I have a 2014 1.4TSI Highline from virtually new. To date it has 216500 km. Very reliable, only had the original battery fail after 7 years. I live in the German Eifel region which is quite cold in winter. From November through to April the roads are salted. The bodywork is AOK, but it does take a toll on the brakes, especially the rears one. I have had to replace the rear discs twice and the actual brake bodies once.
Oh that's brilliant, and that's a good number of km! Good to know it has been so reliable. Ours has been good but we've had some problems with interior leaks. Yeah salted roads are not nice for cars, even if the bodies are galvanised and resist, other components may not resist. Was highline the top specification in Germany? We had different names for the trim levels. Thanks for watching and commenting
@@carmanick I did forget to mention one issue, its a known fault with the Golf Mk 7 and the Sportsvan. Water can leak into the rear cabin, it comes from the the rear loudspeakers. They are riveted into the door card and water can get past them if the speaker mount is cracked and run into the rear footwells. It happened with out car, left side rear passenger door/speaker. Simple replacement.
@@zundappuk ah thankyou. We had one leak from the body air vents behind the bumper sorted, but we also have a leak I think from the speakers like you say. I will get that sorted. Our front seat seems to be damper than our rears, so maybe it's the front speakers. Thanks for your feedback and information!
Great review from an owners perspective, thanks. Glad that you point out that its SportsVan (as in something you might choose to transport you and yours to sporting events) and it’s not SPOWAATAAHSvan. 😅 Nice nod to Sniff Petrol’s Boring Car Trivia 3 @8:01 BTW.
Oh thanks for the kind words! Well I'm sure Sportsvan was a questionable name regardless but I'm sure they meant it differently anyway. Obviously I was just playing on the name! Yeah the Boring Car trivia books are great! No matter how much you know about cars, there's always something new and interesting!
Hello from Slovenia. I am a proud owner of a 2019 1.5 TSI 6 speed manual and the car is doing great. I had the oportunity to drive the DSG and I was not impressed with the gearbox so I opted for the smooth manual. Im scared what im going to buy when its time to part with my Sportsvan... I hope small MPVs come back in vogue by then. Cheers fron the sunny Adriatic coast.
Hi again, sorry didn't see your comment here too! I haven't driven a DSG, but some people think dual clutch automatics can be quite jerky. I am happy with a manual! Yeah we have the same problem, there are not many new cars which are practical inside and still quite small like the Sportsvan. I think maybe the BMW 2 series active tourer is the closest, and I do quite like it, but it's expensive! Shame the Renault scenic isn't so practixal or clever anymore! Thanks for watching and commenting. Hope you continue to enjoy your car
Mate, you'd find small faults with the interior of a brand new Bentley! I can't condemn my Mk 7 Golf in any way.....I love it. I'd happily upgrade to a SV model for all of the practical reasons of having one.
@@tbeau6663 haha well some people say Renault's interior aren't great but I'd argue otherwise so perhaps that's my comparison! I do think the GT model makes up for some of it, the climate controls are much nicer for one! The Golf 7 is a brilliant car, it'll go down as one of the best ever Golfs. I do think you don't lose much going to the SV but gain a lot of extra versatility. Not many alternatives really
This is quality information and entertainment! Very much appreciate the down to earth review with added in jokes to keep it interesting! I agree, the boot is easily the best selling point of this car! Is there a specific year and/or engine size you would recommend for the SV? Thanks!
Oh thankyou, that's very kind of you to say. Its a very lame attempt at humour, but I wanted to share my views on this car, as it's been perfect for our family. So it depends on what you're after. The engines changed when they facelifted the car (around 2017/2018). There are some stories about the 1.4 petrol engine having some troubles, but forums can be a bit over excited sometimes. We have the 1.5 petrol and it's brilliant. Fuel economy really impressive and the performance is great. The diesels must be impressive on fuel. You don't get much on the S, and I believe android auto/apple carplay was introduced on the facelift, when they updated the infotainment screen. The GT has all the bells and whistles, but if we were to buy again, we'd seek out a 'Match' edition. They came towards the end, and has everything our car has (SE Nav) but some other nicer bits, like LED headlights, tinted windows, nicer wheels and dual zone climate control. Hope that helps but happy to answer any questions. We've done (mostly my wife and family trips) 27000 miles in 2 years. Just check for dampness inside, as like many VW's of this era (and ours), they can have leaks or moisture gets in somewhere!
@@carmanick Wow. thank you for this detailed and quick response! This is all very good to know! Dampness, I would not have thought of myself. I'll look for the Match edition! Your time is much appreciated! Definitely subscribing!
@@cdeegs no worries. Dampness isn't unique the the SV, it's a common problem across many VWs of this era. When we took ours in for investigation, most of the cars in the workshop were in for interior leaks! We had some water in the spare wheel well, and some moisture spots on the seats. But the car is so good, we have accepted. The boot leak is sorted. Good luck!
I have a 2014 1.4TSI Highline from virtually new. To date it has 216500 km. Very reliable, only had the original battery fail after 7 years. I live in the German Eifel region which is quite cold in winter. From November through to April the roads are salted. The bodywork is AOK, but it does take a toll on the brakes, especially the rears one. I have had to replace the rear discs twice and the actual brake bodies once.
Oh that's brilliant, and that's a good number of km! Good to know it has been so reliable. Ours has been good but we've had some problems with interior leaks. Yeah salted roads are not nice for cars, even if the bodies are galvanised and resist, other components may not resist.
Was highline the top specification in Germany? We had different names for the trim levels.
Thanks for watching and commenting
@@carmanick I did forget to mention one issue, its a known fault with the Golf Mk 7 and the Sportsvan. Water can leak into the rear cabin, it comes from the the rear loudspeakers. They are riveted into the door card and water can get past them if the speaker mount is cracked and run into the rear footwells. It happened with out car, left side rear passenger door/speaker. Simple replacement.
@@zundappuk ah thankyou. We had one leak from the body air vents behind the bumper sorted, but we also have a leak I think from the speakers like you say. I will get that sorted. Our front seat seems to be damper than our rears, so maybe it's the front speakers. Thanks for your feedback and information!
Great review from an owners perspective, thanks. Glad that you point out that its SportsVan (as in something you might choose to transport you and yours to sporting events) and it’s not SPOWAATAAHSvan. 😅
Nice nod to Sniff Petrol’s Boring Car Trivia 3 @8:01 BTW.
Oh thanks for the kind words! Well I'm sure Sportsvan was a questionable name regardless but I'm sure they meant it differently anyway. Obviously I was just playing on the name!
Yeah the Boring Car trivia books are great! No matter how much you know about cars, there's always something new and interesting!
Hello from Slovenia. I am a proud owner of a 2019 1.5 TSI 6 speed manual and the car is doing great. I had the oportunity to drive the DSG and I was not impressed with the gearbox so I opted for the smooth manual. Im scared what im going to buy when its time to part with my Sportsvan... I hope small MPVs come back in vogue by then. Cheers fron the sunny Adriatic coast.
Hi again, sorry didn't see your comment here too! I haven't driven a DSG, but some people think dual clutch automatics can be quite jerky. I am happy with a manual! Yeah we have the same problem, there are not many new cars which are practical inside and still quite small like the Sportsvan. I think maybe the BMW 2 series active tourer is the closest, and I do quite like it, but it's expensive! Shame the Renault scenic isn't so practixal or clever anymore!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Hope you continue to enjoy your car
@@carmanick 👍🙂
Mate, you'd find small faults with the interior of a brand new Bentley! I can't condemn my Mk 7 Golf in any way.....I love it. I'd happily upgrade to a SV model for all of the practical reasons of having one.
@@tbeau6663 haha well some people say Renault's interior aren't great but I'd argue otherwise so perhaps that's my comparison! I do think the GT model makes up for some of it, the climate controls are much nicer for one!
The Golf 7 is a brilliant car, it'll go down as one of the best ever Golfs. I do think you don't lose much going to the SV but gain a lot of extra versatility. Not many alternatives really
Great review!
Thankyou :), glad you think so!
This is quality information and entertainment! Very much appreciate the down to earth review with added in jokes to keep it interesting! I agree, the boot is easily the best selling point of this car! Is there a specific year and/or engine size you would recommend for the SV? Thanks!
Oh thankyou, that's very kind of you to say. Its a very lame attempt at humour, but I wanted to share my views on this car, as it's been perfect for our family.
So it depends on what you're after. The engines changed when they facelifted the car (around 2017/2018). There are some stories about the 1.4 petrol engine having some troubles, but forums can be a bit over excited sometimes. We have the 1.5 petrol and it's brilliant. Fuel economy really impressive and the performance is great. The diesels must be impressive on fuel.
You don't get much on the S, and I believe android auto/apple carplay was introduced on the facelift, when they updated the infotainment screen.
The GT has all the bells and whistles, but if we were to buy again, we'd seek out a 'Match' edition. They came towards the end, and has everything our car has (SE Nav) but some other nicer bits, like LED headlights, tinted windows, nicer wheels and dual zone climate control.
Hope that helps but happy to answer any questions. We've done (mostly my wife and family trips) 27000 miles in 2 years. Just check for dampness inside, as like many VW's of this era (and ours), they can have leaks or moisture gets in somewhere!
@@carmanick Wow. thank you for this detailed and quick response! This is all very good to know! Dampness, I would not have thought of myself. I'll look for the Match edition! Your time is much appreciated! Definitely subscribing!
@@cdeegs no worries. Dampness isn't unique the the SV, it's a common problem across many VWs of this era. When we took ours in for investigation, most of the cars in the workshop were in for interior leaks! We had some water in the spare wheel well, and some moisture spots on the seats. But the car is so good, we have accepted. The boot leak is sorted.
Good luck!
Good review thank you.
Oh thanks for the kind words and for watching!