When your Golf buddy happens to be a German … car

By Tessa R. Salazar September 28,2016
THE GOLF has all of Volkswagen’s unparalleled touches of German engineering.

THE GOLF has all of Volkswagen’s unparalleled touches of German engineering.

In this country that’s waking to the dawn of the so-called “motorization age,” dozens upon dozens of vehicle brands and types vie for your attention, either by dazzling you with style, or amazing you with technology.

But amazement and bedazzlement are shallow emotions, easily distracted and redirected to the newest, coolest designs or the latest breakthrough vehicle technologies by the competition.

In a landscape full of purchase-worthy cars, what would motivate a buyer to look at just one specific brand?

In one word, it’s history. Any vehicle that connects to the buyer on a personal level, a level where a shared heritage exists, cannot be “trespassed” by any other automobile brand, no matter what bells and whistles are dangled, and no matter how loud they make these things shake, rattle and roll.

In the Philippines, few automotive brands can boast of a personal connection with the public as deep and far-reaching as the Volkswagen marquee.

Chances are, our parents and grandparents can share a fond memory or two of an iconic Beetle playing a pivotal role during that time in their lives when “tablets” actually referred to medications or vitamins, “i-pads” were shorthand for intermediate pads, and intimate family conversations weren’t interrupted every 10 seconds or so with a chat notification from an online friend half a world away.

Which is why, in a noble effort to continue that “emotional connection” with a new generation of Filipino motorists, Volkswagen came back to the Philippines in 2013 via the Ayala-owned Automobile Centrale Enterprises Inc. (or Volkswagen Philippines), and reintroduced its lineup of premium vehicles targeted at the more affluent and upwardly mobile market.

The lineup included, of course, the legendary Beetle and the Golf brands, arguably among the world’s most successful models in automotive history.

In the Golf lineup, the celebrity has undoubtedly been the beastly but elegant 2.0 Golf GTI. However, its unassuming, silent sibling Golf 1.4 TSI does also show a thing or two when it comes to power and looks.

And that may be the reason Volkswagen Philippines lent to this writer the 2016 Golf 1.4 TSI AT variant over the weekend just recently, to hear its murmur amidst the roar of its 2.0 “big bro.”

First things first. Why the name Golf? Don’t trust the headline above to get the answer, folks. It was just meant as a cheeky pun. The origin of the name is a bit hazy, seemingly lost in time, even if you ask the people from Volkswagen.

The consensus at Volkswagen today is that the name “Golf” refers to the German spelling of the Gulf Stream, which may not directly refer to the atmospheric winds, but surely points to the concept of a flowing current.

But then again, maybe the name actually did refer to the mild-mannered game on the greens. Kevin Clemens, author of “Thirty Years of the Volkswagen Golf & Rabbit,” writes: “When it came time to name the light and agile sports car that was built on the same platform and actually preceded the Golf into production, the name Scirocco, the wind that blows off of the North African coast, was used. This all seems consistent and logical until you think about the smallest Volkswagen of the period, which was introduced in 1975 shortly after the Golf, and named the Polo. As we know, polo is a game played on a field by people on horses. It is possible, then, that the Golf name had some double meaning to one or more Germans in Volkswagen’s upper management who enjoyed playing 18 holes on weekends.”

Automotive history will also point out, interestingly, that the Golf did surpass the Beetle as far as production volumes were concerned. The Beetle may have put the company on the map, but it was the Golf that saved it.

When the Golf first came out in 1974, it was little more than an economy car, a tentative alternative to the Beetle.

But it was an instant hit with the public, and became the German carmaker’s most important single product and the lynchpin of its rise to become Europe’s number one carmaker, according to the book “The Fifty Cars That Changed the World.”

And through its many reiterations, the Golf still pays homage to Giorgetto Giugiaro’s ingenious design.

True to the uncompromising German standards of its maker, the 2016 Golf 1.4 TSI AT’s precise fit and finish doesn’t play second fiddle to the GTI.

Volkswagen’s unparalleled touches of German engineering, such as its welding technology (laser, clinching, punch riveting), forged steel door hinges that are proven tough (as demonstrated by two burly showroom sales agents sitting on the windows), high-strength panels (bake hardening blanks, tailored blanks, door beams), and panel gaps are all there and palpable in this variant.

The 1.4 TSI engine does yield 150 ps of power and 250 Nm of torque—which can still cause an adrenaline rush if you push this hard enough.

And if you want to be bit more beastly or playful, the S drive mode (accessible by flicking the shift stick downward) provides that need-for-speed fix.

But then, the Golf 1.4 TSI is meant to provide a more docile, domesticated drive, and this is where those all-important trip details such as fuel consumption monitors come to the fore, and this writer likes it that the average fuel consumption indicator on the dashboard readout cluster shows up in big digital fonts.

The arrows on the right side of the steering wheel can help quickly access the travel time, distance and average speed.

On my runs on the Skyway, the Golf yielded up to 19.5 km/liter at an average speed of 90 kph.

Proximity sensors, both for the front and rear, are highly appreciated, but can also be manually turned off.

A convenient feature is that the side view mirrors automatically fold in when the lock button of the key fob is pressed.

The “fasten seatbelt” warning is truly annoying, which is as it should be.

The car may look like a compact hatchback from the outside, but surprisingly feels as spacious as a full-sized sedan inside. The space for rear passengers are just right for Asian physiques.

The layout of the cockpit—from the dashboard controls to the infotainment system at the center—is elegantly simple, with a retro-millennial mix of stove-type switches and the touch screen monitor.

There are separate climate controls for the driver and front passenger, while rear passengers enjoy their own AC vents.

Supposedly to help achieve better fuel economy, the Golf 1.4 TSI is equipped with an engine start-stop system, which turns off the engine when the car is at a complete stop and idling. The engine automatically turns on when the battery charge is already low, or when the driver eases his or her foot off the brake pedal.

This writer noticed, though, that when the system kicks in and the engine is stopped, the steering wheel becomes completely stiff—as if the car truly stalled. For this reason, I just opted to manually deactivate the engine start-stop system.

I also noticed that power seems to “surge”—like a race horse anticipating its release onto the tracks—whenever the engine comes to life when the engine start-stop is activated. That takes some getting used to.

The adaptive lighting system is a joy to witness. The Golf’s headlights automatically follow the driver’s line of sight (up and down). And when I signal a turn to either left or right, more lights turn on at the side.

The Golf 1.4 TSI AT Highline variant retails for P1.739 million, while the Comfortline variant will set the buyer back by  P1.59 million.

With all that automotive engineering and design technology, proactive occupant protection system, and a 42-year heritage packed into it, the Golf could well be worth every peso.

For more details about the Golf, check out www.volkswagen.com.ph.

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.