Regardless of which Golf model you get, you'll be seeing a lot fewer gas stations and a lot more road. The 2.5L Golf comes standard with a 170-hp, in-line five-cylinder engine with 177 lbs/ft torque and impressive fuel efficiency rated at 23 city/30 highway mpg.* Opt for the Golf TDI model and you'll enjoy a turbocharged clean diesel engine with 140 hp and 236 lbs/ft of torque that will run you even farther at a whopping 30 city/42 highway mpg.* And you'll do it all with 95 percent fewer sooty emissions than diesel engines of old, making it cleaner for both you and the planet. So whether you're in the market for IntelliChoice's 2011 "Best Overall Value Compact Car over $17,000, or you want to go for a variation on that theme and get the ever-popular TDI model, you can't go wrong. In fact, you can go very right for a long, long time.
Easy to use. Hard to beat.
There's standard, and then there are standards. Every Golf is designed to the highest standards,
and the 2-door and 4-door 2.5L models come standard with an AM/FM stereo, an in-dash CD player,
an auxiliary input for connecting your portable MP3 player, and an eight-speaker sound system.
You can even add Bluetooth® and heated front seats for an upgrade in both convenience and comfort. The 2-door and 4-door TDI Clean Diesel models, now that's a bit of a different story. They come standard with a premium touchscreen sound system complete with in-dash six-CD changer, Media Device Interface (MDI) with iPod® cable so you can easily navigate your playlists, albums, and songs, and a three-month trial subscription to SIRIUS Satellite Radio with over 130 channels, including 100% commercial free music plus sports, news, talk, and entertainment. And don't forget the Bluetooth with voice command and phonebook download. All of those features can be controlled by the leather-wrapped, multi-function steering wheel, along with the onboard trip computer that can tell you everything from the temperature outside to the miles until your next fill up. And if you opt for the touchscreen navigation system, you'll always be able to find your way to wherever you're going and back home again. Just in case you want to get lost in the music, or the world, for a little while.
The design seen 'round the world.
How do you improve an icon? Slowly, but surely. Enter the 2012 Golf. Its signature front end tells you right away that you're driving the latest in Volkswagen design. Those assertive front headlights, the crisp, aerodynamic lines that take the classic shape one step forward ? that's all Golf, and yet it's still fresh and new. The side mirrors have the turn signals built in. There are dual exhaust tips to complement the rear of every model. Or, should we say, complement it twice over. And the Golf TDI even comes standard with sleek, 17-inch Porto alloy wheels. These may seem like tiny improvements overall, but when you're starting with something that's already been perfected time and again, the only things that should be changed are the ones that can be improved. As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Which is probably why there are still so many Golf models on the road after all these years.
*Based on EPA estimated mileage. Actual mileage may vary.