DriveWays: Golf four-door hatchback

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Sometimes it pays to be stubborn.

Take Volkswagen, for example. Over the last 35 years, through changing buyer tastes, times good and bad, the storied German manufacturer remained devoted to its hatchback Golf (sometimes called Rabbit).

That was obviously OK in Europe, where people are enamored with the wagon-like practicality that body style offers. But VW stuck with them in the United States as other manufacturers bailed out, scared away by the equally stubborn American preference for traditional sedans with trunks.

Now that the tide has turned to a new generation mostly free of the old prejudice, a flood of new hatchbacks is appearing. There's even talk of (gasp) a compact luxury hatchback from Lexus. This is in the face of U.S. failures of hatchbacks from BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Of course, some of the old stigma still attaches so hardly anybody refers to them as hatchbacks. They have euphemisms that usually include the words "sport" or "touring."

Bobbing to the top in this new wave is Volkswagen, with its various all-new Golf iterations: two doors, four doors, stick shifts and automatics, gasoline four-bangers, high-output engines and even a four-cylinder diesel model so clean it can be sold in every stringent anti-pollution jurisdiction in the United States.

The Golf array starts with the basic stick-shift two-door with a five-cylinder gasoline engine at $18,370 and cruises all the way to the high-performance Golf-based GTI starting at $24,414 and the top-of-the line four-door TDI diesel, the subject here, with a base price of $24,809.

They share all the fundamental Golf goodness: mostly comfortable seating -- but not in the cramped center-rear fifth position -- a big cargo area, expandable by folding the rear seatbacks, and front-wheel drive with decent compromises between ride and handling, even with the sport suspension system.

At three inches shy of 14 feet, the Golf siblings are easy to park and maneuver in urban settings. But they are no slouches in long-distance touring on the interstates. The main criticisms are front seat bottoms that are long in the thigh, as well as a long reach to depress the clutch pedal fully on stick shift models, both possible deal breakers for shorter people.

The advantage of the TDI -- the initials stand for "turbo direct injection" -- is fuel economy. But the endearing thing about the 140-horsepower four-cylinder engine, as is the case with most diesels, is forceful torque, or twisting power, at low revolutions.

It's enough to accelerate the TDI to 60 miles an hour in about eight and one-half seconds, according to VW's specifications, which is not exactly swift by modern standards but still feels quicker in most driving situations. (The GTI, with its 200-horsepower gasoline engine, does it about two seconds faster).

What you notice is the torque, but unfortunately you have to get the revs up before it kicks in. Until you reach about 2000 revolutions per minute, the engine feels like it is bogging down -- the "turbo lag" phenomenon. Once you pass the threshold, the TDI fairly leaps forward.

The tested TDI had VW's six-speed direct-shift (DSG), dual-clutch automated manual gearbox. It's a mouthful but arguably the most efficient transmission available, actually two transmissions in one with two clutches. One handles first, third and fifth gears; the other second, fourth and sixth.

A computer keeps the appropriate gear, up or down, lying in wait for the next move. Although you can, with great concentration, sometimes fool it, the computer uncannily figures out whether an up shift or downshift is called for and instantly dictates it. It's so efficient that it beats the fuel economy figures for both automatic transmissions and manual gearboxes.

With the DSG, the tested Golf TDI had an EPA fuel economy rating of 30 miles to the gallon in the city and 42 on the highway. Some drivers have exceeded that and, with diesel fuel now selling for roughly the same as regular gasoline, the savings are obvious.

Mitigating that is the TDI's base price, which is more than $4,000 higher than the gasoline-engine Golf. But the TDI gets additional standard equipment, including the sports suspension system, six-speed manual instead of five (if you order the stick shift), premium audio system with AM-FM-CD and Sirius satellite radio, 17-inch alloy wheels with high-performance tires, fog lights, a center console with storage, and front and rear floor mats.

The Golf TDI comes with an impressive list of standard safety equipment, including state-of-the art electronic stability and traction control, anti-slip regulation, antilock brakes, brake assist and brake-pressure distribution, tire-pressure monitoring, side air bags and side-curtain air bags.

Also included are air conditioning, heated outside mirrors, iPod and other auxiliary device connections, remote locking, tilt-and telescoping steering wheel and cruise control. An anomaly: the front seats have manual fore-and-aft and height adjustments, but powered seatbacks.

The test car, in addition to the $1,100 DSG transmission, had an optional $1,750 navigation system, a $1,000 motorized glass sunroof, and a cold weather package that included heated front seats and heated windshield wiper nozzles. That brought the total suggested price to $27,983.

(Comments or suggestions? Contact Frank Aukofer at driveways6(at)gmail.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service. For more columns, go to scrippsnews.com)

DriveWays with GOLF-SPECS