Volkswagen Golf GLS TDI (Manual)

This is the last year for the fourth-generation Golf. So as a consequence, it gets no changes except for a software upgrade for its engine-control computer. A fifth-generation Golf went on sale in Europe in 2004, but we Americans will have to wait until 2006 to get it. There are two engine choices in the Golf. There’s the 1.9-liter turbo-diesel that makes 100 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque-available in the GL and GLS-and there’s also the familiar 2.0-liter that makes 115 hp. The Golf is a bit more expensive than its Japanese competition but offers a luxurious interior, the utility of a hatch, and a decent fun-to-drive rating. The structure is stiff, and although its engines are on the weak side, it goes down the road well enough. Since this is the current Golf’s last year, be sure to deal hard. Otherwise, wait a year for the entirely new, and more sophisticated, fifth-generation Golf. After a mostly fallow 2005, VW is on a new-model rush, starting with a sixth-generation Passat. The redesigned and restyled car’s standard engine is a 200-hp, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, and a 280-hp, 3.6-liter VR6 is optional. The turbo four becomes standard on the Jetta GLI and optional on the Jetta. The New Beetle gets a mild redesign and a new standard engine, a 150-hp, 2.5-liter five-cylinder with either a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. The current GTI carries on without the optional VR6 until an all-new version, based on the Audi A3, debuts. The Phaeton W-12 engine’s output is raised to 444 horses. The Golf range is diminished by the elimination of the two-door GL and four-door GL turbo- diesel. The Touareg gains a new standard engine, a 3.6-liter VR6 with direct injection and 276 horsepower, 36 more than the last VR6.
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