The iconic VW Golf GTI is definitely a fun and sporty little car but how practical is this hatchback as a BabyDrive?! Let's find out …
Well, I had tested the VW Polo GTI the week before and it did feel quite similar!! My main grumble with both cars was the sun rooves that only had a black mesh over them rather than a proper cover, they are not well designed for the Australian sun?! It was roasting in the driver's seat with the sun pelting through burning me as I drove and it made the interior really hot whenever the car was parked not undercover.
On the plus side, in the same panel in the ceiling as the sunroof controls, there is a button to turn on and off the rear interior light which I found fabulous because I could not reach back to turn the lights on or off otherwise!
The Golf is small but surprisingly we could fit a 180cm driver in front of a rear facing child seat which is pretty impressive!
The rear seats are comfy with two adult passengers or I could fit two child seats in the back of the VW Golf GTI really nicely. There are ISOFix points in the two outer seats, within plastic guides, and top tethers on the back of the two outer rear seats and the central top tether is behind the central headrest.
One consideration I am learning with most Volkswagens is the headrests are not removable which really pushes the forward-facing child seats forward at the top and my daughter moaned continually about it.
Storage is actually pretty good, it's minimal but practical throughout the VW Golf GTI, with two cup holders in the central console, a phone well and sunglasses case in the ceiling. The front door bins are really good holding a large refillable water bottle, iPad etc. There is a glove box and phone tray too. The interior is nicely styled and has that boyish charm that taps into the young at heart and feeling of being fast and carefree!! (those were the days!!)
In the back, there are two small door bins that will hold a large refillable water bottle and map pockets on the back of both front seats.
The boot space is quite good, it would fit ten shopping bags when empty, that's the same as the Hyundai i30 and Kia Cerato, one less than a Mazda3Â and one more than a Toyota Corolla. The tandem or single stroller fitted in the boot with a wheel removed, or you could transport a small dog in there is you removed the parcel shelf.
The touch screen media system is user-friendly and has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which is fantastic!
I love the old school seat tartan that has been used in the visual within the sound settings!! Reminds me of that steam-filled Golf of my youth…
The reversing camera image is good too and the sensors can be muted with a button on the bottom left of the screen.
The VW Golf GTI is a fantastic and fun car to drive, it was nippy and fun when I was on my own in the car and the ride was not as hard as I was expecting around, so when my little girl was in the car I could turn on my responsible parent mode!! If parking space is a consideration, and you only have one or two children, or you're the kind of family that packs minimally and you want something fun then the VW Golf GTI is still quite practical. You just might have to trade it in for something bigger by the time those little ones become lanky teenagers!!
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
How big is the boot of the VW Golf GTI?
I could fit 10 shopping bags in the boot of the VW Golf GTI, that's the same as the Hyundai i30 and Kia Cerato, one less than a Mazda3 and one more than a Toyota Corolla. For comparison, I got 15 bags into the HUGE boot of the Golf Alltrack wagon.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fitted in the boot with a wheel removed and no shopping bags beside it.
The Britax Flexx tandem stroller would not fit in. The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fitted with a shopping bag beside it.
The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted with seven shopping bags beside it.
Or you could fit a small dog in the boot if you remove the parcel shelf.
Storage in the VW Golf GTI is surprisingly practical. In the front, there are two cup holders in the central console that are a good size to hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and a good sized well in front of the gear lever I found best for my phone. The central console storage box is small and the lid doubles as your armrest.
It has a USB and AUX socket inside too.
The glove box is nicely lined and a good size to hold my wallet with the manual but an iPad doesn't fit.
There is a lined glasses case in the ceiling and the front visors both have lit vanity mirrors in them.
The door pockets in the front are also nicely lined so the contents don't rattle around and they will hold my large refillable water bottle an iPad and my wallet.
In the rear seats, the storage is minimal, the door bins are smaller than in the front but will hold a large refillable water bottle and are also nicely lined.
There are map pockets on the back of both front seats that will hold an iPad but not conceal it.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the VW Golf GTI?
The media system in the VW Golf GTI is fantastic, it's simple, modern and easy to navigate. It has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and I found it easy to connect my phone too.
In the sound settings screen, you can adjust which speaker the sound comes out of.
I really like so I can direct my daughter's audiobook or nursery rhymes to her speaker and not mine!!!
I love the fact VW have used the old school tartan on the seat graphics too!
The Golf GTI is quite quiet on the motorway, it's smooth and there is just a bit of road surface noise.
The cruise control is simple to use, the controls are on the left on the steering wheel and I found it to be good for flat, straight motorway driving.
The image of the reversing camera in the Golf GTI is big and quite clear. You can mute the parking sensors by pressing a button on the bottom left on the media screen. Or you can turn the sensors off with a button down in the central console.
The Golf was a nice car to park because it's small and nimble it was definitely easier to see out of and maneuver than the big SUVs I am used to!
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
The sat-nav is nice and easy to use and you can mute the guidance announcements really easily along the bottom of the screen.
The doors, windows and indicators are all nice and quiet to use in the Golf GTI, so I don't think you'd need to worry about them waking a bub that's asleep in the back.
Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)
The cruise control is simple and easy to use and the controls are on the left on the steering wheel. I found it accurate and reliable on both straight fast motorways and undulating roads at 60km/h.
There is a seatbelt alarm and a light flashes on the dashboard as well, for both rows of seats.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit on the VW Golf GTI?
There are ISO Fix in both the outer rear seats, they are within plastic guides and nice and easy to connect to. (excuse the cracker crumbs!!)
There are top tethers in the back of both the outer rear seats and behind the headrest of the central rear seat. I found it easiest to access the central top tether by removing the parcel shelf.
I could fit two child seats across the back row, there just wasn't room for a third in between. I tested the rear-facing Britax Graphene and forward facing Britax Platinum Pro but you could use any combination of two child seats in the back really.
One consideration I am learning with most Volkswagens is the headrests are not removable, which really pushes the forward facing child seats forward at the top and my daughter moaned continually about it.
With a rear-facing child seat installed we could fit a 180cm driver in front of it.
When posting bub into their child seat from outside the car you do not have as much room as you would with a big open doorway of an SUV, you do have to bend down to post them in and swinging our heavy toddler into her forward facing child seat was a challenge so I actually just encouraged her to climb into her seat and then I leant in to fasten her harness.
Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
There is room to feed bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the VW Golf GTI?
I enjoyed the more sporty style seats in the VW Golf GTI, I find them quite hugging and supportive. The seats are black leather with perforated central panels with red contrast trim, the perforations would make the seats harder to keep clean and trap crumbs and spills etc.
I could not have a ponytail in the front seat, the headrests were not adjustable and the angle of the headrests does not allow for it!
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are comfortable but the central seat has a huge lump in the footwell which you would have to straddle so you would be better to travel in the outer seats.
For the first year of our daughters life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down.
There are four air-conditioning vents in the front dashboard; two in the centre ones and one at either end.
There are two air vents in the back of the central console box for the rear passengers too which I could reach to control from the driver's seat. The aircon controls in the front are below the media screen and simple to use while driving.
I could not reach the rear interior light while driving but there is a FABULOUS button in the ceiling above the driver that allows you to turn on and off the rear interior light, in between the air vents and above each row of seats. I found I couldn't reach them while I was driving.
I have found Tulsi does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.
Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.
There are handles above both rear doors, which are well positioned to hold a baby toy for rear-facing passengers.
There are lit vanity mirrors in both front visors and there is a lined glasses case in the ceiling too. One of the downsides for me is in the ceiling is a sunroof with just a mesh across it of course as you drive along you are getting a lot of sun on your skin and it makes the interior very hot!
Visibility in the VW Golf GTI is effected when you have the rear facing child seat in the back but the windows are quite deep so visiility is quite good.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the VW Golf GTI was fine to park, and visibility wasn't too bad!
The interior of the Golf GTI felt like it was of good quality and very stylised, everything would be wiped clean easily except for the perforated seats which would make it harder to clean.
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
How safe is the VW Golf GTI?
The VW Golf GTI scoured a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2013, that is rated for vehicles from 2017 onwards, scoring 35.92 out of 37.
It scored an almost-perfect 15.92 out of 16 for the frontal offset test, 16 out of 16 in the side impact test, two out of two in the pole test and with whiplash protection deemed ‘good’. Pedestrian protection was ‘acceptable’.
It comes with seven airbags as standard. Dual frontal and chest airbags for both front passengers, curtain airbags for front and rear passengers in the event of a side collision and a knee airbag for the driver.
The Golf also comes with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) city and interurban, electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA), an emergency stop signal (ESS), fatigue reminder, anti-lock braking system (ABS), daytime running lights (DRL), hill launch assist, secondary collision brake assist and tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) as well as front assist, park assist.
 Adaptive cruise control (ACC), automatic headlights, automatic high beam, blind-spot monitoring (BSM) and lane keep assist (LKA) is available on different spec models.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!
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