Volkswagen Review: 2016 Model | | Car Buyers Guide

The Volkswagen Golf is a common car in this country. Despite recent dieselgate issues, the Golf remains a big seller. It's easy to see why we like the car so much. It's good looking, practical, and because of engine choices, there's one for everyone in the audience. This week I had to make a trip that covered over 1,100km, and my machine of choice for the weekend was the new Volkswagen Golf Estate.

I'm a big fan of estate cars. They ooze practicality and usefulness. Some of them, however, are not the most attractive cars in the world. With that said, there are some amazing looking estates out there. Personally, I never liked the physical appearance of the Volkswagen Golf Estate and the Ford Focus Estate. Until now, I had never driven a Golf Estate, and even though I don't find it to be overly attractive, after driving more than a thousand kilometres in one, I can't help finding myself wanting one.

There are a lot of things that surprised me about this vehicle. First up is the fuel economy. I wasn't trying too hard to be over-economical, and I still managed to return an average fuel economy of 5.4 litres/100km. Our test car was carrying a 1.6 TDI 110hp engine, which at times felt sluggish, but I must say that the fuel return was excellent. Of course, I do believe that I would have returned a better economy had I been trying, but whether I would have achieved the 3.9 l/100km that Volkswagen reckon it will achieve is a different story.

Other things that pleased me about this car includes the excellent space available. Row one and two feels like a normal Golf. Everything is well made, there was a nice and easy to use dash and infotainment system. The space to both the front and back rows was good, and the 605 litres of boot space was more than agreeable. You'd fit a kitchen sink in there.

On the road, the Golf Estate is an easy car to live with. It soaks up bumps well, and other than a bit of engine noise on start up, it is well-padded and doesn’t suffer from much wind or road noise. I’m yet to drive the 2.0 litre diesel engine, but I imagine that that engine would better suit me. There is not much wrong with the 1.6 TDI engine, despite what I said earlier about it being occasionally sluggish (over-taking was never a problem). Our test model housed a five-speed manual transmission. I kept going for sixth gear – in fairness to Volkswagen, this is habit more than anything else. There is a six-speed box, but it appears to be only available with the 1.2 TSI and the 2.0 TDI models.

This car has some very stiff competition from Ford with the Focus and Peugeot with the massive boot in the 308 SW. Prices for the Volkswagen Golf estate start from €23,535 for the Trendline trim. For the Lounge trim that we were driving, you will be looking at an entry price of €28,550.