Golf GTI - big enough for young family?

[anthony]

I would get the Accord Euro,as its BRILLIANT value for money.

I bought one last year to replace a Jetta,and am very impressed,as the build quality,and after sales service has been far superior to VW.

I have owned 4 VWs,but also think the best buy for a young family would be the Jetta 2.0 TSI,as its basically a Golf GTI with a massive amount of rear legroom,and a huge boot...

Check them all out,and then you deceide yourself.

Personally,the Subaru and then Skoda would be crossed off my list...

[zach]

Euro boot is tiny though.

[nat225]

I have both MY2011 Mk6 GTI DSG and 2010 Accord Euro Luxury Auto SatNav.

Yes, the Euro is brilliant value for $$.. and no the Euro boot is not that tiny unless compared to a wagon.

Accord Euro Luxury..

pros: comfy ride (have driven it Syd Mel return and Syd Bne one way... will return this weekend to Syd), high level of luxury equipments on a budget (leather, electric adjustment front seat, front seat heater, sunroof, HID headlights, front rear parking sensors, satnav and reversing camera, 5 yrs wty; all for $46k on road before Honda reduced the prices last year), easy to service and simple reliable engine aka old tested design K24A engine, no vagcom complications, Michelin Primacy HP that comes stock with the Luxury model is very good in the wet however not cheap in 235 45 18.

cons: any rpm <4500 the car feels very slow and heavy for the 1.6tonne weight, rpm above 5000 gets the VTEC screaming loud but no go, RTA rego more expensive as it is based on tare weight, average fuel usage 7-8L/100kms for highway and 12L/100kms for Sydney driving, i do have rattle in the boot, a lot of body roll but handling is neutral, and massive wheel to fender gap, i will never bring it to a track, i rarely use the paddles..

The MK6 GTI..

pros: 7L/100km fuel usage in Sydney driving with occasional flogging, it comes on boost from 1700rpm all the way to 5000rpm and it does pull hard with stage 2 tune, it feels planted on the highway, i am not embarrassed to drive it on track, the paddles with DSG does its job very well, etc etc...

cons: : to get leather / bi-xenon / front rear sensors / satnav / RVC will bump up the GTI to $55k mark, smaller boot space than Euro, once something breaks it could be expensive to repair / replace..

just a few of my opinions of owning both cars the OP mentioned

[SMOK3Y]

Yeah but for how long.. doubt they would be happy there for anything over an hour

Honestly who cares how long they're happy for, they're the kid they do as they are told lol

[jrgti]

Or you could wait for the mk7 gti which may get a sligtly bigger boot, slightly more power and be more fuel efficient.

[shakespeare]

? Jetta. My son has a 2001 Bora (VR6), and the boot space is subtantial for a small car.

Brian R.

We have a Mk V Jetta TFSI and the boot is absolutely massive! Pretty sure the Mk VI is the same size but the cabin is larger. We have 2 children (8 and 10) and my wife uses this for day to day stuff and we go away on weekend/week long trips. The boot opening is smaller than a hatch but swallows anything you need for a family. Just get a tow bar then you can get a bike carrier and take these away too Also the TFSI or 147TSI is the same motor as a Octavia RS and Mk V GTI so you can have fun as well!

[anthony]

Euro boot is tiny though.

I woUld not call it tiny,just not as big as the Jetta,much bigger than the GTI...I have the base model,which has a big 17 inch full size alloy spare,which takes up a bit of room...

Another Euro plus is that it always looks so good...IMHO.

[frozze]

Agree with this. I was tossing between the Euro and MkVI Jetta and decided to go with the Jetta instead. I did not consider the Golf at all because I'm in the midst of planning to start a family very soon and I've already been driving a hatchback for the past 5 years.

This is probably a bit biased, but after driving the new MkVI Jetta for a solid week, I have no regrets at all, despite some obvious cost cutting measures. I test drove all 3 models (118TSI, 103TDI & 147TSI) and the 147 TSI is the model to get for sure! The extra power helps.

Oh and probably two of the biggest deciding factors for my situation were the amount of rear legroom and size of the bootspace.

I would get the Accord Euro,as its BRILLIANT value for money.

I bought one last year to replace a Jetta,and am very impressed,as the build quality,and after sales service has been far superior to VW.

I have owned 4 VWs,but also think the best buy for a young family would be the Jetta 2.0 TSI,as its basically a Golf GTI with a massive amount of rear legroom,and a huge boot...

Check them all out,and then you deceide yourself.

Personally,the Subaru and then Skoda would be crossed off my list...

[Ideo]

People in Europe use them as family cars over long distances. They can't be that bad.

Did you know that a modern Corolla has similar interior space to an EH Holden? And yet we persist with this ridiculous notion that a family needs a huge car.

[Finance_Analyst]

Accord Euro is a great car - old man has one. Honda still make the best Japanese cars (even better than Lexus I think for a whole lot less)

However, you will find it does sit lower to the ground that you'd expect for a family car. The number of grazes the Euro has now is astonishing.