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| Cruising speed on the Autobhan, but on South Africa's crowded roads, this could spell trouble. |
GOOD news that no GTI owner wants
to hear is that the new Golf 7 has now — in two dramatic crashes — proven itself
capable of protecting its driver.
The first and most fatal crash happened in Upington in January this year, shortly before the official launch of
the Golf 7.
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| Travelling to fast in a Golf 7to correct, a young man crashed head-on into a family car, causing the death of a father and girl (10)and injuries to three more, including himself. |
Volkswagen employee Benjamin
Werkshage (28) was in a horrific head-on collision with the family car of
Raymond Jansen (38) outside Upington in the Northern Cape.
Jansen, who was the head of
finances at South African National Parks, died, along with his daughter, Kaitlyn
(10).
Passing motorists Fanie and Riaan
Bruwer pulled Jansen’s wife, Amanda (40), their children, Kaitlyn and Raymonde,
both one, as well as Werkshage, to safety from the burning wreckage. Werkshage,
who was alone in the Golf VII, suffered internal injuries and an injury to his
shoulder.
Sister paper Volksblad reported that Werkshage had been released on bail of
R200 000 on February 7, after being charged with two counts of murder in the
Upington court. His trial is on August 7.
In
a sobering lesson to all drivers, the Bruwers said on Facebook that Werkshage
was driving too fast to make a turn on to the main road when he hit Jansen’s
car.
Last week, in a crash at the
launch of the Golf 7 GTI on Franschhoek pass in Cape Town last week, Ciro De
Siena (27), editor of Cars.co.za and presenter of OverdriveTV,
had first-hand experience of all the active safety systems of the GTI when a
driver of a bakkie made a sudden turn in front of the GTI, in which he was a
passenger.
The Golf collided with the side
of the bakkie and the force of the impact flipped the bakkie onto its side and
spun the Golf around until it came to a halt in a ditch next to the road.
De Siena tweeted: “What a day at
the office. I was passenger. And now I can tell you what being punched by an
airbag feels like.” When the dust had settled, he realised all three people
involved in the crash were all right.
“I walked away without injuries
from an ugly crash,” he told sister paper Die Burger.
Witness Motoring
did not experience such drama but drove the new Golf GTI without incident,
finding it to be both a comfortable commuter and a very able sprinter that
delivered 10 km/l fuel consumption even at high speed. The 2,0-litre STI engine
makes magic with 350 Nm from 1 500 to 4 400 rpm to propel the GTI car in
5 seconds from 80 to 120 km/h. The active front differential system uses
computer wizardry to eliminate any torque steer and can easily be set to add an
extra wriggle around corners.
Matt Gennrich, general manager
for Communications at Volkswagen Group SA, said the only real competition for
the new GTI was the Ford Focus ST3, which sells from R363 300 with a 2-litre
generating 360 Newton metres.
By comparison, the Golf 7 GTI
costs from R368 300 to R382 800, depending on the bells and whistles
inside.
VW aims to sell about 250 GTIs
per month. With its safety record and ability to be both a mom’s taxi and dad’s
darling, sales of the new seven may yet surprise all. (Compiled by Alwyn Viljoen using reports by Anena Burger, and Blanché de Vries)
