2010 Vw Golf
(Starting at $17,490) Initially known as the VW Rabbit in the United States, the 2010 VW Golf has a long and rich history dating back decades. You can even see the initial design simplicity of the first 1974 Rabbit/Golf in the lines of the current Walter D'Silva penned 2010 model. Gone are the somewhat fussy front grille and rear tail-light details of the last generation model and in its place is one of the cleanest looking overall automotive designs on the market today.
Although that means Mr. D'Silva may be cribbing a bit off of the design homework of legendary designer Giorgetto Guigarro who styled the first Golf, that is no bad thing as this Italian legend was also the mastermind behind the Lotus Espirit, DeLorean and the Yugo (oh wait, forget the last one). Mr. D'Silva is also no slouch in the design department as he was the man behind the Audi TT and Audi R8 during his time as head of design at the VW sister-firm. While the VW Golf is nowhere near as fast or luxurious as an Audi R8, its interior appointments and power set new standards for the economy class.
The quality of the materials can be judged either in the richness of the super-soft touch plastic or the amount of chrome trim that has been liberally (some say recklessly) applied about the cabin. While it is a bit in your face with the chrome, the dashboard of the Golf appears like a design that will age well unlike that dual layered fright fest that is the Honda Civic dash. Where the Golf screams class, the interior of the Civic screams "high school graduation present."
Powered by a 170 horsepower 2.5 liter inline 5 cylinder (with historical ties to the Audi 5 cylinders of yore, oddly enough), the 2010 VW Golf can easily dispatch a Civic at the stop lights even if the manual transmission in the Vee-Dub lacks the Honda's idiot proof smoothness. The Golf's manual transmission is rather mechanical feeling in nature and requires a decided bit of effort and skill. For those who can't fathom dealing with a third pedal, there is a six speed automatic available.
The Golf finally runs on regular unleaded and turns in fuel efficiency numbers of 23 city/30 highway. One feature that comes as part of the package that is the 2010 Golf that wasn't available back in 1974 is three years/36,000 miles of free VW maintenance (standard on all models from the German firm). That can save you quite a bit of money and help allay any fears that VW's are expensive to maintain. You can't get much cheaper than free. And in this up and down economy you can't find many vehicles with the value, efficiency and style that is baked into each and every 2010 VW Golf.
