2018 Volkswagen Golf Review – Cars.com

full disclosure I’ve been an auto journalist for 15 years and theVolkswagen Golf and GTI have consistently been favorites for theirblend of peppy road manners hatchback practicality and bottom lineaccessibility and it’s not just me the cars. com editors have given themplenty of awards through the years from the GTI’s 2015 cheep Speed Challengevictory to the 2018 models most fun to drive award while the Gulf hasn’tchanged much throughout the years I have I’m a mom now I have three kids and IDrive a minivan does it still hold a little piece of my heartabsolutely but more specifically is it practical enough in some way to fit intomy mom life the golf uses a turbocharged 1. 8 liter 4-cylinder that although notas spunky as the 2-liter in the GTI feels like more than enough instop-and-go driving it’s Sprint’s to life and the five-speed manual makes itextra lively the shifter has a smooth short action making it easy and fun toplow through the gears a 6-speed automatic is optional in terms of roadmanners the golf feels sporty and fun but in an accessible comfortable way itsride is firm but not harsh and it slices through city streets and highway rampswith a corner hugging agility that rivals the skateboard like moves of theMini Cooper hardtop the Gulf’s pepin agile handling combined with its directsharp steering makes it much more engaging to drive than your averagecompact economy hatchback the golf was refreshed for 2018 but it’s hard to tellthat from the outside where the changes are very subtle inside the changes aremore noticeable starting with this multimedia system the dashboard has beenrevised to make room for a new multimedia system with bigger screensbass models get this 6. 5 inch display and SC models get an 8 inch touchscreenthe 6. 5 inch screen is decent for a bass system it’s not too small and has clearbuttons and an easy menu structure on the plus side apple carplay and androidauto smartphone integration are standard on the negative side there’s nosatellite radio option in this version VW also said it upgraded the cabinmaterials this year but it feels pretty basic and in some places budget likeall this black plastic little extras like this sporty brushed chrome trim andthese comfortably bolstered seats make it stand out you do miss out on a fewthings with the base model however the higher term model gets leatherette andheated front seats in back room is decent for two passengers and when I hadtwo I was able to fit two of my three kids back here without a problem one ina booster one and a forward-facing convertible installing theforward-facing convertible was really easy thanks to these exposed latchanchors the 2018 Gulf starts at around $21,000 and the answer to my initialquestion about it fitting into my practical mom life is a big yes the Gulfdelivers the best of both worlds it’s fun to drive and engaging but it alsoeasily fits to car seats in its back seat while it wouldn’t work as my dailydriver as my second car I’d fight my husband for carp will drop off duty todrive ityou

source https://cardetailingphoenix.com/index.php/2018/09/26/2018-volkswagen-golf-review-cars-com-3/