I reviewed this car at 39000 when I needed a new DSG box (under warranty) Found you could get VW extened warranty for £250 / year so have kept the car. Now nearly 5 years old and 70000 miles. Very happy with it,fast smooth and reliable. Good fuel economy (ave 45 mpg)

When I first bought this car I was disappointed, whistle from driver door, noisy, uncomfortable seats. However owning for 1 year I have grown to like it.

Seats are hard, but once you've found the sweet spot they are reasonable for long journeys, I would not say luxury comfort but acceptable.

Build quality is superb, not one squeak from 6yr 90k cabin, paintwork spotless and underside clean with no rust on any components.

The engine is noisy, but reliable, economical and punchy, it cruises at 2200rpm at 70mph which keeps the noise down to acceptable levels.

I do my own servicing and it's a joy to work on, so well designed and laid out, every component is accessible in its compact housing. well done VW.

I paid more than I normally would for a car of this size but it is worth it. Just don't expect a long distance motorway cruiser like I did.

It handles superbly with precise steering, excellent brakes, good grip, slick gear changes.

Most of all, I feel confident this car will go to 150k and 12yrs, unlike my OH dodgy citroen.

I found out that the car sat for 12 months before I bought it but the only issue was radio (replaced by dealer) and ventilation (caused by dealer, fixed by dealer). Oh and a micro switch went on the bonnet opening sensor, so I unplugged it.

Faults:

When I received the car, the central lock switch on the driver's door didn't work properly, and every time I used the brakes while they were cold, a "clang" was heard.

The central lock switch and the front disks were replaced under the warranty. Apart from that, nothing has gone wrong.

General Comments:

I made 115000 miles with this car and I just can say that the Golf V 1.9 TDI is fantastic! Comfortable, low consumption and very reliable.

Into my last year of four as a company car and it has been excellent, (81k on the clock now). The only minor niggles have been the service interval indicator regularly coming on early, apparently due to a voltage spike? Leaking radiator (replaced under warranty, worn shock absorber (failed its first MOT) and the water hose coming off the rear wiper jet resulting in a wet boot.
The car's performance is good once rolling (they are heavy) and the turbo engine drives with so much torque it means you don't have to rev it high to make good progress (unlike the Focus 1.6 petrol I drove, awful). Good fuel consumption with a mixed average of 43 mpg. Good build quality both inside and out, my only gripe is the seats aren't great for 2 hours plus on the motorway unlike the Passat and according to some passangers the rear seats aren't great.

Great fun to drive, really quick and hugs the road but a hard ride.
The DSG gearbox is great but bits of trim beginning to fall off inside AND the A/C gave up on me last summer. yes in a heat wave and its a common fault if you check the internet. VW didn't want to know as over 5 years old but its significant that they changed their suppliers of AC. I had to have a a new compressor and condensor and the system flushed cost me £1200.
I'm at the stage where I need to keep it as I've spent a lot on it (servicing expensive and new cambelt £180 recently) but doubt I'll get another VW.
It seems people still think VW means reliability - well it doesn't and buyers should show them the dorr until they earn the respect they used to deserve.

All ok for 2 years but failed wheel bearings and DSG box at under 40,000 miles and poor local dealership.Don't have one wihout a warranty.

This is my first VW and it has been a big disappointment from the start. Previously a company car driver I have had many new cars and the Golf was one of the worst.
From the start the car had lots of little irritating faults the "fuel sender" had to be replaced within a couple of months this was followed by a series of other small issues, key fob didn't work properly, suspensions creaks (never fixed), trim on door came off, (fixed and came off again last year) seat cover came loose with a couple of months, plastic gear sign came off gear stick cost £100 to replace as you can't buy a gear knob!! The coil had to be replaced. The NOX sensor has had to be replaced and has just gone again (4 months later)

If you add to this the fact that my local VW dealer charges £88 per hour plus VAT or in lay- man's terms £106.66 PER HOUR for labour (Oh but you get free coffee and they will even wash your car!!!) and for example they quote £160 to fit the NOX sensor (a little box with two bolts holding it to the car an electric plug and a screw on sensor cable. which took my local garage 20 minutes to fit) it becomes avery expensive car to maintain.

I won't bore you with any other trivia suffice to say let the buyer beware.

I have VW Golfs for years - I had two Mark IV in which mileag ein excess of 100k in each car and fuel usage was about 55 mpg and apart from minor issues wih the alarm - no other large reliability issues.

Differnt story with the Mark V I like the Mark V as a car to drive but it has been heavier on fuel -about 50mpg and the most unreliable car which I have had .
The ECU went at just over 3 years old - the air con went at just over 4 years - shards of metal went through the air con system so this was a costly repair. Looking at the reviews I seem just have the normal problem for a car this age . Very disappointed by this . I am now looking to replace the car. In past it has been a no brainer as I have liked the the VW range . But now I am not so sure - does the current Golf have the same problems in which case - what should I be looking at ?