Subcompact VW Golf Plus I

The VolksWagen Golf Plus squeezed into a narrow niche, unexpectedly formed by himself between the traditionally light ordinary Golf and the relatively fresh compact van Touran, with a creak. This is certainly bold - an attempt to take an empty seat, but it is doubtful - this is a place that did not exist before the advent of Volkswagen Golf +.

Golf Plus is more expensive than a simple 5th Golf by more than $ 1000. For this money, he, first of all, promises more space. But space is not such a prestigious factor for a domestic car owner to convince him to pay a “piece” more. Moreover, it is he inside a little more, but outside he is almost the same! But now it looks "worse", tk. minibus utility in Russia is not in price. In general, for an already expensive Golf, centimeters in height and a slight touch of “wagons” are definitely not a plus.

But Plus, of course, there are pluses. The inside of the car has actually grown, and first of all - for the rear seat passengers. They will really be able to appreciate the advantages of the Volkswagen Golf 5 Plus compact van. And there is room for the legs, and the head is spacious. And if the rear passengers are not expected, then the owner himself can appreciate the additional space - the rear row of seats moves on a sled, allowing, if necessary, to increase the useful volume of the trunk. By the way, there is another plus in the trunk - a double floor, the essence of a shelf that can be installed in such a way that there is a little free space under it for a luggage stash.

Another plus is that the Golf Plus seems much closer to "regular cars" than its competitors from the compact van class. But the “plus” is controversial - Golf + evokes the same feelings as modern diesel engines: interesting, convenient and practical ... But in our conditions it makes no sense. VW Golf Plus, being quite expensive, has no “prestige” in our country, but convenience, as already mentioned above, and does not justify the price for the Russian consumer. We have a foreign car, so far, not just a means of transportation, but a serious component of the image. A compact MPV is not a very honorable thing. So Golf Plus, despite all attempts to seem lightweight, does not seem to be such. A simple Golf 5, in this regard, is doing much better.

Perhaps the Volkswagen Golf 5 Plus has design problems. But today, only the lazy one does not scold VolksWagen AG - for the appearance of Skoda, Audi and, of course, VW. It is believed that VW has betrayed the idea of ​​a “people's car” in favor of luxury and “fat price tags”. Perhaps there is a piece of truth in this, but you need to be objective - current VWs differ from the once famous Kafer model in the same way as the F16 fighter from the Wright brothers airplane. And people (they are also consumers) have changed no less. If in the post-war (not very well-fed) years the Germans needed a cheap vehicle, now they definitely need separate climate control, airbags and ESP as standard. And so that all this works, and without breaking!
Those. the modern consumer needs "minced meat", and this, as you know, costs money. Moreover, the manufacturer needs to pre-invest considerable funds in order to develop this "minced meat". And here comes the problem of limited resources. In other words, you have to decide what to develop - "minced meat" or "shell".
The choice, I must say, is painful. Honda, for example, when developing the last Civic, opted for looks and paid for it with a serious simplification of the chassis (i.e., deterioration in handling). Whether consumers will forgive this is a question. But Volkswagen seems to have chosen its own path - the Germans prefer “stuffing” to “packing”. Perhaps that is why, when developing the VW Golf Plus, the designers had a simple task - just to mask the ten-centimeter increase in height. The designers did it - these centimeters went to the front fenders (the nose of the Golf Plus is noticeably more massive) and the roof pillars (at the same angle of inclination, they “start” much earlier). And so as not to look "carriage" - added small triangles of windows and a rib from the headlights to the lanterns. That's all!

The platform of the "fifth" Golf is an example of technical excellence. This is a breakthrough, as a result of which the standards of road performance, professed in the business class, came to a more democratic segment and became available to a wide range of buyers. It is a pity that these are only Golf buyers so far ... and not Russian - because we have the greatest demand for the 1.6 version (102 hp), which is simply not able to unleash the potential of this chassis. And more powerful modifications in Russia are obscenely expensive.
Here is the VW Golf Plus - in the same place: again this low-running engine 1.6, and even with an automatic transmission. Only such a combination can keep the price of this car within reasonable limits. As a result, we have a “sad” acceleration - it is soporific and unemotional. For normal operation of the "automatic machine" the volume of the engine is clearly not enough, and only the sport mode "S" gives the work of the power plant some consistency. The manual mode is of little use - there is more fuss, and the dynamics does not improve.

The engineers tried to compensate for the negative effect of the increase in height on the behavior of the VolksWagen Golf Plus by using stiffer shock absorbers. This could destroy the delicate balance of driving performance if adaptability and wide customization were not among the main trump cards of the Golf chassis. The VW Golf 5 Plus is as academic as the "original" hatchback. Absolutely solid car with soft, fast, accurate and intuitive algorithms for changing the forces on the controls. Golf Plus turned out to be tougher than "just Golf", but the suspension works exceptionally efficiently, resiliently, avoiding shaking and even more so breakdowns.
Another question is to what extent the concessions in terms of comfort in the name of better handling generally correspond to the concept of a family car. Maybe in Germany, with its roads, problems with smooth running simply do not arise, and handling is regarded as the most important component of the active safety complex. Here, in Russia, the opposite is true. Therefore, the "regular Golf" we have more chances than the Golf Plus.

VolksWagen Golf 5 Plus prices:
We have so often referred to the prices of the Volkswagen Golf 5 Plus as a “bad word” - more about them: the Golf Plus is supplied to Russia with two petrol engines - 1.6 (102 hp, ~ $ 21,300) and 2.0 FSI (150 hp, ~ $ 28,000), as well as with two turbodiesels - 1.9 TDI (105 hp, ~ $ 25,700) and 2.0 TDI (140 hp, ~ $ 27,500).
For gasoline engines, as an option, a 6-speed Tiptronic “automatic” (+ $ 1600 ~ $ 2300) is offered, for diesel engines - a 6-speed “robotic mechanics” DSG (+ $ 1750). There are three equipment levels: Trendline (except 2.0 FSI engine), Comfortline and Sportline. In addition, there is a huge list of options, including 72 positions. On request, the Golf Plus can be equipped with a leather interior with natural wood trim, a navigation system with a 6-inch display, 17-inch wheels in combination with a sports suspension, bi-xenon adaptive headlights and tire pressure sensors.The Golf Plus 1.6 Trendline reviewed in the test with “automatic” and additional equipment costs ~ $ 26400.