Wheels Car of the Year...VW Golf...

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by SS_01

So not that i dont trust your mate with the GTI, but if its supercharged and turbo then its the Polo GTI, not the Golf.

I wonder how many so called "mates" own one.
Seems to be a lot of people buying Golfs judging by all the "reviews" here.

[NX74205]

Personally, I was expecting the VF to win, although I thought the Golf would be more deserving. Up until now, every Commodore that has entered a COTY has won: VB, VN, VR, VT, and VE. I didn't think Wheels had it in them to vote against the VF. But kudos to them

Originally Posted by MercuryT

But driving around and living with it, well, I mean, just look at it - do you want to be seen in one? I for one don't that's for sure, and I don't care how fast it is!!

How could you say no to this:

Originally Posted by 1TUFFUTE

Not sure how the golf wins car of the year with such a huge problem on its resume this year. Maybe the model that won does t have the dsg
I love the looks!

The COTY award is given to the entire range, not just a single model. Each of the Golfs tested performed admirably, they could not find a single fault with any of them.

What happens down the track is another issue: as has been mentioned, the BA Falcon and SY Territory aren't without their issues, neither was the VE Commodore, yet they all won COTY awards.

To me, it seems awfully like there are a lot of sore losers about that can't stand the fact that the VF didn't win.

[mik]

"How could you say no to this"

very very very easy actually.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Perhaps relaibility should be a factor when judging COTY?? Either on the current model if it has been out for 6+ months or the previous model if newer.

Having said that... if it's the brands themselves that provide the reliability info then the figures shouldn't be trusted!

[jpblue1000]

The Wheels award is car of the year. Not car of next year or the year after.
The wheels article actually discusses the recent DSG media storm having been a consideration for some judges, but went on to state its how the range perform during the tests not a possible future fault that is considered, adding that perhaps VW have fixed the issue for this model or similar for any other manufacturer in contention.

Some say bland styling, perhaps others think constrained, others timeless its all relative to the individuals taste. Style wise it is a very german, the car has middle management written all over it and the style suits that socio-economic group and a big group they are, buying them in very large numbers globally.

A good car no doubt, maybe time will prove it a great car...who knows.

JP

[russellw]

Perhaps it should but if it had been applied in the past then not too many of the early winners would have fared well.

Let's have a quick look.

1963 Renault 8Fine unless you happened to get one of the Jaeger semi auto ones which were a nightmare (they were really an early version of a DSG box) and expensive to fix.


1964 Morris 1100
A fine example of why the British shouldn't be allowed to build cars - yes they were popular but they were also unreliable, underpowered and took a beating under Australian conditions in the 60's.

Not much too wrong with the next group ...

1965 Ford Falcon (XP)
1966 Ford Falcon (XR)
1967 Chrysler Valiant (VE)
1968 Holden Monaro (HK)
1969 Holden Torana (LC)

1970 Renault 12Preferred by the 'bearded weirdo' fraternity these were also unnecessarily complex to work on and plagued by drive-line issues.

Not much wrong with the next group either. The Charger has become a legend to many; the VW Passat never sold well but was reliable, the P76 is considered something of a milestone even if it was another Leyland Australia failure; the early Gemini was a fun and reliable vehicle; the first Golf created the legend (in GTI form at least) and the Honda Accord set standards at the time for quality and reliability.

1971 Chrysler Valiant Charger (VH)
1972 Award withheld
1973 Leyland P76 V8
1974 Volkswagen Passat
1975 Holden Gemini (TX)
1976 Volkswagen Golf
1977 Honda Accord

1978 Holden Commodore (VB)
This wasn't a great car by any means with various models from the first few series suffering chassis and body issues but it did (eventually) replace the venerable Kingswood in the hearts of the Holden faithful.

The next couple were ok.

1979 Award withheld
1980 Mazda 323
1981 Mercedes-Benz 380SE (W126)

1982 Holden Camira (JB)
These were plagued by reliability issues and there is a good reason you hardly see one around now.

1983 Ford Telstar and Mazda 626 (joint award)
Not too much wrong with this pair although they were a bit fragile if not looked after.

1984 Mitsubishi Nimbus
You had to be a Numbat to want one but quite a few did if only because they were probably the first readily available people carrier that didn't look like a bread van. They were grossly underpowered and unreliable to boot.

1985 Mitsubishi Magna (TM)
While it evolved into a half way decent bit of kit during the life of the model, these early ones weren't amongst the most reliable things around, particularly if you had the auto.

1986 Award withheld
1987 Honda Prelude
1988 Holden Commodore (VN)
1989 Mazda MX-5 (NA)
1990 Lexus LS 400
1991 Honda NSX and Nissan Pulsar (N14)
1992 Mazda 626 and Ford Telstar
1993 Holden Commodore (VR)
1994 Subaru Liberty
1995 Honda Odyssey
1996 Mitsubishi Magna/Verada (TE/KE)
1997 Holden Commodore (VT)
1998 Subaru Liberty Wagon
1999 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
2000 Subaru Impreza
2001 Holden Barina (XC)
2002 Ford Falcon (BA)
2003 Mazda RX-8
2004 Ford Territory (SX)
2005 Mazda MX-5 (NC)
2006 Holden Commodore (VE)
2007 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
2008 Honda Accord Euro
2009 Volkswagen Golf
2010 Volkswagen Polo
2011 Honda CR-Z
2012 Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ

Not too many duds amongst that lot from either a vehicle or reliability standpoint so perhaps the judging criteria has improved - or they at least stopped awarding cars that were going to be duds.

Cheers
Russ

[tranquilized]

the award has evolved over the years.

It used to be awarded to a single model - for example when the Leyland P76 won it was only the V8 model that was given the award. Now the entire model lineup has to be judged against the criteria.

Also the judging criteria/system they follow no longer allows the award to be widtheld like it was in 72, 79, & 86

How can they take future reliability into account? To be eligible the car needs to be significantly new, and released in the previous 12 months. They don't have a crystal ball.

I haven't read the article yet, but the Golf seems to be a worthy winner. If I was to have made a bet I would have picked the VF to win.

[Taily]

Good list for reliability issues apart from the VN which rattled badly from balance shafts and timing chains, leaked fluid profusely out of every orifice (to the point of workshop campaigns on welch plugs, coil packs and rear mains), leant that hard on inner edges that front tyres were being replaced under warranty (12/20km back then, not like now!) and noise levels were quite harsh in the cabin.

Ahhhh, I almost sometimes miss working in the industry! Quiet pause time here I guess....

It also points strongly to where the Australian vehicle industry was at the time and just how far they came to get to this point in time where the penultimate vehicles are now being manufactured and will be on sale shortly before they are gone from showrooms forever.... Makes me wonder what my 3.5 year old son will get to choose from/hot up when he is in his late teens/early 20's. One thing is for sure it wont be as "good" as our home grown stuff is/was. It will just be different without a couple of Aussie legends for our kids to choose sides over in the school yards across the country.

[csv8]

I had a Morris 1100 as my first car..couldn't kill it !!! Drove from Kalgoorlie to Narrogin, on a regular basis..never missed a beat....

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by NX74205

every Commodore that has entered a COTY has won: VB, VN, VR, VT, and VE. I didn't think Wheels had it in them to vote against the VF. But kudos to them



How could you say no to this:

image


To me, it seems awfully like there are a lot of sore losers about that can't stand the fact that the VF didn't win.

Quite easily actually, I think it looks like any other small hatch thing. None do anything for me! Great cars as I've said, just look rubbish.

Apparently all adult human beings "can't say no" to a golf though......

And oh, why would sore losers be here about the VF if this is a Ford Forum.....makes little sense sorry.

[1TUFFUTE]

Originally Posted by MercuryT

Sure local cars can be lemons too, but at least it can be fixed in an acceptable amount of time. Good to drive though, when it did that is.

Exactly, that's one of the main points i mention to car buying friends, and I can speak from experience and many others.
My FG falcon has and still is exceptional..... Not even a squeak or rattle YET
Our golf was EXSPENSIVE as hell (for a small car too) not really reliable but was good to drive.

[1TUFFUTE]

Maybe they have far different rules in their performance awards but I seem to remember quite a few examples of hsvs blowing water pumps, coolant and other things over the years...but still getting the gong.

And it's a bit silly if a car award is done at the end of a year, and that year has been filled with drama or recalls for a particular model....yet it still can win because it didn't break on the day! Don't the media watch the media. That's the rules tho I suppose
There must be a lot of confused golf owners wondering how their car won car of the year

[jpblue1000]

Originally Posted by 1TUFFUTE

And it's a bit silly if a car award is done at the end of a year, and that year has been filled with drama or recalls for a particular model

Of course the Mk7 which won the award has been on sale since October 2013. those that had DSG problems were the Mk6 or earlier sold before October and as such were not part of COTY.
COTY must be a new model released during the year significantly different to the previous model, perhaps even with a more reliable gearbox.

JP