Is VW's quality worth it?

[Rufus]

Looking at a new car and compared the new mazda and golf

Golf VI 118TSI manual:
body kit, 18" rims + wheels, sunroof, fog lights and ipod adapter on the new golf and you're looking at 45k drive away (no negotiation)

New mazda 3 SP25:
Body kit standard, 17" standard + wheels, sunroof, fog lights standard, ipod adapter, leather, upgrade Bose sound system, sat nav standard and you're looking at 38k drive away (no negotiation)

Is Volkswagen really worth it??? Are you really paying for the quality? and is that quality worth it???

Mazda kicks it's *** with pricing on extra's! If only it didn't have that bloody ugly smiling kids grill whacked on the front of it

What's everyones opinions on the two?

Not sure if it's worth paying more for less extras but better quality? HELP

[limmy]

rufus, you have come to the right place...cause every response you will get is going to be "go the golf".

if you're going on pure build quality only, then yes, golf will be heaps better. at the start, you might not notice and rattles and creaks from the mazda...but eventually you will. tis the difference between german vs japanese. once you go euro, you'll never go back. the golf will eventually have a rattle or two, but will take a while and would be far less then mazda.

interior of the golf would be much more refined as well. golf would have better fuel economy with the same, if not better performance (i don't know specs of SP25), better resale.

if you can afford the golf...get it!

by the way, you don't need leather, sound system in the golf is SWEET as is, go buy a garmin sat nav like what i did and pop it on the dash.

[gtimk5]

This is a VW forum, of course we will say the quality is worth it as most of us drive them.
Put the question on a Mazda forum and it will go the other way....

[ENERG1]

You get what you pay for!!

Once you drive german you will never go back.

I would never go back to anything else.

The build ,style ,quality and resale its all there, with VW.

Buy a MAZDA and you end up with a MAZDA!!

[philthy]

the golf will eventually have a rattle or two, but will take a while and would be far less then mazda.

Hmm.. as much as I love my polo, it definately has more rattles than my old mazda astina.

Take both for a drive. I drove a SP23 before I bought my dub and it just didn't feel as nice... the cars have very different characters, everything from the steering feel, exhaust sound, door weight, controls..

That said, 45K for a mid range golf is a bit excessive IMHO

[GoLfMan]

I personally dislike Japanese interior.

Even though their build quality is impecable I still prefer the quality feel of the VW interior and driving experience

i recon my 1977 mk1 golf has a much better interior than half the Japanese cars out today!

my 2c

[limmy]

Hmm.. as much as I love my polo, it definately has more rattles than my old mazda astina.

Take both for a drive. I drove a SP23 before I bought my dub and it just didn't feel as nice... the cars have very different characters, everything from the steering feel, exhaust sound, door weight, controls..

That said, 45K for a mid range golf is a bit excessive IMHO

guess its different for all cars...maybe could be due to the fact that you throw your polo into corners a lot harder and faster, accelerate faster and stop quicker than you did in your astina?

[gerhard]

$45g drive away????? - you can get a MKV DSG GTI for that with leather.

I drove a Mazda SP23 for a week a couple of years ago, and although it was OK, the tinny engine sound was awful. The manual was slow off the mark in traffic, but had nice mid-range go, getting you from 80 to 100 very easily if you didn't watch it.

But if Golf was unavailable, the Mazda would probably be my preferred Japanese car (at least until I had to buy a spare part makes VW parts look reasonable)

I haven't had a good look at the new one, but a lot of manufacturers are cheapening their interiors (jump into a Lancer to see what I mean) so hopefully Mazda won't follow suit.

The Golf IS worth any extra.

[philthy]

guess its different for all cars...maybe could be due to the fact that you throw your polo into corners a lot harder and faster, accelerate faster and stop quicker than you did in your astina?

haha... maybe. Would be fair to say the suspension on the polo (GTI) is stiffer too.

[Greg Roles]

I'd seriously weigh up $7000, that's a chunk of money.

If you're in no rush, once the MK6 becomes a bit less "new" dealers will start competing. Especially if new car sales stay the way they have been.

Alternately, as already mentioned, that can buy you a LOT of new MKV....

[99gti]

My recomendation is to go and look at resale of a golf vs mazda of the same vintage. See if then the extra is of benefit once you factor in how much more you'd rather the vw

[VW Convert]

Before you compare the two you really need to get down to tin tacks on price. My guess is the VW dealer has a lot of room to move (as perhaps the Mazda dealer has) and this may have an impact on any comparison you make.

FWIW I find the VW quality is excellent, not too many Jap cars as solid as the VW.

Cheers

George

[brad]

Geez $45k is a lot of coin for what is essentially a Sportline with Extras.

If it was me, I'd:

• Wait for the MkVI GTI
• Wait for the MkVI to lose it's "latest model" price premium
• Look for a good MkV with the options you want - maybe a GT Sport 1.4TSI or a GTI
• Go and look at Skoda Octavias - either the 118TSI or the vRS. You'll get a 118TSI Skoda with the options you want for about <$35k

[stormshark]

Hi Rufus,
Not sure where your located but quoted price seem like min $5-$10 k over the odds? Assume you have no corporate Disc?

[Russ59]

I have owned a lot of different brands of cars over the years from Holdens, Fords, Toyota's, Subaru and even older model VW's. I can honestly say that in that time the one's that have given me less hassles have always been the VW's, even back to an old '71 Beetle. I now have the Golf GT TDI and I don't think I will ever buy another brand other than VW again, and if the finances can't stretch to a new one, I would look at a late model VW with low K's.