Volkswagen Golf
Evergreen hatch is our current favourite family car. But can it retain its crown?
VOLKSWAGEN’S famous Golf is our current favourite family hatch, so the Focus is going up against the best. In 1.0 TSI SE Nav trim we’re testing here – a direct rival to the Ford – the Golf costs from £21,025, so is slightly cheaper. Does the Volkswagen offer more for less?
Design & engineering
THIS Mk7.5 Golf is a tried-and-tested recipe by now. Launched back in 2017, it was a mild update to the most recent generation. This means VW’S family five-door is based on the MQB platform, but following the Dieselgate scandal a new engine was introduced: the 108bhp 1.0-litre TSI three-cylinder turbo petrol tested here.
It’s the pick of the range, and while it’s down on power compared with the Focus’s Ecoboost unit, both produce the same 200Nm of torque and the Golf is 106kg lighter, at 1,216kg in total. This brings benefits for efficiency and performance, as we’ll see.
One area where the VW also excels is quality. The cabin is made of more premium-feeling materials than the Focus’s. While the Ford is definitely an improvement on what went before, the Golf’s dash top is lined with softer plastic, and the switchgear and key touch points feel more expensive as well.
Yet the car is cheaper to buy, and for that lower outlay you also get a great level of kit. All Golfs have an eight-inch touchscreen, while Carplay, Android Auto, built-in sat-nav, DAB and adaptive cruise control feature on this SE Nav model’s spec list.
Still, the VW has to do more than just offer good gadgets to beat the Ford. It’ll have to drive well, too, which is where the MQB underpinnings come in. As with the Focus, it uses Macpherson struts at the front and a torsion-beam rear axle. Adaptive dampers are available for £850, but they are not a necessity.
Driving
THE MQB set-up is instantly recognisable once you’re under way. It gives the Golf a reassuring solidity to the way it drives. The damping isn’t quite as taut as the Ford’s, but the VW can match its control right up until the last high-speed bump on a quicker drive.
Not that these cars will routinely be driven like this; they’ll spend more time in town and on the motorway, where the Golf’s refinement comes into its own. It’s a match for the Ford here, and while the steering doesn’t have as much communication, it is just as pointy. It’s slightly heavier, but not quite as fast.
Although the Volkswagen doesn’t quite grip as hard, it offers more than enough dynamism and that rear suspension set-up doesn’t disturb the ride comfort. In fact, the Golf’s front-to-rear balance, down to its lovely plush damping, means it smothers typically cracked and marked UK roads. It’s much closer to the Focus in terms of comfort and composure.
The engine is just as refined as the chassis, too, and the Golf proved quicker at our test track, even though its performance trailed the Ford’s on paper. It was the fastest car from 0-60mph, taking 9.6 seconds – 0.3 seconds quicker than the Focus and 0.9 seconds up on the Astra – while despite its taller gearing it was also more flexible in gear. It was one second quicker than the Ford from 30 to 50mph in fourth, and two seconds faster than the Vauxhall over the same test. The Volkswagen is an accomplished all-rounder on the road, and this extends to the level of practicality it delivers.
Practicality
WITH a capacity of 380 litres, the Golf’s boot is the biggest of this trio, even if other models in this class have the edge over it. However, few cars combine so many wellrounded attributes in such an attractive package.
The VW’S flexibility is part of that, and with plenty of rear head and legroom that make it the equal to the Focus, plus good storage in the front of the high-quality cabin, the German hatchback’s appeal hasn’t been dented with age.
One drawback compared with the Ford is its driving position. The relationship between seat, steering wheel and pedals doesn’t feel all that natural, but the rest of the package does. The gearchange is sweet, too.
Ownership
DESPITE some damage to its brand image in recent times, VW still performed well in our Driver Power 2018 satisfaction survey, taking fifth in the manufacturers’ chart. Ford and Vauxhall couldn’t get near it.
Safety is strong in the Golf. SE Navigation trim brings adaptive cruise control, autonomous braking with pedestrian detection, seven airbags to its rivals’ tally of six, and parking sensors as standard.
You can, of course, upgrade the tech on offer with a £550 lane-keep assist package, or a £1,120 option that also features blind spot warning among other extra safety kit. As standard, the VW scored a full five-star Euro NCAP rating that matches the Focus.
Running costs
BACKING up VW’S brand image in our survey is the car’s strong residual values. Our experts predict the Golf will retain 43.1 per cent of its purchase price, so as the cheapest car here it’ll lose the least money (£11,963) and be worth the most (£9,062) after three years and 36,000 miles.
The Focus is some way back on an estimated 34.5 per cent. This means the Ford will shed £14,126 over the same period and therefore be worth £7,424.
That’s quite a drop compared with the VW, but the Vauxhall’s predicted residuals of 30.8 per cent are even more disappointing. It’ll be worth just £6,750, losing £15,160. Of course, these values matter less if you’ll be buying the car on finance.