Volkswagen Golf

The only above-par round you’ll ever want at Golf

Self-confessed VW fan Andrew Walker finds everything he’d ever want from the new Golf – and more besides

Lockdown 1 meant that CC&V didn’t get a chance to drive Volkswagen’s eighth generation Golf until September. As a once proud owner of a Golf Mk2 GTI in Mars Red, and with my wife’s current VW T-Roc and the children’s VW Polo on our drive, it’s safe to say that we are generally a pro-Volkswagen family, and I was really looking forward to driving the latest Golf

The new model is offered with three trim levels – Life, Style and R-Line – and with GTI,

GTD and GTE versions. The line-up consists of a 1.0-litre 110PS three-cylinder petrol engine and two 1.5-litre TSI petrol engines with 130 and 150 PS, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. Diesel options include 115 or 150 PS 2.0-litre units, the former with a 6-speed manual, the latter with a seven-speed DSG transmission, which is only offered in Style trim.

In addition, there’s an eTSI 48V mild-hybrid 1.0-litre and 1.5-litre petrol engines, fitted with the seven-speed DSG transmission.

All new Golfs feature cutting-edge Car2X technology. This facilitates wireless communication between the new Golf and other Car2X-equipped vehicles on the road, as well as ‘street furniture’, allowing the car to more effectively pre-empt hazards on the road such as stationary traffic ahead, approaching emergency vehicles and more. Given its likely sales, the Golf is arguably the most important mainstream car to have Car2X fitted as standard to date.

Life is predicted to be the most popular trim for the new Golf in the UK. Prices start from £23,300 for the 1.0 version. All Life models are generously equipped, coming as they do with 16” ‘Norfolk’ alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, front and rear parking sensors, electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors with memory feature, and keyless start.

The Golf Life also features Volkswagen’s

Innovision Cockpit, which incorporates a 10.25” Active Info Display in the car’s instrument binnacle, as well as a large and clear 10” Discover Navigation touchscreen infotainment system. For the 2020 model year all Golfs will be equipped with Discover Pro Navigation. This comes complete with DAB and FM radio, as well as USB and Bluetooth connectivity with Wireless App-Connect. It also includes a three-year subscription to We Connect Plus, unlocking a wealth of information and services ranging from media streaming to parking space information, and an in-car Wi-Fi hotspot. Further convenience is added with a wireless charging function for compatible smartphones, while natural voice control allows the driver to activate many of the car’s features without raising a finger, all while using less formal language and delivery than in previous such systems.

The Golf Life is also packed with driver assistance systems. These include Adaptive Cruise Control, a Driver Alert System, Dynamic Road Sign Display, Lane and Front Assist, with extended pedestrian protection measures also installed on the model. An XDS electronic differential lock now features on the new Golf, providing improved traction and handling.

Customers opting for Style, which costs from £25,495, will see improved specification, with 17” ‘Belmont’ alloy wheels, LED ‘Plus’ headlights, sports comfort seats, ambient lighting, 3Zone climate control and ‘Luxury Brown Wood’ decorative inserts.

The R-Line trim starts at £26,165 and includes VW’s Innovision digital cockpit as standard, wireless smartphone charging, mirroring, front sport seats with ‘Sardegna’ cloth trim, rear LED lights and 30-colour ambient interior lighting.

Although VW rarely alters the Golf’s looks much from version to version, the new model does feature a lower nose, slim LED headlights, narrow rear tail-light clusters, with the redesigned VW badge above the Golf lettering. It is also 26mm longer than before, but 36mm lower, which gives it a sportier stance.

It’s inside where things have noticeably changed, with the addition of new technology and a premium feel. Volkswagen has decided to clean up the dashboard, so there’s very few physical buttons and almost everything is controlled from the central infotainment touchscreen display and a digital dial cluster. The Active Info display, which sits in front of the driver, is standard across the range, which is a first for the family hatchback class. Connectivity includes Amazon Alexa voice assistance, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and online radio.

While VW is still offering fleet customers a diesel version of the Golf, we decided to test one of the petrol 1.5.

Our test car was a Golf Life 1.5 TSI 130 PS 6-speed manual, which comes with a BIK of 27 per cent. Climb aboard and the first thing you’ll notice is the up-market cabin. Having driven the latest SKODA Octavia just two weeks prior to the Golf, it was clear to see that the VW is finished to a higher quality than its company cousin. The dashboard feels solid in a mixture of soft touch black and silver plastic, with even the glove box and door pockets, two places where it’s traditional to cut corners, feeling top notch.

TECH DATA Golf Life 1.5 TSI 130 PS 6-speed manual PRICE: from £23,670 CO2: 122g/km MPG: 50-61 BIK: 27%

The seats are comfortable and supportive and up front, passengers get decent head and legroom. There are two USBs in the front and two in the rear, but you’ll need adaptors as they are C-connection versions.

Much has been talked about the new controls and the infotainment within the car, but I found it relatively straightforward to use. Perhaps a week spent in the Octavia had helped, because the lack of any buttons could be a little daunting.

To be fair to VW, there are some buttons. On the right of the steering wheel you’ll find the lights and in the centre dash, located between two air-vents, are short-cut buttons labelled ASSIST, CLIMA and MENU. This allows you to select CLIMA and access the climate control functions on the touchscreen while you are on the move, and they are easily adjusted. Furthermore, there are slim temperature controls neatly located under the touchscreen, so you can bypass the screen altogether, a sensible inclusion.

The landscape screen is where you’ll learn to access most of the vehicle’s functions. Here you can get into the SatNav, DAB radio, Bluetooth and connected Apps. It doesn’t take long to get the hang of these either. Apple CarPlay connection was seamless and handsfree phone calls straightforward. On the steering wheel there are switches and buttons including the adaptive cruise control and those for accessing the 10.25” Active Info Display, where you can check on your mileage, speed, fuel economy and car functions.

Our week in the Golf included a 200-mile round trip to Coventry, where it performed admirably on the motorway, with the car returning an average of 61.1mpg at motorway speeds. It’s a quiet, comfortable cabin to be in, well insulated against road and wind noise.

Utilising the cruise control takes the hassle out of long journeys and the cabin features some good storage for drinks, keys, iPhone, sunglasses and the like. The 1.5 litre engine provides decent overtaking power, with 62mph reached in 9.2 seconds and a top speed of 133 mph.

For the remainder of the week we drove the Golf locally on urban roads and that happy feeling it gave off on the motorway continued. The six-speed gearbox is smooth and the shortish change means that you can happily drive in fifth gear at 30mph. The engine StopStart was also very good.

Slower, town driving did affect our fuel economy, as we saw it drop to 50.7mpg. Volkswagen claims a high MPG of 61.5 and a combined figure of 52.6, so it would seem that our figures pretty much matched the claimed, which is always good.

With CO2 emissions of 122g/km further adding to the appeal, I think I may, just as EVs take over, have finally been won over by a petrol Golf! Better late than never.

VERDICT

A petrol Golf that adds premium touches in the cabin, has a classleading info package and delivers mpg in the 50-60 bracket: tell me honestly, what’s not to love? As close as you’ll get in this sector to perfection. If it was a golf course, it’d be toss up between Augusta and St Andrews

CC&V RATING:

N N N N N