A four letter name and an understated confidence that’s come from a life well-lived – that’s two things Rozz and the Volkswagen Golf have in common

SINGAPORE

The last time CarBuyer Singapore spoke to Rozz, her long-term loaner Volkswagen Golf 1.5 eTSI – that she affectionately referred to as the ‘little banana’ – was scheduled to go back into Volkswagen’s rotation of management cars. But she did envision the Volkswagen Golf GTI as a worthy successor. Thus came a second runaround in the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI just as she pictured. 

A ‘part-time nomad’ as she describes herself on Instagram, Rozz was keen on loading up on every Singaporean’s favourite dish – laksa – before leaving for South America. On her recommendation we drove to a little coffee shop just off Jalan Besar that served these little bowls of heaven cooked over a charcoal stove.

The roar of the Volkswagen Golf GTI as it came to life was unmistakable. Hurtling down the ECP with Rozz behind the wheel, the bassy rumble of the hatchback’s legendary 2.0-litre, turbocharged engine is enough to make those of us lesser petrolheads step out the car a convert. 

It was over lunch that I got to know more about what she looks for in a car. “I want a car that will do what I tell it to,” she remarked between spoonfuls of laksa.

“Something that doesn’t look like a douchebag car, but can drive like one.” Not one for the bigger SUVs, she added that her ideal car would be a hatchback much like the Volkswagen Golf, if not the Golf itself.

While some driving enthusiasts might scorn at the idea of the lack of a traditional handbrake and gear lever, the streamlined design and ease of accessibility within the Golf however has turned Rozz into a believer, joking that she could never go back to the days of stocky gearshifts and chunky handbrakes.

Still hankering for more after laksa, we ventured for dessert in a bakery just a stone’s throw away from the coffee shop. Over a tiramisu tucked into a little flower pot, Rozz candidly spoke more about her travels.

“I travel because other places are other places, and I like Singapore because it’s Singapore,” when I asked if there was anything she’s seen from her travels that she wishes was part of our way of life here.

“It’s like little spores and pockets of life that just grow where they can, as opposed to the organised structure you have here in Singapore.”

You might be wondering just how much excitement one can wring from a high performance car like the Volkswagen Golf GTI in Singapore, and whether it’s possible to get most of the car’s 245 horsepower out to play.

Rozz keeps it safe, and says that she is very law-abiding, modestly mentioning that,  “I’ll only do it on the ECP.” Still a P-plate driver until April 2022, she did not want to take chances before her trip to South America, where she intends to drive.

The last time she made her way through South America, Rozz had yet to acquire her licence. But with her newfound confidence behind the wheel, she was excited to be able to drive this time, albeit with the only automatic transmission car available for rent in El Calafate, Patagonia, Argentina. But who knows, she might return from her travels a master of manual transmission, leaving us automatic-only drivers in the dust.

With borders around the world slowly opening up I was naturally curious if she would be open to driving up to Thailand (and even further up) in her future travels. The answer? A resounding yes. And who wouldn’t say yes when you have the chance of really putting the VW Golf GTI’s 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds sprint and all that power to good effect. 

That’s not forgetting all the delicious food that would be available along the drive, Rozz made sure to mention. That unquestionably got the gears in her head turning as she ruminated on the possibility of turning the drive into a vlog, much like her previous travel videos.

Who knows? After she returns from her five-month solo backpacking trip around South America, you might see Rozz behind the wheel of a Volkswagen again – this time taking us with her across the Southeast Asian “Autobahn”, or what we know as Malaysia’s North-South Expressway. 

Brought to you by Volkswagen