VW or BMW?

By: Ellen Pryor

Published On: June 25, 2010

2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI

2L, 4-cylinder engine
Price as tested: $26,514

In a delightful evening with friends in the ad and marketing business, talk inevitably turned to business. As the night wore on, our discussions turned to the topic of branding and how branding feeds or dispels preconceived notions about products. Wine in hand, we played a word association game to test our various hypotheses.

“When you hear or read Manolo Blahnik, what words leap to mind?” Gorgeous. Pricey. Worth it!

“Mercedes?” High performance. Solid. Safe. Expensive.

“Target?” Value. Style. Fun!

“BMW?” German engineering. Preppy. Techy.

“Volkswagen?” Beetle. Stripped down. Plain. Pedestrian.

Wow. If our little focus group was any indication, Volkswagen has lost vast ground in the branding game since the reintroduction of the Beetle in the late ’90s.

Imagine my surprise just days later when a 2010 Volkswagen pulled into the driveway for a week of testing. It was a Volkswagen Golf TDI…a DIESEL.

With a trip to Atlanta on the calendar, I was not looking forward to hitting the road in a Volkswagen, much less one with a diesel engine. I pictured myself driving into Love’s Truck stops along the way, pulling up to the pump and backslapping truck drivers and sharing road stories as my little Golf slurped fuel.

Fun as that dream was, alas, it didn’t happen, and I was dead wrong about the Golf TDI. VW has a winner, and I had a blast in this little car!

Compact and nimble, the little 6-speed, manual Golf was a thorough delight to drive. It is a perfect around-town car, easily zipping through traffic at a nice clip. Its size belies it’s stability on the road. At interstate speeds, the Golf was solid and secure, and road noise was kept at bay. The interior is roomy and incredibly comfortable on the road trip.

The huge payoff is mileage. A whopping 41 mpg on the highway and 30 mpg in the city. I got to Atlanta and almost all the way back to Nashville before my better judgment led me off I-40 and into that Love’s Truck Stop for a small sip of diesel to make sure I didn’t end up on the side of the road. Truth be known, I likely could have made it all the way home on a single tank.

As my links-loving father always said, “Golf=fun!” Right you were, Daddy!

BMW 135i coupe

3.0L, DOHC 24-valve turbocharged 6-cylinder engine
Price as tested: $40,875

And, speaking of BMW, the 135i coupe is a little rocket and a fun drive for little people.

BMW just doesn’t make anything but great cars, and the 135i coupe is no exception. It is a total kick to drive. Highly zippy and precise in every way, its performance is downright spectacular. The 135i moves on down the road with style and more than a little verve. The handling is tight and refined. It is a dream car for anyone who loves and respects performance.

But, make a note: this is not a car for Webb Wilder, the last of the full-grown men. Attempts to put two moderately tall neighbors into the car nearly resulted in leg cramps for Jackson, my 6’2” buddy who gallantly offered to hop in the back seat. (“No,” he protested. “I’ll get in the back!”) How sweet. He folded his lanky body in half and wedged himself into the rear seats. Once in, we almost couldn’t get him out. Then, we wondered how we were going to get him home. The best suggestion was to lash him to the hood like a 12-point buck. He was not amused.

Kidding aside, like a sports car, this is a car for drivers, not passengers.

Who needs those big people anyway? The 135i is a delight. Elegant, smooth and powerful, everything you expect in a BMW.