Volkswagen Golf Plus
Does anyone really need a fat Golf? Maybe not: it is not remotely an MPV and all it really does is accommodate five bigger people. Still, the rear seats slide and fold flat, so it is a sort of Golf commercial. There is a double-height boot floor, plus you can use the folding rear seat as a table and all that.
If anything, it is certainly an uglier Golf, but it is also better value than the thin one, so that’s why you buy one. It wasn’t around for too long – 2005 to 2009 in its first generation – and there is a petrol 1.6, which is great, but most will want the 1.9 and 2.0 diesels for potentially up to 60mpg and, of course, their practicality.
The used car checks are the same as for the slim Golf, so oil seal failure is rather more serious than the door seal one on the diesels. Air-con can give up, too.