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Used 2015 Volkswagen Golf Consumer Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
34 reviews

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2 out of 5 stars

German engineering gone a little wrong!

Brian, 07/14/2015
updated 01/17/2018
2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI S 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl Turbodiesel 6M)
11 of 31 people found this review helpful

UPDATE....July 2017. The car has been boght back by VW as part of the Diesel emmisions issue. This was the worst ownership experience ever. .....................................................................Some design aspects of the car are now driven by cost cutters at VW. Lets take a look at some things simple....starting with the door hinges! They have shrunk dramatically compared to my 2013 Jetta hinges. Door detent stops are pretty useless and you will easily hit your door on the car next to you in a parking lot. Seats....creaking and popping from the backrest of the drivers seat is getting quite annoying. Oil changes look a bit more involved on the EA 288 engine due to the filter location. The dash icons have shrunk in size....you may need reading glasses to see them! Headlights are not as powerful as on my Jetta, high beam is pretty much useless. Get used to hitting your head when exiting this car....you need to be agile to get in and out. Hidden door key slot is not user friendly....ref Jetta again. Interior light buttons hard to find in the dark....four buttons in close proximity. The dash illumination reflects in the side window. The exterior mirror demisters only operate at under 68deg F.....not good for humid Texas mornings that start out at 8O deg F. Exterior mirrors have suffered due to fashion/aerodynamics taking over functionality....they are too small....ref Jetta again, much better! Performance.... pretty good but does get caught out below 1800 rpm....very noticeable turbo lag. Economy....good so far. Mark VII Golf has grown apart from it's predecessor. I'm not sure where VW are going with these design changes apart from cost cutting. Safety wise, add as many airbags as you wish but make visibility better starting with the door mirrors. I am thinking a lot has to do with the adoption of exhaust treatment equipment that has driven costs up and profits down. OK, lots of things have changed since the above review. The VW Diesel Emissions scandal being the main one! On top of this, visits to the Dealership for warranty repairs and a service have left me completely unimpressed. I understand this car will be bought back by VW and scrapped. So much for being environmentally less damaging. This has been the worst buying and owning experience of any car I have owned in over 35 years and over 40 vehicles over that time period. Update, January 2017. The Diesel emission scandal is still ongoing. I opted for the buy back but the process is extremely slow and time consuming with forms to be filled out, notarized and uploaded to the VW Claims portal. Due to an error in my form, the portal has to be reset and I have told this could take 28 days! No option to go back to the steps that was incorrect. On top of this, the Dealership where I go for service and parts have had many people quit since the emissions woes and the replacements are not very helpful. I waited 35 minutes for a parts guy to help last week as he was the only one there. I was the only walk in customer but his phone never stopped ringing. Other issues with the car include front brake rotors warped, (Dealer machined them true, under warranty) a noise from the drivers side front suspension when turning (Dealer can't find what it causing it) engine under tray fell off after an oil change....suspect it wasn't put back correctly ($290 to have it replaced) windshield mists over on the inside first thing in the morning when the blower is turned on, loose drivers inside door handle and drivers seat lumbar adjuster knob keeps falling off. Overall, this has been and is continuing to be, a poor experience and one not to expect from a company such as VW. JANUARY 2018. This car is now history. VW bought it back in March 2017 as part of the emissions settlement.

Safety
3 out of 5 stars
Technology
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Interior
3 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
2 out of 5 stars
Value
2 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

Bought this little car new

Collin B, 11/20/2021
2015 Volkswagen Golf TSI SE 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Purchased new by my parents as a high school graduation gift, 6 years and 106,000 miles later I still have it. Fender audio sounds as good as the day it was new, and everything on the car still works. It's also safe as I was rear ended and pushed into the car in front of me in 2018, and the only damage to my car determined by the body shop was paint compared to the BMW that hit me having it's bumper and headlights fall off. In the time I've had it I've had 3 issues: The shifter malfunctioned due to an unperformed recall, which caused an error transmission message occasionally when it was cold (free repair). The air conditioner fan started squeaking when braking, remedied by cleaning the vents as somehow something had fallen in the interior vents (free). The water pump was "weeping" at 67,000 miles and VW covered 90% of the repair leaving me with a $140 repair bill for a $1,400 parts and labor repair. No trouble otherwise, and not a dime spent outside of oil, gas, filters, brakes, spark plugs, and tires. Great car! I average about 38 mpg highway and 25 city, better than EPA figures, and plan to take it to 200,000 miles.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
4 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

2015 VW Golf TDI - Perfect !!!

jpl_texas, 01/03/2021
2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI SEL 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl Turbodiesel 6AM)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful

This car is perfect [for us]!!!! Will easily run 4 adults around town or cross country. Smart. Solid. Strong. Comfortable. Ergonomic. Efficient. Reliable. Good looking. I am a diesel fan [have 3 other diesel vehicles]. Plenty of Fahrvergnugen going on here !!! Love to the run the county roads in central Texas. That TDI and DSG transmission - incredible match. Quiet interior; Fender audio sounds great!!! Everybody loves it ......

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

A fabulous catch of a hatch

Charles Benedict, 02/26/2017
2015 Volkswagen Golf TSI S 4dr Hatchback w/Sunroof (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
1 of 3 people found this review helpful

Love everything about this. Driver comfort, convenience, handling - overall a great driving experience. Any excuse or reason to run an errand to town or take a road trip!

Technology
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
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1 out of 5 stars

TDI - Dirty Emissions

Fengshooey, 09/20/2015
2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI SE 4dr Hatchback (2.0L 4cyl Turbodiesel 6AM)
11 of 56 people found this review helpful

I'm motivated to post this review in light of the news that Volkswagen installed a "defeat device" algorithm on its emissions systems for its TDI vehicles that, in short, makes it appear it emits far less nitrogen oxide during emissions testing than it does during normal driving conditions. In short, folks, the TDI Golf and other TDI vehicles in the lineup from VW emit somewhere between 10-40 times the upper limit of acceptable (as determined by the EPA) of nitrogen oxide, a compound that is implicated in smog and worsening of pulmonary diseases such as asthma. Volkswagen apparently did this for years. When I learned about them, I wanted to buy a TDI vehicle in 2010, waited some time and eventually happily bought a 2015 VW Golf TDI in 8/2015. One month later in 9/2015 this issue comes to light and I find that the vehicle I bought in part for high MPG numbers inviting comparisons to some hybrids emits a huge amount of air pollutant. And while this is an issue VW will address with the EPA, it is me, the consumer, who was deceived by the marketing of the TDI lineup which resulted in a sale for VW. Talk about being suckered. If it was a bad component of the suspension or something less maleficent than intentionally misleading the consumer, I would not be so hot about this. Trust me, waiting a few years to buy something and then finding out you should have waited one additional month *really* sucks. Does the car perform well? Yes. Do I get 39-40MPG regularly with spirited driving and 40-50% city driving miles? Yes. Is the interior high quality? Yes. Did I love it prior to the 9/2015 news reports about the emissions being hugely misrepresented? Yes. Is my heart broken? Yes. And this will result in the loss of my business for the manufacturer in the future. There are perfectly lovely Mazda 3s and Ford Focus hatches out there for you. Edmunds rates them highly. Buy them. Save yourself a headache and stick it to a manufacturer that made its business over the last few years in part by intentionally misleading its customers.

Safety
4 out of 5 stars
Technology
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
4 out of 5 stars
Value
1 out of 5 stars
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