The Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI - a comparison!
Way back in January, I wrote this post about my obsession with the Golf GTI. Frankly, that obsession is still here. But then Volkswagen announced the Golf 1.4 TSI and that got me a little bit excited as well.
Why is that? Well, the Golf 1.4 TSI, as it's name states, comes with a 1.4 Twin charged engine (both turbo and supercharged) and it produces about 158bhp and 240NM of torque. Pricing for this bad boy starts from RM148,888 onwards and from what they mentioned in their packages, the first batch would include the "Light & Sound" package and push the price to RM155,888.
This is somewhat cheaper than the Golf GTI which is currently priced at RM211,063 (on the road price) and I would see a lot of people running to book this car (the Golf 1.4). A check with some of the local dealers, FA Wagen (Jln 222), Cergas (TTDI) and Wearnes (Bangsar) states that you would need to put a RM5,000 booking fee to be able to get yourself a batch of the first 70 cars (unconfirmed number) that will be brought in here late September.
Frankly, yes I might seem excited about this car but still its no GTI. The torque is insane but overall there are a number of differences which makes both these models different. Here are some of the differences.
You have a choice of 8 different colours (1 solid, 5 metallic and 2 pearl effect choices) to choose from. I am guessing the Candy White would be the most popular colour but I am leaning towards the Amaryllis Red or the United Grey. Here I go again, getting ahead of myself as if I am buying the car :P
Some additional points about the Golf 1.4 is that it won the 2009 World Car of the Year award and the 1.4 engine won the Green Engine of the Year Award in 2009.
At the moment, the cars aren't available for test drive yet. I have left my contacts with the 3 dealers and hope that they would follow up the moment the car is available for a test drive. Can't wait to test drive this new car and see if it can really get me off the hook with my obsession with the GTI. Quite a number of people have already booked the car and I guess the two awards I mentioned above seems to sell the car. Plus, the Golf is indeed a beautiful looking car.
Ok, I better stop drooling here. Anyway on top of the news as well is the recent MoU signed by our Malaysian government with VW on getting 3 variants to be locally assembled. Rumours states that it could be either of the following combinations (VW Jetta, Passat and a MPV, Polo, Golf & Passat). Note these are just rumours and no official confirmation on the models have been released.
Why is that? Well, the Golf 1.4 TSI, as it's name states, comes with a 1.4 Twin charged engine (both turbo and supercharged) and it produces about 158bhp and 240NM of torque. Pricing for this bad boy starts from RM148,888 onwards and from what they mentioned in their packages, the first batch would include the "Light & Sound" package and push the price to RM155,888.
Light & Sound Package (optional additional features)
• Bi-xenon headlights for high and low beam with integrated turn signal indicator
• Cornering light system: static and dynamic bending
• Dynamic headlight-range adjustment
• Front fog lights
• Headlight cleaning system
• MEDIA-IN USB/iPod media interface
This is somewhat cheaper than the Golf GTI which is currently priced at RM211,063 (on the road price) and I would see a lot of people running to book this car (the Golf 1.4). A check with some of the local dealers, FA Wagen (Jln 222), Cergas (TTDI) and Wearnes (Bangsar) states that you would need to put a RM5,000 booking fee to be able to get yourself a batch of the first 70 cars (unconfirmed number) that will be brought in here late September.
Frankly, yes I might seem excited about this car but still its no GTI. The torque is insane but overall there are a number of differences which makes both these models different. Here are some of the differences.
- Engine displacement - 2.0L vs 1.4L (The 1.4 would have a cheaper road tax and be less painful on your wallet at the petrol station)
- Power - Of course the GTI has more power, duh! But the Golf 1.4 is no weakling with a rated power of 160PS and APR having an ECU remap mod which brings it to 190bhp.
- Torque - The Golf GTI produces 280Nm of torque from 1700RPM onwards and the Golf 1.4 produces 240Nm of torque but from 1500RPM onwards
- Leather seats - Our variant of the Golf 1.4 doesn't come with leather seats unlike our friendly neighbours down south who gets more accessories and model variants there (they have the 140PS Golf variant there)
- Gearbox - The GTI comes with a 6-speed DSG versus the Golf 1.4 which comes with a 7-speed DSG gearbox
- Weight - The GTI is about 30KG's heavier compared to the Golf 1.4 in terms of it's gross total weight
- Suspension - The GTI comes with Adaptive chassis control DCC (sets your suspension settings to either auto, sports or comfort) but the Golf 1.4 we are getting doesn't have this feature. I guess this is one of the few things removed to get the prices down.
- Rims - The GTI comes with 17" rims whilst the Golf 1.4 comes with 16" rims
You have a choice of 8 different colours (1 solid, 5 metallic and 2 pearl effect choices) to choose from. I am guessing the Candy White would be the most popular colour but I am leaning towards the Amaryllis Red or the United Grey. Here I go again, getting ahead of myself as if I am buying the car :P
Some additional points about the Golf 1.4 is that it won the 2009 World Car of the Year award and the 1.4 engine won the Green Engine of the Year Award in 2009.
At the moment, the cars aren't available for test drive yet. I have left my contacts with the 3 dealers and hope that they would follow up the moment the car is available for a test drive. Can't wait to test drive this new car and see if it can really get me off the hook with my obsession with the GTI. Quite a number of people have already booked the car and I guess the two awards I mentioned above seems to sell the car. Plus, the Golf is indeed a beautiful looking car.
Ok, I better stop drooling here. Anyway on top of the news as well is the recent MoU signed by our Malaysian government with VW on getting 3 variants to be locally assembled. Rumours states that it could be either of the following combinations (VW Jetta, Passat and a MPV, Polo, Golf & Passat). Note these are just rumours and no official confirmation on the models have been released.
Yah the advantage is really cheap road tax and super good fuel consumption, contrary to what most people believe - the more power an engine has the more efficient it is as it requires less effort to get the car moving!
ReplyDeleteJust had a race with the brand new Tiguan 2.0 TSI, quite a beast that one, I have a feeling it had been re-chipped too as it could give me a good run.
Yeah the cheap road tax and fuel consumption is something I am very inclined too especially since I have to drive 100km to and from work and since 90% of my driving is on the highway, it would be very economical for me. I saw the APR chip mod for the Golf 1.4 and can't wait to also test drive the actual car when it is out.
ReplyDeleteI hv booked the CBU Golf 1.4 TSI recently but rather concerned now with the signing of MoU with DRB-Hicom. Shd this be a CKD, worried the price will plummet down!
ReplyDeleteWell according to some rumours that the CKD units might be the Jetta, Polo and a MPV. Hopefully that is the case. The whole CKD thing is tempting me to save up more to get the Golf GTI instead!
ReplyDelete[...] all the hype about me posting up on the Golf on both my blog as well as on Facebook, Wearnes VW saw my post on their fan page and informed me on Friday [...]
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