.

The Golf's driving position is up to the standard we've come to expect of most Volkswagens, whether is the sensible layout of controls, easily legible instruments and comfortable but supportive seats. For the Golf, VW has stuck with a conventional lever handbrake, which is something of a blessing for those of us who remain a bit confounded by the electronic kind. One minor gripe is that it's located closer to the front-seat passenger and a little bit harder to find in the heat of slalom, not that the Golf Cabrio is very likely to be subjected to that sort of event.

The footrest on the floor seems to have been developed with a manual car in mind and leaves plenty of room for a non-existent clutch pedal, but is a bit narrow for larger feet.

From a packaging standpoint, the rear seats are stretched to accommodate passengers of teenage dimensions and older, but for kids younger there's little cause for complaint. The seats can be folded down for additional luggage-carrying capacity, although not from within the cabin. Switches located inside the luggage compartment on either side will release the respective seat, which falls flat and opens up a narrow loading aperture from the boot. It's a tried and true way of liberating more boot space and we applaud it. The boot itself is about on par with that of a small hatchback, naturally, but the lid is quite short and hinged to swing high; taller users may still have to stoop to fetch out anything well forward in the boot. That said it's a useful feature of the Cabrio, which might otherwise be considered a bit impractical.

We did try lowering and raising the roof at speeds up to 30km/h and found that it not only worked to specification, but did its stuff quite quickly. Not that we were caught in rain at any point, but it's good to know that you won't get drenched before the roof can be raised. And its operation is very easy. A bezel-like toggle in the centre console is pushed aft to lower the roof or pulled forward to raise it. There's a separate window switch set within the bezel to raise and lower all four windows in one movement. With the windows raised but the roof down the buffeting from the wind is much reduced.

So in a frequently-changing climate the Golf Cabrio's practicality makes it a winner. And for those who long to tour through the country or down to the beach with three close friends and the wind in the hair, the VW is pretty much ideal; all the more so for the price.

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