***Drove a 2014 Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet 1.2 TSI 6-Speed M/T***

Started by cawimmer430, April 24, 2019, 01:05:05 PM

cawimmer430

A short background info! The car belongs to a local acquaintance, an 82-year-old lady who had a "minor" car accident on Monday. Her apartment is located in a neighborhood near me with a very, very narrow one-way road. On a bad day she has to deal with children, cyclists, joggers, off-leash dogs and distracted hipsters who are listening to music while staring at their phones. In short, it's not the best place to drive for elderly people. She scrapped a Ford Transit delivery van parked at the entrance of her street.

Anyway, the accident dented her confidence in driving and she asked me if I could drive her car to a Toyota-Ford dealership whose technicians will inspect the damage and make a financial assessment. Being the gentleman that I am, I of course said sure! But wait, a Toyota-Ford dealership? Yep, her insurance company has deals with certain large [independent] mechanic shops across the country and in the event of an accident will point their clients into their directions.These shops are not OEM but they can easily order parts for various different cars.

Here it is! Those are her winter tires with cheap plastic hubcaps. The damage on her car is confined to the front right bumper, right fender and apparently the windshield washer tank was somehow damaged because the fluids spilled out after the accident. The car is barely five years old and only has 11,800+ km. The interior and engine bay are very dirty. I offered her that once she gets her car back I will gladly clean and detail it for her.  :praise:









It's a 1.2 TSI engine with 105-horsepower, FWD and has a 6-speed M/T.


Technical Data






So how does it drive?


In short - wow! This thing is more fun that I ever imagined!

The shop which we had to visit was about 25 km away, so I got to experience the car a little. Naturally, with an elderly lady beside me I wasn't going to hammer it and drive it hard in corners, but the 50 km I drove it that day left me with a positive impression.

Remember that BMW 116i F20 I had for the weekend? This Golf was more fun to drive, and felt livelier despite having less power!  :mask:


Steering feedback? Direct and responsive. Not sporty, but direct enough for excellent feedback. Much better than the indirect steering feedback in the BMW 116i F20 I experienced recently!  :mask:


Manual transmission and clutch? Smooth and slick shifting patterns, great clutch feedback. Speed shifting was possible and a joy, unlike the rubbery manual in the BMW 116i F20. The gear ratios were also well chosen. One of the best manual transmissions I've experienced in recent times right up there with that of the Mazda CX-3 SUV I drove recently.


Engine? Smooth, great response and very lively in character. Top refinement. Acceleration is not going to blow you away, but at no time did it feel underpowered. This engine also had one of the best Start-Stop systems I've ever experienced. In one word: SMOOTH. Smooth engine starts and smooth engine deactivation. In fact I didn't notice that the engine had turned off at the first traffic light! It's that good.


Interior? Typical good Volkswagen build and material quality of the period. It was a hot day so we drove with the A/C on. One criticism I had was that the A/C vents were placed a little high. I am used to them being rather at chest-level in most cars. Not a big deal, but I thought they would potentially be better placed at chest-level. Just a weird, stupid Wimmer cricitism.  :tounge:


Overall, a very pleasing car. I was not expecting it to be so much fun.  :ohyeah:






And here is the Golf Cabriolet owner in the late 1960s with her Glas GT at the Königsplatz in Munich. What a gorgeous woman. She used to model in her younger days, and even today at 82-years-old she's still beautiful, mentally sharp and pleasing to hang out with. 

I am restoring these photos for her and am posting them here with her permission.  :cheers:







The Königsplatz today...







What's a Glas GT!? History & Heritage lecture ----> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glas_GT  :lol:
-2018 Mercedes-Benz A250 AMG Line (W177)



WIMMER FOTOGRAFIE - Professional Automotive Photography based in Munich, Germany
www.wimmerfotografie.de
www.facebook.com/wimmerfotografie

mzziaz

Cuore Sportivo

cawimmer430

Quote from: mzziaz on April 24, 2019, 01:22:38 PM
Cool chick!

I hope I drive a convertible at 82.

And she's driving a manual transmission at 82 years of age. Respect!
-2018 Mercedes-Benz A250 AMG Line (W177)



WIMMER FOTOGRAFIE - Professional Automotive Photography based in Munich, Germany
www.wimmerfotografie.de
www.facebook.com/wimmerfotografie