Volkswagen Golf test drive

Make and model: Volkswagen Golf
Description: Mid-life update to long-lived family hatch and estate
Price range: from £27,035 to £39,750

Volkswagen says: “With new infotainment technology and more style than ever, the latest Golf range will cement the model’s success still further.”

We say: This extensive update adds useful updates to a range that is still a go-to choice for many drivers.

• Volkswagen Golf (2020 – present) – Expert Rating 
• More Volkswagen reviews, Expert Ratings, news and features

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Introduction

Does anyone driving a car today not know the Volkswagen Golf? Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024, this is a car that remarkably, replaced the VW Beetle and in the process became a standard bearer for a whole new format, the front-wheel-drive hatch.

Many a rival has come and gone since then, but the Golf has simply remained as a constant presence, Volkswagen jealously guarding the car’s reputation of being just a little more upmarket and of better quality than contenders produced by the likes of Ford and Vauxhall. So far 37 million Golfs have been built, 2.3 million of them for the UK.

The current, eighth-generation Golf has been on sale since 2019, and the 50th anniversary coincides with the usual mid-life update. Volkswagen calls it the ‘Golf 8.5’, which may be over-egging it somewhat, although the revamp does extend to engine updates and even changes to the car’s chassis.

What is it?

The 2024 Volkswagen Golf is an extensive update of the Golf 8, which arrived in UK showrooms in 2019 and was widely seen as a much changed for the better car compared to its predecessor. There were gripes, though, and Volkswagen claims that customer feedback has driven some of the changes on the new car. It also makes use of updated technology launched on recent new models, particularly the all-new Tiguan SUV that went on sale earlier this year.

What this means for customers is more tech, particularly a new digital cockpit, and improvements to the engines, especially the plug-in hybrid models which get bigger batteries and more range as a result.

The plug-in hybrids are part of an extensive choice of power running across both the five-door hatch and five-door estate versions of the Golf. You can also have regular petrol (with mild hybrid assistance) or turbo diesel, but not a fully electric model – we’ll explain why shortly…     

Who is this car aimed at?

The Golf has long suited and continues to suit a wide range of customers, being regarded as competent a family car as it is a fleet driver’s motorway muncher. Much of this appeal is generated from past reputation, the Golf always regarded as just a bit better than the car park crowd. This is no longer true, as today there are some very good rivals out there, but the Golf continues to sell in vast numbers and generate many happy owners.

Who won’t like it?

If you are convinced by the switch to electric and want an electric Golf, you can’t have one right now. There was an electric e-Golf version of the previous (2012 to 2019) model, but from 2020 Volkswagen launched its ID range of models. The ID.3 is essentially the electric equivalent of the Golf, and it’s likely that the next generation of that model will merge with the next-generation Golf (probably keeping the Golf name) as fossil-fuel Golfs finally disappear.

As for when that will be, we’re not really sure at the moment. You’d normally expect a car to have a life span of seven to eight years, with a major update halfway through. That would put the next-gen Golf’s arrival in about 2027 or 2028. However, like many car manufacturers, Volkswagen is keeping an eye on EV sales around the world. If take-up is not growing sufficiently, we may well see a ‘Golf 8.75’ with a further round of updates instead to prolong internal combustion power for a few more years.

First impressions

Well it looks like a Golf… Visually there are few changes to the latest variant, even considering the changes underneath. The usual facelift fare of updating the front and rear lamps has taken place, and you can now specify more powerful LED beams up front with a range of some 500 metres. 

Other changes include a horizontal light bar in the front grille to give the car a little bespoke personality at night, aided by perhaps the most novel update, the VW badge on the bonnet now being illuminated. A good thing, perhaps, that the 1980s trend of Beastie Boys fans stealing VW badges is long in the past – replacing one would now be rather more costly…

The exterior tweaks succeed in maintaining the Golf’s recognisable proportions, but they also leave it looking just a little dated amongst more recent rivals which have come to market with more radical visual treatments.  

What do you get for your money?

The new Golf range is extensive – there are two body choices in the five-door hatch and estate, up to six trim levels (depending on the engine) for the hatch and three for the estate, and seven current engines, with more to follow. 

Currently the buyer can choose between petrol units of 115 or 150hp, a 150hp mild hybrid petrol unit and two petrol/electric plug-in hybrids of 204 or 272hp – the latter in the sports-pitched GTE model. You can even still buy a diesel if you really feel the need (although almost no-one will), with a choice of 115hp or 150hp engines.

Both plug-in hybrids now make use of a larger battery giving them an official all-electric range of more than 80 miles, around double previous versions. They can also now use DC rapid chargers, which is relatively unusual for a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

On the road prices start at £27K for the hatch models, with the estates about £1,400 dearer. Plug-in hybrid variants start from just under £37K.

Standard equipment on the entry-level ‘Life’ models, include the new digital dashboard and infotainment system. Wireless smartphone integration, front and rear parking sensors and adaptive cruise control come as standard on all variants too.

There’s some interesting new technology on the options list, including a 360-degree bird’s eye view monitor and from Autumn 2024, Park Assist Pro, a natty system that allows you to park the car while standing alongside it, using your smartphone. 

What’s the Volkswagen Golf like inside?

It’s within the car where far more visible changes are evident, with the infotainment system hardware and software first seen on the new Tiguan earlier this year. Volkswagen’s latest operating system is promised to be more intuitive and user-friendly, following some criticism of its predecessor. And it is, though still not quite as simple to use as those of some rivals.

The system is based around a central screen of close to 13 inches mounted atop the centre console. Unlike may rivals, the screen still looks tacked onto the dashboard as an afterthought rather than smoothly integrated. You can issue commands via touch or using an ‘AI-powered’ voice control.

Not everyone is ready for such advances, however, and VW has taken note as it’s not all pokes of the touchscreen – there are now a row of illuminated physical switches at the base of the central screen, while an the steering wheel has returned to offering proper buttons rather than the unpopular haptic touch controls of the pre-facelift version.

To more basic matters – VW claims to have applied more premium materials to the doors, dash and upholstery, again a source of criticism in the 2019 version. They look okay, but rivals have upped their game and the Golf doesn’t stand above its opposition to the level it once did.

Similarly the space for both people and luggage are not class-leading, but plenty enough for most owners.

What’s the Volkswagen Golf like to drive?

Disappointedly there were no plug-in hybrid versions to try on the Golf launch event, despite going on sale with the rest of the engine options. More powerful models, including the latest Golf GTI, will arrive in showrooms later in 2024. So we contented ourselves with the 1.5-litre mild hybrid petrol unit of 150hp in a hatch, and an estate fitted with the 2.0-litre 115hp diesel.  

While Volkswagen engines have attracted emissions-cheating controversy in recent years, their mechanical qualities have never been in doubt. Both the petrol and diesel units in our test cars were refined in their power delivery and quiet in operation.

All of which combines well with an on-the-road performance that is confident, producing a comfortable ride and very little extraneous noise even at motorway speeds. The car remains poised through corners without proving particularly exciting – enthusiastic drivers will find little to enthuse them, but the vast majority of owners will be happy with a car that is very easy to live with.  

How safe is the Volkswagen Golf?

The eighth generation Golf was crash-tested by Euro NCAP in 2019, gaining a top-level five-star rating, and it retained it when retested in 2022 after the safety body tightened its test protocols.

The Golf comes with an extensive safety specification including a full suite of driver-assistance technology, and it’s pleasing to note that adaptive cruise control is standard even on entry-level Life versions. Useful extras such as a rear traffic alert and lane-change assistance systems come with higher trim levels but the essentials are on every model. 

Volkswagen Golf fuel economy

Once if you wanted high fuel economy you went diesel. Now, even if you can get them, they no longer stand well clear of their petrol counterparts. All of the petrol engines are officially certified at above 50mpg, the mild hybrids at 53.3mpg, whereas the two diesels just crest 60mpg.

The less than real-world method of measuring plug-in hybrid economy produces stratospheric ratings above 940mpg, but more pertinent, especially for fleet drivers and their benefit-in-kind tax, is the CO₂ emissions figures of 6-8g/km. The petrol and mild-hybrid engines range from 120 to 127g/km.

Verdict

Usually mid-life facelifts produce little to get excited about but this package of updates to the Volkswagen Golf is significant and wide-ranging. The Golf has remained a favourite car for many buyers for half a century because it does everything expected of it to a high standard and this update will keep it very much in contention with much younger rivals.   

• Volkswagen Golf (2020 – present) – Expert Rating 
• More Volkswagen reviews, Expert Ratings, news and features

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