Jim Resnick

Jim Resnick

Jim Resnick

Jim Resnick

Jim Resnick

Jim Resnick

Jim Resnick

Jim Resnick

Jim Resnick

Jim Resnick

A funny thing happened on the way to the diesel emissions scandal—Volkswagen still sells cars. There are no diesels until they get a clean bill of health, but as VW must rely solely on gas-fired sales in the US right now, the Golf TSI SEL sits squarely in the middle of their lineup globally. Through some recent updates, VW has improved its latest edition. We cohabitated with the new Golf TSI for a week and agreed to not even bring up the "d" word.

The biggest Golf changes for this year are on the inside. The most immediately apparent is a new 5-inch display on the base model and a 6.5-inch display on all other trim levels. Running VW's Modular Infotainment Platform II (MIB II), it supports Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and MirrorLink. More importantly, this display looks and works much better than the previous infotainment system, which took forever to respond to menu selections.

Beyond MIB II, the car's buttons are logically placed, switchgear is vastly better, and the standard seats offer above-average support and bolstering. The steering wheel and gauges even exude greater-than-VW quality—everything you touch inside would be equally at home in a BMW or Audi.

Our SEL trim-level test car also comes with a backup camera as standard, found under the rear hatch's "VW" handle. Select reverse gear, and the handle rotates about 25 degrees in its little cavity to expose the back-up camera.

VW's $1,495 Driver Assistance package—our car's sole option aside from the no-cost automatic transmission—is surprisingly comprehensive for a sub-$30,000 small car ($29,740 as tested). It includes adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, emergency automatic braking (when the forward collision sensors calculate an imminent impact), blind spot monitoring, rear traffic alert, lane departure warning with corrective assist, and park distance warning with park assist (steering assist for parallel parking).

Like all adaptive cruise control systems, in low traffic driving, this works exactly as anticipated. But for the everyday highway hustle, relying on a timidly programmed adaptive cruise control system will see you losing big ground in the game of Traffic Football. As cars ahead change lanes—sometimes with little warning—you're forced into arrears. To avoid frustration, the feature should be used only in light traffic and on the wide-open road.

VW's Car-Net emergency telematics package includes stolen vehicle location, crash notification, remote vehicle access, and roadside assistance. More interestingly, you can geo-fence the car, setting boundaries for teenage drivers, for example. Parents, take note.

The engine—now standard in all US markets—is a 1.8L turbocharged inline-4, which develops 170hp (127kW) and 199lb-ft (270 Nm) of torque in the Golf. Not quite GTI-spec, but it's more than enough to squirt through traffic or merge with authority onto the highway. It replaces the gravelly, old, inefficient 2.5L five-cylinder. The new turbo four also uses only four crankshaft counterweights (rather than eight), a thin-wall block casting, and a variety of additional small weight reduction items. In total, it's just 290 pounds (132 kg).

This is definitely an engine poised for life in the middle rev range; peak torque arrives at a low 1,600 rpm with horsepower peaking at 4,500 rpm. Fuel economy figures are fairly respectable, given that the car weighs just over 3,023 lbs (1,371 kg). Our automatic, rated at 25/36/29 mpg (city/highway/combined), returned 30.3 average over our mixed driving. With a manual transmission, it's rated at 25/37/30 mpg.

Spoiling that performance somewhat is the 6-speed automatic transmission fitted to our test car. It's a traditional automatic with a torque converter, yet it suffers a bit from the same problem as VW's DSG twin-clutch transmission—laggardly throttle response in transitions, especially noticeable during high-traffic situations. It somehow knows when you're waiting to turn left across oncoming traffic (into a driveway, across a busy intersection), because that's when the transmission's balkiness is at its worst. At least, it seems that way. Exactly like VW's DSG when coupled to a diesel. (Sorry; I know we promised no "d" words.)

Sporting buyers will likely opt for one of three iterations of the GTI: 210 hp (157kW) or 220 hp (164kW), or the 292-hp (218kW) Golf R with the Audi S3's engine, plus all-wheel drive. But the Golf TSI SEL is no slouch as it offers good steering feel even though the power assist is electromechanical (which so often dulls the feedback). It can't compete with a GTI, but the basic dynamic character of the car is the same, only with lower limits of grip, less power, and not quite as powerful brakes.

The Golf now finds itself in the sharpest-elbowed small car segment in years, with competitors like the all-new Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus, Kia Forte, and the smaller-but-sportier Mazda 3. But the new Golf is much improved over prior iterations, and it offers a downright luxurious interior and serious safety features expected far upmarket.

Taken together, this car has nearly enough to make you forget some recent history.

Listing image by Jim Resnick