Hi Mary,

You have most likely got a Golf Mk5 powered by a 1.4-litre normally aspirated engine, which means it has between 75- and 90hp; the 1.4 TSI, which had both a super- and turbocharger (both systems are known as ‘forced induction’) was introduced around the same time in the Golf family, but the lower-powered models didn’t come until after 2006 – meaning if your 2006 Golf is indeed a 1.4 TSI, it’ll be the Golf GT with 170hp. We’re guessing you haven’t got a Golf GT, if you’re saying the new 1.0 TSI has more power than your car.

Volkswagen offers the new three-cylinder 1.0-litre TSI engine in the Golf with 115hp and 200Nm of torque – advancements in petrol engine technology and the widespread use of turbochargers means there is an industry-wide trend nowadays for ‘downsizing’, which means where once you’d have needed a 1.4 or 1.6-litre engine in a family hatchback, now manufacturers get the same power or more from a smaller, turbocharged unit. This is exactly what has happened with the Golf: your old 1.4 engine is both less powerful and considerably less torquey than the new 1.0 TSI, as even 90hp ’06 Golfs had a mere 130Nm. That means you should reap many benefits by buying the 1.0 TSI – it’s much faster (0-100km/h in 9.7 seconds and 204km/h top speed, compared to a 90hp 1.4 Golf’s 12.9 seconds and 174km/h figures), it’ll be far easier to drive on the motorway and around town, and it’ll also be better on fuel.

As to your configurator question, Volkswagen has dropped both the 1.2 TSI and the 1.4 TSI in the latest Mk7 Golf range, replacing them with the aforementioned 1.0 TSI and a new 1.5 TSI Evo engine, respectively. Hence why you can no longer buy a petrol 1.4-litre Golf.