Do you remember
the time when the term 'family car' brought to mind a traditional
three box saloon car? As a young kid, most of my Dads friends owned
cars like MkIV Ford Cortina's, or Vauxhall Victor FE's. By the end
of the 70's even the most conservative of manufacturers had
introduced hatchbacks into their range, desperate to tempt in
practicality hungry customers. Many Dads switched to hatchbacks as
they became more readily available. My Dad, ever keen for an
automotive bargain, was an early adopter, buying a Renault 16, which
probably best lays claim to being the first production hatchback, its
production run starting in 1965. In retrospect the Renault 4 could
be considered the first, having been launched in 1961, and selling
hundreds of thousands by 1965, but Renault always promoted it as a
small estate even after the hatchback term had became common place.
Since then other
types of car have vidid for Dads attention, and the ultimate family
car crown. The estate, the people carrier, the SUV, and most
recently, the crossover, have all fought alongside the hatchback to
usurp the humble saloon, but to my mind, there should always be a
space on every Dads driveway for a saloon car. Enter my friend
Alistair, epitome of good fatherly behaviour, and owner of this good
old fashioned family saloon. Sensible has evolved slightly in the
past four decades and the chattering middle classes have
whole-heartedly adopted German brands to equate quality, in a way
Ford or Vauxhall can only hope to match. Pulling up outside
Alistair's sensible semi-detached house, in the sensibly priced part
of suburbia, every drive seems to have at least one Volkswagen parked
on it.
A quick chat with
Alistair over freshly ground coffee reveals his thinking when
choosing his Jetta back in 2007. He had been one of those people
carrier entombed fathers, running a VW Touran supplied on lease-hire
through work. Able to claim a car allowance and keen to get away
from the “van like Touran” the then one year old, four thousand
mile Jetta was chosen for its TDi engine (which Alistair had liked
well enough in the Touran), decent sized rear seats for the sprouting
teenaged kids, and its large boot. The SE spec delivered a nicely
appointed, well finished, neatly styled car, with decent equipment
levels, including electric windows all round, cruise control, a very
well laid out double DIN stereo, various safety acronyms, and airbags
a plenty. The seats are well sculpted with plenty of support and
adjustment, trimmed in an attractive yet durable looking grey fabric.
Dash and trim panels all have a soft touch finish that is textured
like elephant hide and will probably last as long too.
It being half term
and this being an archetypical 'Dads car' I decide to embark on a day
of father like errands in an attempt to get into the mind set of the
saloon buying 21st century Dad. First up, is a trip to
Waves in Whitley Bay to drop the imaginary kids off to go swimming
with their imaginary friends. First impressions are of a super sharp
brake pedal action that is going to take a little getting use to;
light, accurate steering; and a ride that can cope well with the
terrible road surfaces, that are such a feature of our road network
these days. In reality, I don't want to be seen hanging around Waves
during half term for fear of being labelled as someone who's had the
S's fall off his Speedos, so I head off in search of a twisty road,
which I'm guessing most fathers don't get to enjoy to the full very
often when transporting the wife and kids around. But my imaginary
wife and kids aren't here, so I'm gonna press on through the corners
to see what entertainment awaits 21st century Dad.
The results aren't
too bad, although a little noisier than I had expected, the 1.9 TDi
delivers 103bhp and 184 lb/ft of torque which is enough to pick up
decent pace between corners. The gear change is a little notchy, but
not in an obtrusive way, so I actually grow to like it in a strange
way. The unbranded tyres scrabble for grip in these slightly damp
corners as I try to power out of the bends, triggering off the
skidding car logo on the dash as the Electronic Stabilisation
Programme kicks in to keep everything under control. There is
virtually no feedback through the steering wheel as to what those
front tyres are up to, so the first you know about it is a rise in
engine revs as the ESP does its thing. Turning the ESP off just
seems to make the front end weave around slightly as the front tyres
spin off any excess power, so it seems best left switch on. As you
get use to the limits of grip, you can work with the system well
enough, and enjoy yourself to a reasonable degree.
Fooling around on
back roads isn't getting this list of jobs done, so next up it a
visit to Ikea in search of storage solutions. Cruising into town,
then out towards the Metro Centre puts me into the kind of driving
environment these family saloon cars are more comfortable with. All
the minor controls fall easily to hand, the stereo and climate
control are simplicity themselves to operate. Although most of the
trim is black and grey, it doesn't feel too somber in here, and
theres some nice brushed metal trim that runs all the way across the
interior, adding to the overall feeling of quality. There are quite
a few blank switch panels, including some on the steering wheel
spokes that remind you that SE trim is VW speak for fairly standard
really. Who knows how many option boxes you'd have had to tick before
all those panels had switches and labels on them, but it wouldn't
have been cheap, or added anything that you can't happily live
without, it would seem.
Emerging from Ikea
with a stack of barely necessary purchases reveals the one weakness
of any saloon car, new or old, narrow boot access. The boot itself
in huge, which is fortunate as I've bought more than I had planned,
and Alistair has left the church football teams training gear in the
boot (one of his many sensible pastimes). A slight rearrangement and
my bulky boxes fit nicely after some jiggery-pokery that wouldn't
have been necessary with a hatchback. Searching for somewhere to put
my drink whilst I finish off my hotdog (or should that be horsedog,
or maybe hothorse...) I realise just how well served this car is for
useable storage. The side pockets are deep and well shaped to hold
various items in place, there are various usefully size cubby holes
in the centre console, and whilst retrieving my purchases from the
boot later in the day I notice more clever storage solutions,
including luggage tie-down hooks, side pockets, and a 'curry hook' to
keep your takeaway upright as you rush back to feed the hungry
hoards.
Imaginary
fatherhood is wearing thin, I'm running late, need to get back to the
coast, wash the car, and photograph it in a couple of family-esque
locations. Dashing back along the A1058 Coast Road, I remember
something Alistair mentioned about a peculiar noise from the turbo.
Having not really noticed it yet, I turned off the radio to listen
out for it and, nearing the Sainsbury's car park, it became very
apparent. Sounding like a distant emergency vehicle siren whirring
up and down in tone as the turbo changes its velocity. Unique to
Alistair's car? It would seem not, coz whilst buying a carwash token,
a Golf TDi goes past making the same distant whirring sound. Car
washed and the first few photo's taken, and despite turning the radio
back on, I now can't ignore that noise, once heard, forever present.
Another car park
and the usual strange looks as I position then re-position the car to
get a better backdrop, and I finally take time to notice the exterior
styling properly. I also finally park my Golf with a boot / poor
mans Passat prejudice as I take on board the neat styling and
proportions of this Jetta. Technically this it the fifth generation
Jetta, although the third and fourth generation cars were called
Vento and Bora respectively in the UK, it is in many ways the best
looking, as the new grill treatment leaves the sixth gen car looking
a little gaudy and cheap to my eyes. Alistair regrets choosing the
dark blue metallic colour, but I recon it looks good and emphasise
the chrome detailing nicely. I particularly like the kink in the
roofline around the rear side window that allows the C-piller to
widen down to the waistline. Mooching back to Volkswagen Avenue, I
can't help but surmise that the 21st century saloon still
delivers everything the 21st century Dad could need. As I
hand the keys back to Alistair, he admits to having a nearly new Golf
lined up as its replacement because he needs the more versatile boot
configuration!
Thanks to Alistair for the loan of
his car.
ⓒ Dan Ewing 2013
ⓒ Dan Ewing 2013
