Test drive Volkswagen Golf V 5 doors 2003 - 2008 hatchback

Can everyone have kings?

We were all looking forward to this fight. New golf against the latest Astra. Somehow the kings of the most popular class in Europe will show themselves, whose predecessors have recently looked very pale against the background of a total offensive on the Russian market of Japanese and Korean machines? The results were adultery.
 



Familiar strangers
At first glance, this cannot be, because it can never be. Correct to the last dash, a car that has become an object for numerous imitations and even in the name of a householder of a whole class, golf in his new, already fifth generation has eradicated, it seems, the last shortcomings and was as close as possible to the ideal. And suddenly this very golf, with his appearance, fulfillment and behavior won almost universal love, begins to lose the favor of customers.
 

It has been held almost a year since the debut in the European market, however, in order to reach the planned growth in sales, the dealers there have to climb out of the skin.
 

The sellers of the new Astra have completely different problems. The debut of the car, which has only tried to get closer to the popularity of the mass Volkswagen for many years, turned out to be so successful that it was necessary to display the plants to the full power of the factory, just to satisfy all -growing demand. This is a completely unfamiliar Opel! And not only outwardly in his soul he is a real intellectual, which none of his predecessors was. But first things first.
 



Feast of life with a clear calculation
No, the best is not an enemy of good. Friend, friend, friend! You will look at the fifth salon, and before its designers I want to take a hat again. There was no shortcuts before the cat cried: an inconvenient joystick of mirror adjustment and indistinguishable climate control buttons. Now with these trifles is over. New central console object to follow. Electronics allows you to adjust the temperature for the passenger and driver. A little higher on the panel multi -level heating of the seats and a radio with a large display. Thoughtful and nothing superfluous. In general, a genuine sensation of a car is higher with a convenient, to a millimeter with a verified salon.

 
       
The profile of the golf seats is not as sports as in the Astra. But on the gallerine Volkswagen is almost as spacious


And yet, after meeting with the inner world of Opel, the feeling arose that Golf began to resemble a snob, who for some reason decided that a gray expensive suit is good for all occasions. The creators of Astra reasonably reasoned that it makes no sense to fight Volkswagen with his own weapon. And they made the salon almost the exact opposite of the competitor. The only resemblance he looks now more rich than ever. The rest of the Opel is a real dudes: lively, bright, attracting attention.

 
       
A more spacious rear row in a compact class still search. The convenience of landing limits only a strongly protruding door upholstery


I touch the gear lever, turn on the back and ... I want to do it again and again! All the changes are a new knob and instead of a ring on the cululis a convenient button that greatly facilitates switching. But this detail in communication with the machine means a lot. You seemed to move the machine gun selector in an expensive business sedan. And this is only one of the many examples. Now there are comfortable seats with pronounced side support of the back and pillow. Devices with sparkling halo-ribs, swift inserts for aluminum on the doors are called upon to wake up emotions and cope with their task perfectly.
 

Although in some places the sacrifice of this very emotionality had to make functionality. Say, already very much narrowed in the lower part, the back side door is also endowed with a good 34 cm by upholstery. Do not hurt her with your feet a whole art. The low-located climate control unit and the absence of temperature sensor can also be noted.


Spacious chambers
When in the arsenal one of the longest wheelbase in the class, the car a priori should be spacious. So, theoretically, Astra with a result of 2614 mm by 36 mm is more spacious than golf. New seats, a wide and high body, modern computer technologies helped to find additional millimeters. At the front seats, the couple of whisper fighters will not interfere with each other with elbows. And the gallery will easily accept the ladies, who have embellished their heads with tall shinions in the fashion of the 60s.
 

But, according to the sensations, the golf is not at all closer. At least put on the head, put on a cylinder, and in a person in a man of 180 cm in the exercise to sit down a stock of about 5 cm to the front back. Nevertheless, our theoretical package was confirmed. Astra passengers of the second row provide 3 cm larger than space in the shoulders and 1.5 cm above their heads. In front, the salon, although 0.5 cm below, is as much as 4 cm wider.




Royal bins
The trunk of Volkswagen is unexpectedly spacious 350 liters. By decomposing the backs, you can get all 1305 liters. But he bribes not even that. The villous upholstery is made as if for the Rolls-Royce salon. In the corners there was a place for chrome fasteners, there are niches for small things. The cover covering the spare tire is half. The tool is neatly laid in a foam niche. In these royal bins, I immediately want to load something, fix and go on the road.
 

 
Astra of 30 liters exceeds the opponent in the useful volume of the trunk with a 5-seater layout. However, a large -sized load may not pass into such an opening


Pay attention how much more convenient the golf cargo compartment is: the opening is wider and the loading height is smaller, and the place between the wheel arches is larger


At first glance, Astra trunk is even more spacious 380 liters. But there is no goodness, golf's thoughtfulness here. It is impossible to open the fifth door if the battery sat in the car: the keyhole is not provided. An uncomfortable soft, villing coating covering the spare tire migrated here from the predecessor. And to get to the screwdriver or a jack, you will have to remove the fifth wheel. In addition, Opel has less than golf (1507 versus 1690 mm) and width (949 versus 1010 mm) of the trunk with the spins of the seats.


Physical training?
Having seen enough of the enthusiastic interior of Astra, I look forward to the gambling character of the machine. While I taxi from the parking lot, these thoughts only get stronger. Sharp 2.6 turns and rather tight steering wheel. Funny to press the gas pedal of the motor. But for some reason I get the start rather lethargic. Accelerated. 12.3 seconds. It seems slower. And above 120 km/h with the air conditioning turned on, you can cheerfully accelerate only on the fourth. By golly, this is not a sport, but physical education with strict restrictions on loads. The only salvation of the gambling driver to keep the tachometer arrow at least 3.5 thousand.
 

The first thing you pay attention to when transplanting from Astra to golf, softer pedals, lighter steering wheel at parking speeds and restrained reactions to pressing the right pedal. Strange, because according to the passport, the car should be more temperamental 11.4 s to hundreds. The first impression turned out to be true. The 102-horsepower engine is not able to help the lodging master to deal with the opponent. The traffic light of the duel Astra, although with a small margin, is losing. And in terms of elasticity on the suburban highway, it is even more significant.
 

So we write down: with a 1.6 liter engine, not one of our flocks is drawn to gold.
 

What does a new turn bring us?
Nevertheless, our heroes found a way to shed a balm on my soul and confirm the high title of best.
 

They are not looking for good from good, they decided in Ruselsheim and left the suspension design almost unchanged. Even the machine of the former generation knew how to pass the turns very gambling. Now on the asteri tires 205/55 R16, other springs and shock absorbers settings. And I do not notice how, for a long time exceeding the permitted speed, I cut the turn behind the turn with rapture.
 

Golf? This quiet one is not just behind, on the contrary, even despite the steering wheel, the steering wheel at low speeds (for those who want to make it more tight in Wolfsburg, they have the opportunity to change the tuning of the electrical power)) strives to go through a rotation at a higher speed than that of asters. The same magnificent rubber of Bridgeto-Turansa, wider than that of astra, the track and an independent rear suspension pushed the limit when the wheels squeal along the asphalt.
 

If you are overdoing at the aster at speed, and the turn will meet you with waves with laid asphalt, the rear wheels will lose the clutch with the road. The deficiency can be compensated by a sports package with a reduced chassis, ESP and IDS+system. But this pleasure is very expensive. To cope with the golf in such a bend at a similar speed is easier. Although its capabilities can still be increased by custom ESP. In addition, whether under the wheels of rolled snow or ice, Volkswagen, thanks to the anti -boom system, would not allow the wheels to become a grinding circle.

 



Quietly, soft, sincerely
This is only in the theory, an acute car in the management should crush the soul on irregularities. In two days of tests, our duelists have proved that they are exceptions to the rules. In the city, both Germans are quite loyal to the tram tracks, but they are especially good on the highway.
 

At 130140 km/h, only a barely audible noise of the wind licking the front racks and mirrors is heard to the salon. Motors, peacefully sniffing somewhere around 4 thousand revolutions, are still not annoying. At the wheel of any of the cars, I immediately want to rush somewhere to the south, or even in Europe.
 

In a word, both earn the highest score. The difference in the nuances: Golf knows how to work a little quieter on idle, and Astra captivates with a greater energy intensity of the suspension.

 



Life is the main value
Both Opel and Volkswagen in the euroncap tests divided into five stars. Golf lost a bit during the frontal blow, but outplayed Astra on security for pedestrians. A durable body, six pillows, traumatic pedals, belts with pretensors are always on the alert. But God give you this arsenal to never experience.
 

Another weapon is much more effective than before, brakes on both machines you will probably say thanks. Thanks to the emergency slowdown amplifier, not so long ago, the prerogatives of sports cars and representative machines, small-leafs are perfectly bumped on the road at any speed.


Half avenue per horse
So we approached the main question. No matter how good the car is, its commercial success primarily depends on the price.
 

So, the basic 5-door golf-1,6-trendline (ABS, steering wheel amplifier, electric drive of front windows and heated mirrors, 6 pillows) will cost $ 20 430. The basic Astra-1,6-Essenshia costs $ 17,490. However, the closest to the closest to the golf on the configuration of the Astra-Angia (the mirror-painted body, door handles and moldings on the bumper, additional pockets in the backs of seats with improved upholstery, a two-story glove box, adjusting the driver’s chair, chrome rims of instruments, linings in the cabin) will be pulled already) At $ 18 190.
 

In order to finally equalize the equipment for equipment, you will have to buy a couple of inflatable curtains ($ 800) to Opel, and the music system ($ 269) and the on-board computer ($ 203) to the Volkswag. We get $ 18,990 and $ 20 902, respectively.
 

Someone overpayment of almost two thousand green may seem to be a reasonable price for a higher prestige of Volkswagen. But the fact is that in a more generous equipment (in which these machines are most often bought), the difference between the golf and Astra increases significantly.
 

With light alloy disks ($ 690), metallic ($ 250), a winter package ($ 410), alarm ($ 210) and a special package with air conditioning (folding 40:20:40 rear seats, music control on the steering wheel, body color, adjustable, adjustable molding. In six directions, a driver's seat, additional backlight in the ceiling and mirrors in visors and for only $ 615!) Astra costs $ 21,165. We also pack the golf $ 20 902 plus air conditioning ($ 1514), metallic color ($ 546), wheels ($ 1083), steering wheel from leather trim ($ 187), a winter package ($ 512), alarm ($ 244) and get $ 24,988. And what do you think, if among equal competitors one by $ 3823 more than who customers prefer?
 

And so it turned out that the recognized king of the golf class, becoming even better, even more perfect, unexpectedly lost his position. Because it turned out too dearly. And in a democratic class, even the king cannot afford this.
 
  
  
 
      

The seat adjustment range in height is truly huge

The cup holders in the Golf salon for almost a dozen. These are located between the front seats

There is a special shelf for leather binding instructions in a cooled glove box
     
Antipling system (ASR) is included in the standard equipment of golf
 
Separated climate control is convenient, but expensive ($ 1715) option

Big hooks for clothing are provided on the racks
 
  
   
  
Convenient climate control buttons and stereo systems replaced nondescript archaic handles

Door handles for a natural grip. A distinctive feature of a new astra

The button in the bottom of the lever helps to turn on the rear gear
   
    
We decided:

It turned out that both cars were awarded the highest assessments that have ever been recruited in our tests. Living, free from designer dogmas and teeming with new engineering ideas, Astra is more comfortable than ever, gambling and managed to get the title of the safest in the classroom. Hence the result and the final assessment 4.4.
 

Golf once again confirmed the truth that there was no limit to perfection. This machine for a person who wishes in a compact class of outstanding goodness and thoughtfulness, wants to enjoy better handling, high comfort, close to the ideal ergonomics and be calm for his safety. Nevertheless, Golf receives exactly the same assessment, 4.4. The main minus, which did not seem to be a perfect car, not even the worst elasticity (soon the Volkswagen will supply cars with motors that meet the norms of Euro II, which will certainly go gambling), and the excessively high price for the cars in the most popular equipment .
 
Alexey Sergeev, photo of Maxim Goncharov
 
 

Source: Magazine buy a car [14/2004]