VW Golf Cabriolet
After a nine year wait, VW fans can once again swoon over a cabriolet version of the beloved Golf. Based on the Golf 6, this bundle of summer fun enjoys all the benefits of its hard top sibling, while suffering from relatively few convertible related problems. Should be a good ‘un then.
You see this Golf is a soft top, in keeping with its predecessors. Steering clear of the modern, hard top convertible fad definitely has its benefits. For one, the Golf hasn’t been endowed with an enlarged backside to swallow a complicated and cumbersome metal roof. That means it looks better than a lot of its rivals.
I’d even go as far as to say it looks better than the standard Golf. At least there’s a little character in the new girl, with its steeply raked windscreen and generally clean design. I also like the way the roof is stored in a specially designed little cubbyhole behind the rear passenger’s heads – a space that’s tighter than Chad le Clos’ swimming trunks, which means the boot is comparatively spacious (although the opening is stupidly awkward).
Inside is just about everything you’d expect from a VW – you get all the same kit as the normal Golf. So it’s not the most exciting place to be, but it is well made and the quality of the finish is German-spec exceptional. A major downside is the limited leg room for rear passengers. Anyone bigger than a contortionist hobbit will have leg cramps in less than 10 minutes back there.
From the driver’s seat however things are a lot more positive. The 1.4 litre TSI motor is both turbocharged and supercharged, giving is 118kW and a bucket full of torque to push through the seven speed double clutch automatic gearbox. It’s all very clever stuff, but ultimately what it boils down to is a punchy motor that far outweighs its diminutive capacity. While the gearbox fails to meet my expectations when left in automatic mode, it does provide lightning fast changes from the flappy paddles.
VW claim that all this power is available with the added benefit of exceptional fuel consumption. To be blunt that just 
isn’t the case. Whether I was driving like a lunatic or being exceptionally careful, I just never even got close to their claimed numbers; disappointing to say the least.
Driving with the roof down at lower speeds is quite pleasant because there is very little wind buffeting. Getting up to motorway speeds however one has to use the wind deflector, otherwise the experience is just plain horrible. Only problem there is that the deflector takes up the rear seats, so your hobbit friends can’t come along for the ride. With the roof up the Golf is very quiet for a soft top; probably as good as you’ll get in fact.
Many people have concerns about safety when it comes to convertibles. VW might well feel the same since they haven’t had the Cabriolet tested by the blokes at Euro NCAP. However it does have some very clever roll bars that will pop up behind the rear passengers in the event of a roll over, along with an array of airbags.
Despite all the positives I’ve mentioned I would still struggle to recommend you buy one. After adding all the bits and bobs you’d expect to be included in the base price, you’d be forking out close to R400,000 and to be honest that’s just not good value for money. However if you’re hell bent on buying a convertible Golf, there isn’t a better option than this one.
Price: R341,700 (base)
Engine: 1390cc four cylinder turbocharged, supercharged petrol
Power: 118 kW
Torque: 240 Nm
Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 8.4
Top speed (km/h): 216
Fuel consumption (l/100km): 6.3 (claimed)
Miles Downard
First published in Autodealer KZN