Golf Plus: Competition For The Class Leader

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

The VW Group begins its product offensive in 2005 with the introduction of the Golf Plus. The high roof variant has everything to compete with the Wolfsburg bestseller.

Frank Mertens

2005 will be a very important year for the Volkswagen Group. The Wolfsburg-based company is countering the ongoing weakness of the auto market with an impressive product offensive. The Golf Plus kicks off. It has officially been in the showrooms of the dealerships since Friday.

Gap closed

Almost 16 months after the world premiere of the Golf V in September 2003, which sold 530,000 times in the past year, the group is closing the gap between its bestseller and the Touran. And those responsible have high hopes for the new ones. "We want to sell 25 percent of what the Golf V has achieved from the Golf Plus," said the head of product marketing, Ludger Fretzen. In other words: around 150,000 units of the Golf Plus should be sold in the first year.

Initially, the Golf Plus will be offered with two petrol and two diesel engines: the 1.4 liter (75 PS / 16,740 euros), the 1.6 liter FSI (115 PS / 19,240 euros) and the 1.9 liter TDI units with 105 PS (20,040 euros) and the 2.0 liter TDI with 140 PS (22,190 euros). In addition, there will be two more FSI engines and one more TDI from autumn. From this point on, an automatic and a direct shift transmission will also be available.

535 euros more than Golf V

The Trendline version of the Golf Plus with 55 kW / 75 PS costs just 535 euros more than a conventional Golf - but offers considerable added value in terms of space. In a nutshell. The Golf Plus is simply the better Golf! The Golf V will feel this in sales figures, which in 2004 fell short of the original 600,000 units. With the Golf Plus, the Golf has grown into a serious opponent from within its own group. If you have to decide which car to buy, you will simply get stuck with the Golf Plus after weighing all the advantages and disadvantages.

In terms of driving technology, there are no differences between the two cars. The new one has the same components and drives just as confidently as its “little brother”. The new one is also visually recognizable as a Golf. A little more courage on the outside - see Seat Altea - would have looked good on the plus.

A new car

But that was about the similarities. “We built a new, independent car on the Golf stand. It offers a significantly better amount of space and greater variability compared to the Plus,”said Egon Feichter, Head of Vehicle Development at VW. "The body and the interior have been completely redeveloped." Just looking at the data reveals the differences: with a total height of 1.58 meters, the body of the Plus towers over the Golf by 9.5 centimeters, the seat height has increased by 7.5 centimeters and the trunk has grown by 45 liters. At 4.21 meters, the vehicle has neither become longer nor wider (2.58 meters). The Golf Plus has remained extremely compact compared to a Touran, but still offers the feeling of space of a mini van. And so we are at the same time with the target group that the Wolfsburg target: Young families who want to expand their room comfort, as marketing expert Fretzen said. But the Golf Plus is of course also a car for older people who want to get in and out comfortably.

Immediate feeling of wellbeing

How comfortable is the new one? Very convenient. You feel good as soon as you sit down - thanks to an interior height of over a meter, even tall drivers have no problems. Nothing happens. The seats are excellent and offer good lateral support, as the first test drives in snowy Mallorca in the 2.0 TDI showed. The interior impresses with the revised fittings. The center console was mounted higher - in accordance with the changed seating position. The optionally available navigation system (2410 euros) can thus be operated and read even better. However, the Golf Plus does not yet have Bluetooth (wireless connection) - the phone still has to be plugged into an adapter. Other manufacturers, for example the group subsidiary Seat (Toledo), are already up to date here.

To the left and right of the navigation system or radio (not standard, from 525 euros) are two of the eight chrome-plated air vents. They are no longer square, but round. That should ensure better air distribution. In general, everything looks very well thought out in the interior. In the side panels of the driver and passenger door there is space for a 1.5 liter bottle, for which the loudspeakers have been moved from the front to the back. There are storage compartments under the seats and small items can also be stored in the overhead console. But all of that costs: 150 euros have to be paid for the filing package.

Fold out tables

Anyone who has children will appreciate the fold-out tables on the back of the front seats. They offer space for drinks or a painting pad. That would have brought us to the rear - and at the same time we would be with the rear seats. It contributes a lot to the added value of the Golf Plus - because it can be moved 16 centimeters lengthways using a bracket in the seating area. This allows the trunk volume to be increased from 395 liters to 505 liters, depending on the size of the rear passengers. From the Comfortline equipment line (in the Trendline 150 euros surcharge) there is a variable loading floor in the trunk, which can be adjusted to two different heights. In addition, the multi-stage adjustable backrest angle ensures that you can travel extremely comfortably in the rear even on longer journeys.

Driving in the new Golf Plus is a lot of fun in conjunction with the 2.0 TDI. The top diesel has a maximum torque of 320 Nm, which is applied between 1750 and 2500 revolutions per minute. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km / h in 9.9 seconds and reaches a top speed of 200 km / h. And it does this very economically. VW specifies the consumption as 6.3 liters. In the ten PS stronger 2.0 FSI it should be 8.6 liters. Due to the weight of the Golf Plus - even if you opt for a gasoline engine - you should only opt for an engine over 100 hp. Due to the higher body, the suspension set-up to prevent any tendency to roll was tighter than on the Golf. However, this has no effect on driving comfort.

No particle filter

With a view to consumption and almost similar acceleration values, the purchase recommendation is actually for diesel - actually. Because VW has still not managed to offer a soot particle filter for the diesel engines. However, it should be available in the second half of the year at the latest. But what is until then? Can customers retrofit the particle filter easily and without great (financial) effort? There is no satisfactory answer. At the moment, it is said, the options for retrofitting are only being examined.

It's a shame, because despite its hefty price, the Golf Plus has everything to become a bestseller, especially as a diesel. It remains to be seen whether VW will keep its promise to offer this health and environmentally friendly technology by the beginning of the second half of the year.