2016 Volkswagen Golf Pricing and Specs

A Golf with that mileage after just three or four years on the road is a bit of an anomaly. How has the car been used? Was it a delivery vehicle in a previous life? I’d be asking some tough questions and diving deep into the vehicle’s service history to find out how it’s been driven and serviced before taking the plunge, because that mileage is about double what I’d expect from this make and model.

The biggest potential reliability glitch with this car is the DSG transmission. While VW claimed that all the evils were fixed by the time the Golf 7 came out in 2013, experience suggests that there are still some examples of this gearbox giving trouble. Symptoms include a loss of drive, poor shift quality, shuddering on take-off and a gearbox that seemingly loses the plot on occasions.

And I’m afraid your alternative rings a few alarm bells as well. The Hyundai also uses a double-clutch style transmission and while it hasn’t suffered the litany of problems that the VW unit has caused over the years, it’s still a bit of an unknown quantity. Certainly, some customers seem to be unhappy with the unit in terms of its longevity and replacement clutch packs are not unknown.

Also, you seem to have a knack for finding cars with double the expected kilometres on board. I’d expect a 2018 i30 to be showing closer to 25,000km than the 50,000km on the one you’re considering. Cars with higher than expected mileage can be bargains, but you’ve really got to dig into their past to ensure they haven’t been abused or suffered from poor servicing.

You should never assume anything; she should have asked if there was to be a charge before she left the dealership. It’s too late to complain now. As for the radar sensor, it does seem that it is very sensitive to being knocked out of alignment, and I would have thought VW should help out with the cost or realigning it. The dealer has offered to cover part of the cost, but not all of it. If you feel inclined you could pursue VW for the total cost of repairs, but it’s by no means and open-and-shut case that you would be successful.

It seems to me that they're quite different cars; the Golf R is an under-the-radar raider, the Mustang an in-your-face statement. If you want an exhilarating drive on those weekends away go for the Golf, if you want a more leisurely fun drive with a high look-at-me factor go for the Mustang. For my money I would choose the Mustang. There is talk of a twin-turbo Mustang coming as a GT500 Shelby in 2018, possibly with a 5.2-litre V8. Not sure if it would make to Australia.