Topic: Comparison Test: 2013 Toyota Prius V hybrid vs 2014 VW Golf Wagon TDI Clean Diesel

[Ex-airbalancer]

You really have to seat in both and find out which one you are more comfortable in
I thought I was going to get the Golf wagon until I sat in one , did not enjoy it at all

Where the Passat wagon 

[X-Traction]

The Dub is much more attractive ...

Which supports my beef that the front ends of many recent cars are overstyled beyond being ridiculous.  The Golf shows that really gifted stylists can create forms that are attractive and simple.

[JohnM]

"Which supports my beef that the front ends of many recent cars are overstyled beyond being ridiculous. "

I was struck by the sight of a Veloster across an intersection today.  At first I thought it had a lot of front end damage but it turned out to have big vertical scoops on either side of the tortured grill. 

I sort of liked the car before and never noticed anything wrong - even applauded Hyundai's guts to produce it.   Did they come out with a new model - it looked way over-styled.

Same comment on many houses now - architects employ what I call "hyper surfaces" - way to many surfaces and different finishes to give a totally cluttered look.  Are these guys bored or do they get paid by the angle?

Cheers,
John M.

[dirtyjeffer]

I was struck by the sight of a Veloster across an intersection today.  At first I thought it had a lot of front end damage but it turned out to have big vertical scoops on either side of the tortured grill. 

I sort of liked the car before and never noticed anything wrong - even applauded Hyundai's guts to produce it.   Did they come out with a new model - it looked way over-styled.

perhaps the Veloster Turbo?

[PJ]

  I figure they average out to the same price over the year.

I have been curious about this too, so I looked up the EnerCan numbers.

http://www2.nrcan.gc.ca/eneene/sources/pripri/prices_byfuel_e.cfm

Based on the 52 week national averages, I got an average price of $1.293 for diesel and $1.297 for regular gasoline from this time last year. Not enough difference to worry about.

Cool.  Good research. 

[WRX_Pilot]

Yep front end styling is out of control.  Once one automaker put a huge ugly maw on their car, and people bought it for some reason, now every brand is rushing to put huge gaping grilles on everything.  Bleh

[bombastic]

German (Mexican) cars are notorious for inaccurate speedometers. Has anyone checked the accuracy
of the odometer in the Golf to verify the distance traveled? This would be crucial in determining the true fuel
consumption.

what has the speedometer to do with the distance traveled? You better go and learn some base physics.

[PJ]

German (Mexican) cars are notorious for inaccurate speedometers. Has anyone checked the accuracy
of the odometer in the Golf to verify the distance traveled? This would be crucial in determining the true fuel
consumption.

what has the speedometer to do with the distance traveled? You better go and learn some base physics.

Not sure if it's changed on modern cars but the speedometer and the odometer ran off the same cable that ran down to the transmission.  Odds are if one was wrong the other would be too.  Basic auto mechanics.

[mixmanmash]

German (Mexican) cars are notorious for inaccurate speedometers. Has anyone checked the accuracy
of the odometer in the Golf to verify the distance traveled? This would be crucial in determining the true fuel
consumption.

what has the speedometer to do with the distance traveled? You better go and learn some base physics.

Not sure if it's changed on modern cars but the speedometer and the odometer ran off the same cable that ran down to the transmission.  Odds are if one was wrong the other would be too.  Basic auto mechanics.

Not necessarily true.  While it could be fed off of one input, the gauges are independent.  If the gauge calibration is off for one, it doesn't mean the other one is off too.

I've checked on numerous vehicles and seen where the speedo is off, but the odo is bang on.

[tpl]

In those happy pre-computer days, the cable ran from a non-driven wheel to the odometer which essentially counted wheel revolutions for distance  A magnetic pickup in the unit  generated a current which was a function of wheel revolution speed and the speedo registered that to swing the needle.

[jyarkony]

You really have to seat in both and find out which one you are more comfortable in
I thought I was going to get the Golf wagon until I sat in one , did not enjoy it at all

Where the Passat wagon 

i used to love VW seats, but either I've changed or the seats have, and now i frequently encounter back pain in the new VWs (the Tiguan most recently, and the Jetta as well), while recent Toyotas I've found very comfortable (Highlander, Sienna)... and the Lexus IS seats were superb, but i think those were F-Sport upgrades.

[pi314]

I LOVE the Corolla Seats., and most Toyota seats in general... but I know other people who hate them, so it is really personal preference (or body build)

[johngenx]

It is.  I too find the soft-ish Toyota seats suit my bony body.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

It is.  I too find the soft-ish Toyota seats suit my bony body.

Absolutely loved the seats in my 1993 Tercel. Those seats fit me better than those of any other car I've ever owned. Hated the seats in my 1995 Corolla. They were like two pieces of plywood with a hinge in the middle. The seats in my 2005 Vibe were much better.

None of my other cars had really memorable seats. The ones in the Outback 3.6 were pretty good, as are the ones in the XV. I could still walk after spending 8 hours in them, which is kind of a big deal for me.

[johngenx]

Our C36 had Mercedes' special sport seats made by Recaro, and OMG, they were AMAZING.  Some competition inspired seats can be rock hard that are great on the track, but terrible for long days on the road.  The MB seats were comfy AND super supportive.

The seats in our Highlander and Corolla have pretty much zero lateral support, but both are all day comfy, well, for me anyway.

Many Honda seats have something that rubs me the wrong way.  Only 20min in a 2008 Civic and I was done for.

[tpl]

I must say I have never been a connoisseur of car seats and have just accepted them as they came.   But the B-class seats are even better than my '81 SAAB ( but I was 30+ years younger then anyway)    I always creaked and was stiff after an hour or two in the Golfs, the Audi and even the BMW but the M-B...   It is almost enough reason on its own to buy another one.  And to my surprise the Artico does not feel hot and sweaty in summer, in fact it feels exactly the same as the real leather in the 330 did.  Weird.

[JohnM]

"but either I've changed or the seats have, and now i frequently encounter back pain in the new VWs"

Now you are destroying my icons.  I used to sit in a Golf and feel as though I'd just strapped on an Armani car suit.  To imagine I can't still do this is to question one of my automotive Gods.

But Saab seats were the best in their day.  If the B200 is better, then that would be a major reason to get one.

I'm not totally in love with the Prius seats - not bad but I get a flat backside after a couple of hours.  Of course, my backside flattens much more easily these days.  Curse this changing body - why could I not remain Superman!??!

Cheers,
John M.

[KD]

Our C36 had Mercedes' special sport seats made by Recaro, and OMG, they were AMAZING.  Some competition inspired seats can be rock hard that are great on the track, but terrible for long days on the road.  The MB seats were comfy AND super supportive.

The seats in our Highlander and Corolla have pretty much zero lateral support, but both are all day comfy, well, for me anyway.

Many Honda seats have something that rubs me the wrong way.  Only 20min in a 2008 Civic and I was done for.

The seats were the reason i sold my 93 civic si.  It was the first new car i bought and everything was fantastic except for the seats.  I couldn't last 1/2 hour without developing excruciating lower back pain!  Kept it for 2 years before i finally sold it and leased a mercuy MISTAKE, which had great seats, but what a POS that turned out to be! 

[sailor723]

I must say I have never been a connoisseur of car seats and have just accepted them as they came.   But the B-class seats are even better than my '81 SAAB ( but I was 30+ years younger then anyway)    I always creaked and was stiff after an hour or two in the Golfs, the Audi and even the BMW but the M-B...   It is almost enough reason on its own to buy another one.  And to my surprise the Artico does not feel hot and sweaty in summer, in fact it feels exactly the same as the real leather in the 330 did.  Weird.

I've always found I preferred the seats in European cars and thought the '93 300E my mom had was great. Strangely enough, the seats in my old '07 Cadillac SRX were actually better than the ML.

When I was test driving the last time I found the seats in the VW Touareg were about the best I've ever sat in.

[Ex-airbalancer]

The nice seats I have sat in were X5 but never took it out for a drive
I have driven the Prius & 323 to Halifax in one day and was  fine  the next day ( 17 hour drive) , only problem now I am finding the lower seating position is not to good for the my hip

The truck , I have driven to Thunder Bay in day and was ok
The less form fitting the seat the better the hip is ,
Where is the old Buick seat , or a bench 

I find wife the wife driving the Prius 90% of the time she is always around 4.8 l/ 100km, she races to any stop sign or red light