Get a load of revised Golf estate

SOLD alongside the Golf three and five-door hatches, the Golf Estate offers another alternative for those not quite prepared to step up to a Touran mini-MPV.

And after six model generations, 38 years and 29 million cars, it would perhaps be a little surprising if Volkswagen didn’t have the hang of building Golfs by now.

This latest version offers a smarter look, sophisticated media connectivity and a range of important detail changes.

Most of the engineware in this Golf is carried over from before, but the all-new petrol powerplant — VW is calling it the ‘1.5 TSI Evo’, a four-cylinder petrol turbo that uses ‘Active Cylinder Management’ to cut off two cylinders under light to medium throttle loads — is an absolute cracker.

This engine develops 150PS in its standard form, but there is also a ‘BlueMotion’ version developing 130PS. The other mechanical change made to the line-up is the replacement of the old 6-speed DSG auto gearbox with a more efficient 7-speed unit. Otherwise, things are much as before.

At the foot of the range, there’s the well-regarded 1.0-litre TSI petrol unit, a three-cylinder powerplant developing 115PS.

Most Golf Estate buyers though, tend to want a diesel — possibly the 115PS 1.6-litre TDI diesel, but more probably the 2.0-litre TDI, available with either 150 or 184PS.

As before, only variants developing more than 120PS get multi-link rear suspension. Below that level, your Golf will come with a lesssophisticated torsion beam set-up.

There’s also a 2.0-litre turbocharged 4WD Golf R super estate model at the top of the range. And a 4WD Alltrack variant, too.

The first thing you’ll notice about this revised Golf Estate is there’s more space inside than you might expect — 605-litres of cargo space if you load up to the parcel shelf. Flip the rear seats down and you get a full 1,620-litres.

At 4.56m, the Golf Estate is a foot longer than the hatchback, so do bear this in mind if you’re already tight for parking space with a hatchback model.

The 1.6-litre TDI engine in the ‘BlueMotion’ model is capable of returning 80.7mpg.

The petrol 1.5 TSI Evo BlueMotion in 130PS guise can manage 51.1mpg

Prices range in the £19,000 to £35,000 bracket and represent a premium of around £700 over the Golf hatchback.