2015 Volkswagen Golf TSI | Driven: Car Review | The New York Times

The classic silhouette of the Volkswagen Golf hasn’t changed much in 40 years, but its high-end touches and fuel-efficient power make it a good value.
Produced by: Tom Voelk/Driven
Read the story here: nyti.ms/1zYJM9Q
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2015 Volkswagen Golf TSI | Driven: Car Review | The New York Times
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[@JasonGafar]

I know many really like the Subaru Impressa hatchback, but I feel the Volkswagen Golf is in a class of its own. This car is just wonderful.

[@admirkaralic7209]

People love the Subaru Impreza for whole different reasons.

[@rohan-ghosh]

I do one year leases over the past 7 years and I have had Jeeps and Hondas etc. We always drive my car (my wife drives this TSI). This week, my wife was out of town so I decided to take her car from Cleveland to New York city. It was the best driving experience - I made the trip on one tank of gas ($25) and zipped all the way over the Appalachians!! JUST TOO GOOD!!!!

[@twilit]

yeah it’s so fun to drive. zippy and peppy and being stocky and low to the ground it handles amazing. it’s great in the mountains because of handling where i used to live in wnc, but now i live at the gulf beaches in florida and it’s a perfect beach car with the hatchback and super customizable options for storage. you can seat 4 people and still carry a surfboard by placing it through the middle armrest opening! plus it fits in parking spots most cars can’t!

[@kylegoodman5196]

Bought mine this past Saturday and could not be happier. It's an awesome car.

[@jack_kirby96]

8 years later , how is it holding up ? If you still have it

[@kylegoodman5196]

@jack_kirby96 I sold mine to get a plug in hybrid, my goal is for all my future cars to be a hybrid or an EV. The Mk7 Golf has plusses and minuses, I'll list some below. Pros: -My car, which had the EA888 1.8T engine, made great power for a compact car. I never had issues merging onto the highway or passing trucks etc. -The interior was very well put together, with no rattles, nice squishy materials, and minimal plastics. -The hatch was very roomy. -The car kept me safe in a major accident where I was rear ended by a driver that was texting. The minuses: -My 2015 did not have a USB port, so the infotainment wasn't great. The 2016s and onward had USB ports and phone mirroring. -The fuel economy on the Mk7 Golf is okay, I think my highest was 35 MPG combined. -Being a German car, the maintenance was more expensive. Expect to pay $50 more on average for oil changes. The car in general was very reliable though. -Perhaps the worst thing about my Mk7 was the one major repair I had to make. Seven years into owning the car, I started getting a Volkswagen/Audi/Porsche specific warning light called an EPC warning, which can mean a variety of things. In my case, it was due to a waste gate that somehow got jammed open and the engine was no longer building boost. Unfortunately, with the design of the 1.8T EA888 engine (and also the 2.0T engine in the MK7 GTI and Golf R), the wastegate is integrated into the compressor and the whole turbocharger needs to be replaced. I had a high end Euro specialty car shop due the swap and it was still $2500 of a repair. A Volkswagen dealership quoted me $4000 for the repair. From 2017 the Mk7 Golf got a 1.4T engine that is much easier and cheaper to do repairs on, including wastegate swaps. Nowadays even Volkswagen uses a 1.5T Variable Geometry Turbocharged engine with even fewer parts, so blown turbos aren't an issue. All in all I was very happy with my Mk7 Golf, despite the turbo swap that had to be done at 160,000 or so miles. I would love to own another Volkswagen, but they don't have any hybrids atm.

[@twilit]

bought my 2015 tsi has full fender speaker package and climate package as well as sunroof. never had a single problem with it in 7 years. only done basic maintenance/oil change once every 10k miles and had to replace the tires once and battery twice. most maintenance free, reliable, fun and. i pot car to drive. i was worried about buying it, afraid repair issues might start around 50k but i’m at 90k and still going strong. there’s so many little hidden surprises i discovered years into having it. i live near the beach and it’s an awesome beach car - plenty of storage and so easy to park in tight spots- many times i’d have never been able to park or get through a busy area if not for the size. i’m super happy with it and would definitely considering buying another if the quality is as good on newer models. there’s way more hatchbacks on the market now than when i bought mine- would definitely look at the toyota and honda competitors but i’ve had such a great experience with mine it would be hard to be pulled away because it feels so nice and substantial compared to many similar sized cars. downsides: i do wish it had side mirror cams for changing lanes and the seats aren’t super comfortable. the lack of usb is odd considering all the other touches it has (like an adjustable AC vent in the glove box?!) but it’s easy enough to plug in an adapter to the ac jack. the navigation system isn’t the easiest to use but it does work and i’ve had it save me when i forgot my phone. mine also came with weather tech window guards which are a nice feature for keeping rain out. minor complaints overall it way surprised my expectations, especially when it’s come to maintenance and reliability.

[@ottodob]

I picked up a 2015 golf tsi s 2 door for a hair over 16k USD. stick shift with pleather and 15 inch alloys. no other options to speak of but i am thoroughly impressed by this car. my last auto was a w203, and while faster and sexier than the golf, was relatively high maintenance. I like my golf so much I dont even desire an audi.

[@TheFlyingExperience]

Hey man - my wife got this car last week (I drive a Jeep) but every morning I wake up and I wanna step on the gas on this car and take it for a ride. You really have to sit and drive this car to really know how ....crazy good this car is.

[@rohan-ghosh]

@Bernie R. SUPER good pickup and Cleveland to New York in one tank of gas!!!!

[@ddo93]

was waiting patiently for this review. love this guy

[@kenne340]

Finally an upload! Please do a review on the GTI! Im going to watch your old review on the MK6 in the mean time

[@DwainDwight]

great review of a terrific car.

[@Nerd.Immunity.]

It’s the complete hatch

[@chris14091975]

you do great reviews

[@nationcars107]

thats dream cars always ......

[@igye2360]

I was this close in getting me a 2015 vw golf. I got me an online subscription to Consumer Reports. According to CR, the Golf "spotty reliability" is one of its greatest weakness. The models 2015-16 are bad, the 2017 is ok and the 2018 is really bad. I have checked almost all vw golf/gti/jetta KZbin reviews for models 2015-18 and very few talk about the car's reliability. Yes, they are nice to drive but what's the point of buying a 3-4 year headache. Shouldn't "reliability" of a car be a part of a review?🔬🔬🔬

[@22chachalaca]

What issues were they having?

[@MrCodgod111]

@@22chachalaca probably wont see this but I grabbed a used one with 69k miles and driving it for 8 months I’m now at 81k. The only thing I wish was available was a LSD. But this isn’t the race car, the GTI is I suppose. People love the interior, get compliments on how zippy it is. Not a bad car by any means, throw a tune on it and you’ve got slightly more then GTI power at a couple grand cheaper. I would love a GTI or R but it was my first time financing, and for a base model I’m more then impressed.

[@MrCodgod111]

No problems in my 11k miles so far I may add

[@22chachalaca]

@@MrCodgod111 I've had the car for 1 year/10k and so far waterpump and turbo have needed replacing lol.. those seem to plague every golf out there. good thing warranty took care of it and I should be good for another 5 years.

nice work!

[@JamaicanMeCrazy]

What size wheels are those? I'm seriously considering this car in this color with those wheels but the tdi version.

[@ljsmail2000]

+ray britton I have the TSI S 2 door and wheel size are 15" but my friend has the TDI and the wheels are 17".

[@damionmandy7978]

+ray britton They are 18 inch wheels

[@goranneskovic9799]

What music is in the background? from half to end of video

[@alexserrano2850]

I laughed when he said that the TSI would be the best seller. How different are things here in Europe...

[@jaykae3952]

Things are*

[@BoschExxcel]

They're more popular now after Dieselgate. With new Golf's I the UK I'd say over half are TSI's now.

[@ianalexander2017]

My dad has a 2015 Volkswagen golf TSI

[@FlyingGentile]

Surprised that you don’t have to subscribe to the channel just to watch 😳 the video.

[@The123kiki100]

which edition is it ?

[@cookingwithberke6053]

Sel

[@jayb5721]

What’s the difference between this and the gti

[@SwizyInHD]

this is a 1.8, gti is a 2.0. Different turbos, different interior trims and various other appearance differences.

[@throe68]

Originally (price wise) was nearly $10K more for the GTI

[@jayczyzyk9707]

the manual willdo 6.4

[@vwgolf7421]

What they don't tell you: I am an owner of a 1.4 tsi ( europe). After barely 5000km ( no typo ) my engine starts shaking when running idle. While I find it self-evident that an engine runs smoothly, VW disagree and refuses to fix the problem, even when the car is still under warranty. I'm shocked.

[@Timpanogos5]

I think a 35k golf is downright RIDICULOUS

[@iwhbyd11]

A Golf R is 35k, not this.

[@VandalStreet]

I hope you saved that toilet paper for the next covid variant

[@poomped53]

This was right before Dieselgate blew up.

[@toyota420xp]

actually most buy tdi.

[@babyyiki]

Thanks for keeping us updated! I feel sympathy and empathy for our country. low income people are suffering to survive, and I appreciate Elizabeth Arden . You've helped my family with your advice. imagine investing $30,000 and receiving $95,460 after 28 days of trading

[@JumaGusnita-fn1fk]

I began investing in stocks and Def earlier this year, and it is the best choice I've ever made. My portfolio is rounding up to almost a million, and I have realized that when a stock makes it to the news. Chances are you're quite late to the party, the idea is to get in early on blue chips before it becomes public. There are lots of life changing opportunities in the market, and maximize it

[@bajdgh]

What opportunities are there in the market, and how do I profit from it?

[@PrimeroDiesiciete]

You can make a lot of money from the market regardless of whether it strengthens or crashes. The key is to be well positioned.

[@fabricioab]

I would really like to know how this actually works.

[@tomaszchojnicki]

All you need is a good capital, and the service of a professional broker, with those your investment will most certainly produce high yields.

[@gaza2421]

Single disc CD player located in the glove compartment. I just LOVE having to pull over to change CDs! (sarcasm) Sorry, not into MP3s or satellite radio fees. The name is Golf, but it drives like a Rabbit

[@jc5604]

"Propriatory"?? wow. New York Times "reporters" everybody.