Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI
Prices: £15,720-£18,065 – on the road
Insurance Group: 7
Emissions: 128g/km
Performance: [TSI 160] Max Speed 137mph / 0-60mph 8.0s
Fuel Consumption: [TSI 122] (urban) 34.4mpg / (extra urban) 55.4mpg / (combined) 45.6mpg
Safety: Seven airbags, ABS, ESP
Dimensions: [3dr] Length/Width/Heightmm 4213/1786/1501

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Our Rating: 7.9 / 10

Volkswagen’s turbocharged TSI technology could help us see small petrol engines in a new light. Steve Walker reports.

A 1.4-litre family hatchback was once something to be avoided by all but those on the tightest of budgets. Residing near the foot of the model range, the car would come with a paucity of equipment and buyers would be lucky if it could muster 75bhp when they stamped on the throttle. Today, things have changed and a small capacity engine no longer means small performance. Volkswagen’s 1.4-litre TSI engines are well capable of giving the Golf family hatch some bite.

The turbocharger used to be viewed as a somewhat crude way of extracting extra performance from an engine. Not so long ago, cubic capacity was the preferred route for the purists who’d take a big V6 over a turbocharged four-cylinder unit every day of the week - and a huge V8 over that. All of this was before efficiency became the watchword in the car industry and mpg replaced mph as the public’s motoring acronym of choice. These days, the turbo has been reinvented as a high-tech method of achieving the twin goals of economy and performance from smaller engines. Volkswagen’s 1.4-litre TSI units are a prime example of the turbocharger in its new role.

As often seems to be the case with Volkswagen engine designations, everything is not as it seems with the TSI powerplants. The basic option is the 120bhp 1.4 TSI engine which employs a sophisticated turbocharger to achieve maximum torque of 200Nm from 1,500rpm all the way to 4,000rpm. This equates to a smooth flow of pulling power through the rev range that’s a long way from the all or nothing approach of older turbocharged units. The 0-60mph sprint takes 9.5s with this model but for a few more pounds, it’s possible to step up to the 158bhp 1.4 TSI engine which can do the time trial in 8.0s. Despite the same TSI branding, this engine actually has a turbocharger and a supercharger. The supercharger works at low revs while the turbo gets up to speed, producing a similarly progressive power delivery to that of the lesser engine.

The silky way in which the 1.4 TSI engines go about their business fits well with the wider Golf package. Volkswagen’s engineers have achieved major improvements in refinement for this sixth generation car, noticeably cutting cabin noise levels and the suspension serves up a comfortable ride that’s just firm enough to encourage drivers who enjoy a briskly taken corner. The 1.4 TSI engines come with a six speed manual gearbox as standard but there’s also the option of Volkswagen’s clever DSG twin-clutch system. It allows drivers to flick up and down the seven gears instantly with the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters or slot into fully automatic mode for a more relaxed experience.

The front end styling treatment of the MkVI Golf was first seen on the Scirocco coupe and its horizontal lines serve to make the car appear wider, lower and more planted on the road. Break out the tape measure and you’ll discover that this is not merely a stylistic illusion with the latest car being 27mm wider and 34mm lower than the MkV. At the rear, the light clusters have also been stretched width ways and the bumper is predominantly body-coloured for a classier look but from whichever angle you approach it, the car couldn’t be anything but a Golf.

Inside, the dash design is more of an eye-opener. The instruments are tastefully designed with obvious Audi influences and illuminate in crisp white light. The controls function with typical efficiency and the plastics quality is hard to fault compared to the Golf’s family hatch rivals. Some might find the cabin lacking a spark of originality but it’s certainly got an abundance of class and the execution is hard to fault. Rear legroom is adequate for tall adults so long as the front seats aren’t pushed right back on their runners and a boot of 350-litres ensures the Golf’s competitiveness on practicality grounds. Fold the rear seats and 1,305 litres is made available.

There are three or five-door bodystyles with the standard hatch, pl