Stuart's Volkswagen Golf Mk 5/V Forum

Read your experiences with great interest. You state "Cruise control set at 70mph, in sixth gear, the drive back was effortless (as they are in my TDI). Even in sixth gear though, the engine was still spinning at about 3500 rpm which to a TDI driver like myself seemed high. But this wasn't a problem" Are you sure you were not still in fifth gear? My 1.6SE FSI gives approx. 24mph/1000rpm in 6th gear thus giving an engine speed of 2900rpm at 70mph. The figures you quote for the 1.6FSI would be correct for 5th gear though. Regards Nick

Hi Nick,

I'm pretty sure it was doing 3500 rpm in sixth. It wasn't a one-off observation, I'd
been frequently checking the performance to compare with my TDI but the review was written
from memory and so I accept I may have got confused. I can't check it now as the car has
gone back but if I later find out from other people that this sounds incorrect I will
update my webpage.

Thanks for your post,
Stuart

Hi Stuart

Thanks for your reply. As a retired person and therefore not on the road everyday (I've
only done 1k in my car since taking delivery in December!) I haven't been able to assess
my car quite so thoroughly as you have been able to and unlike yourself took delivery at
the worst time of the year.

I have like you been slightly surprised at the amount of road noise entering the
cabin and this is the only disappointing feature of the car but it might be, as you say,
because the engine and wind noise are so muted. Friends have told me that they have found
road noise to be more prevalent in other cars, nowadays, with the use of larger, wider
section
tyres etc. Maybe alloy wheels exacerbate this phenomenon (I have never had alloy wheels
before) they certainly require more valeting than was required by steel with their wheel
cheap plastic
covers.

I'll check my gearing details again but am almost certain of my findings but will have to
find a
bit of dual carriageway and get into 6th gear again a.sa.p and check what 70mph
corresponds to in engine speed. I did read a 10 day, 4 car comparison Road Test by the Top
Gear Magazine team where they took a Golf among others to Europe and
attempted to do 1,000 miles a day for ten days! and they liked the Golf best of all, which
helped to assuage my worries, during my 8 to 10 week wait, as to whether I'd ordered to
right car. I definitely know that 5th is the same as my 'old' Rover 414i (that I p/x my
new Golf for) both giving 20mph/1000rpm and so 70mph would give 3500rpm and it would seem
reasonable,
therefore, for 6th to be higher geared? which indeed, I've found.

You might be interested to know that I ordered, in October last year, the Golf 1.6FSI SE
version in Silver and with a sunroof, and Multifunctional Computer as optional extras. I
naturally assumed
that mine would also have those items that you have and which included Rain Sens.wipers,
Dusk-sensing Headlights and Auto dimming interior mirror etc. as laid out in the VW
brochure at the time. However mine came without any of those 'minor' extras, as VW chose
to remove them
and make them part of a 'Convenience Pack' at £95 extra.

My dealer was not aware of these spec. changes in time, or chose not to bother to do their
job properly, so that I could ask for them to be fitted before 'build date' and pay the
extra cost. However, the mulifunctional computer was now to be fitted as
standard which was some compensation, I suppose, but I'll never know now, whether I
would have found those other items of any real benefit to me although I would have
certainly
appreciated the auto wipers and auto dimming mirror, I fancy.

I personally don't find VW dealers all that communicative and they never, ever phoned me
to keep me up to date. It was always left to me to contact them which I did regulary after
about six weeks, and this nearly always resulted in a call back to me!

Nick

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the interesting email.

As I mention on my website, I did originally think there was more noise in the cabin that I had expected but it really isn't an issue now. You get used to it. You might be right that the wider tyres are probably the main cause. Also the different road surfaces also make a big difference.

This is my first car with alloy wheels and I have recently noticed that some dirt is not removed simply by rinsing with water. However I hope that all that is required is to buy some proprietary alloy wheel cleaner. Also, this car has disc brakes on the rear and so that explains why the rear wheels don't stay quite as clean looking for as long as on my previous cars.

Please let me know the results of your speed, revs and gear tests when you've done them.

I have heard of other people being caught out by the change in spec of the SE model. I guess the VW line would be that you should always check the spec at the time of placing the order but I admit to not doing this and was just lucky. I think your dealer should accept some responsibility here. You might decide to make more of an issue about this and see if they can meet you half way. I don't know how big a job it would be to retrofit the convenience pack but personally I find the auto-lights, auto-wipers and auto-dimming-mirror very useful.

I agree with your comments about your non-communicative dealers. I bought my car from a VW dealer in Scotland after going through an internet broker and they were just the same (as you can read on my website). You pretty much just have to do everything they ask of you and keep your fingers crossed.

Thanks again for your email. Let me know if you have any other comments or queries.

Stuart

Hello Stuart.

Cleaning Alloy (More correctly Aluminium wheels, I suppose) seems to be a bit of a chore
now, but I'm using a dedicated narrow sponge (cellulose) and some car shampoo. Mind you, I
expect yours become much dirtier than mine due to your high mileage etc. I can keep on top
of mine by regular cleaning ( Oh, my back!!).

Regarding ordering my car and specification changes, I did make an issue out of it but
went right to the top, by writing to Paul Willis, CEO of VW UK but of course it got me no
where. I got a standard reply etc as you would expect, disclaiming any responsibility and
telling me various facts about brochure dates and when their main dealers were informed of
changes etc. etc.
If what they said was true, then my main dealer should have known and would have told me
on October 11th (order day) that spec. changes had taken place as, after all, they
accepted my request for a MFC as an optional extra (£125) and it is shown as that on the
order form along with a sunroof, metallic paint etc. Had they been in possession of these
alleged notifications then they
would have told me that the MFC was included now and that the other SE 'standard' items
had now to be paid for? Anyway, there is nothing that can be retrofitted, easily, I would
have thought and I don't want the car 'messed about' for the sake of it.

Had I ordered the car at any other time of the year and not so close Christmas with my old
car requiring an MOT and major service and clutch renewal, I would have rejected the new
Golf and made them order it again although I don't think that my nerves could stand going
through that long wait a second time. Perhaps in retrospect I should have gone for the new
BMW Series1 that I road tested in September, but found it to be a bit too small and
claustrophobic.

By the way, I have been out today for a 40 mile drive and have confirmed the following
gearing details:-
5th gear equates to 20mph/1000rpm
6th gear equates to approx. 25mph/1000rpm
At least that is what my Golf 1.6FSI SE shows and is shod with the standard 'Misano'
alloys with 195/65 Michelin Energy tyres. Of course my instruments could always be
wrong............................now that would be interesting!


Regards

Nick
http://www.nhickson.fsnet.co.uk

Hi Nick,

> Cleaning Alloy (More correctly Aluminium wheels, I suppose) seems to be a
bit of a chore
> now, but I'm using a dedicated narrow sponge (cellulose) and some car
shampoo. Mind you, I
> expect yours become much dirtier than mine due to your high mileage etc. I
can keep on top
> of mine by regular cleaning ( Oh, my back!!).

I just use an old sponge and plain water on the wheels. It gets the majority
of the dirt off. As I said, I'm happy with that. When I get time I'll buy
some polish to try to get them back to 'as-new' condition.

I read in the manual that washing the car with just plain water should
normally be suffiicient. That is what I've always done. On average about
once a fortnight. I then just dry it off with a chamois leather and the
paintwork comes up like new! No need for shampoo. However now I'm noticing
that the windscreen appears to have accumulated some oil and smeers with
wiper use and so I'll read how the manual suggests I clean that. I guess it
will just be use some glass cleaner.

> Regarding ordering my car and specification changes, I did make an issue
out of it but
> went right to the top, by writing to Paul Willis, CEO of VW UK but of
course it got me no
> where. I got a standard reply etc as you would expect, disclaiming any
responsibility and
> telling me various facts about brochure dates and when their main dealers
were informed of
> changes etc. etc.

I think your issue is not with VW HQ but rather the dealer you bought the
car from.

> If what they said was true, then my main dealer should have known and
would have told me
> on October 11th (order day) that spec. changes had taken place as, after
all, they
> accepted my request for a MFC as an optional extra (£125) and it is shown
as that on the
> order form along with a sunroof, metallic paint etc. Had they been in
possession of these
> alleged notifications then they
> would have told me that the MFC was included now and that the other SE
'standard' items
> had now to be paid for? Anyway, there is nothing that can be retrofitted,
easily, I would
> have thought and I don't want the car 'messed about' for the sake of it.

I'd really would have persisted with this complaint with your local dealer
if it was me. VW HQ have quoted the official line about specs changing and
this info being passed down to the dealers. But your dealer has not followed
these procedures. They have accepted your £125 for an option which had
become standard. You've lost out by this spec change because ok - you've got
the MFC you wanted but you've paid when you needn't have. But worst still
you've lost the auto-lights, auto-wipers and auto-dimming-mirror which you
had wanted and I can understand your resignation that it is probably not
wise to try to get them all retrofitted. The dealer cannot just say "Oh we
didn't know". They should and as a result you are entitled to compensation.
As a minimum the dealer should refund the £125 and but I'd be looking for
compensation for you now not having the car you had ordered in good faith.

> Had I ordered the car at any other time of the year and not so close
Christmas with my old
> car requiring an MOT and major service and clutch renewal, I would have
rejected the new
> Golf and made them order it again although I don't think that my nerves
could stand going
> through that long wait a second time. Perhaps in retrospect I should have
gone for the new
> BMW Series1 that I road tested in September, but found it to be a bit too
small and
> claustrophobic.

I can understand your feelings. Sometimes it is just wiser to walk away and
move on. You've still got a nice car.

> By the way, I have been out today for a 40 mile drive and have confirmed
the following
> gearing details:-
> 5th gear equates to 20mph/1000rpm
> 6th gear equates to approx. 25mph/1000rpm
> At least that is what my Golf 1.6FSI SE shows and is shod with the
standard 'Misano'
> alloys with 195/65 Michelin Energy tyres. Of course my instruments could
always be
> wrong............................now that would be interesting!

No. I think my memory must have failed me when I was writing that article.
Someone else has contacted me and said my figures didn't sound correct. I
will update the webpage when I get chance. Thanks for your help.

Stuart

Stuart

I may have confused you. I did get a rebate on the MFC when they found that this was now
standard fit. There was no question about that. It is interesting that since taking
delivery, despite what I was told on handover, I've not had a single follow-up phone call
from my dealers asking whether I'm enjoying my new purchase etc. I'm still chasing them
for some documents that I thought I might have received by now concerning the 'free' 1
years VW Assistance but nothing as yet. I was told that this could take up to 6 weeks,
however and so I'll see what the next fortnight brings.
By the way I have never used shampoo on the car's body, only the very dirty alloys. I came
back from my little run today and the car had got filthy with the roads being covered, in
places, with various clays and muds from the myriad of constructions that are taking place
everywhere and farm detritus experienced on the country lanes in getting to one of my
favourite pubs (for lunch).

After a short rest, I was outside getting it all off with a sponge and copious water
whilst everything was still wet and easy to remove and then leathered it dry. By the way
have you ever used a synthetic 'leather' made by AutoGlym. I don't usually like these but
this one is very good and removes most of the water effortlessly, if like me the car has
to stay outside all the time. They are about £7.99 from Halfords (or was it £8.99?)

Nick