Look on the bright side of Life
YOU CAN plot your life’s journey alongside the Volkswagen Golf. The world’s best-selling car of all time was launched in 1974: the three-day week in Britain; Abba wins the Eurovision song contest and I’m 12 years old.
In 1983 the first compact disc was sold in the UK and the Mk2 went on sale. I’m now 21.
And here we are 37 years later with a new Volkswagen Golf, now up to Mk8.
Like its predecessor the Mk8 is built onVolkswagen’s highly adaptable MQB platform that is being used in dozens of Audis, Skodas, Seats and VWs.
It hasn’t been dramatically changed for this new Golf but the car has grown 29mm in length, 10mm in width and is 4mm taller.
Progress? Not in my book as it now makes the Golf harder to park and to feed through gaps.
Volkswagen has never messed with the Golf’s styling by doing anything radical and it hasn’t this time around either.
There’s a sharper crease or swage line running along the side of the car and the headlamps are much shallower and contemporary looking.
Like the lamps at the back they’re LEDs and, depending on the car’s specification, incorporate automatic main beam and matrix technology.
All Golfs now have five doors but there will be an estate along later as well as a new GTI and even hotter R model.The big news for the new Golf awaits inside with a brand new digital dashboard that features a 10.3in digital instrument cluster and a 8.25in or optional 10.0in central touchscreen for the infotainment and many of the car’s systems.
And there’s a new multifunction steering wheel that’s refreshingly logical to use.
The Golf has very few physical buttons and switches, as virtually everything is controlled via the touchscreen, including heating and ventilation and driving modes.
There’s a slider that mimics the
action of a smartphone which controls audio volume but it’s a bit hit and miss.
Volkswagen’s optional voice control system should make life easier.
THERE’S some evidence of cost-cutting on this new generation Golf. Some is subtle and doesn’t affect owning the car like the lack of gas struts for the bonnet and matt paint on its underside rather than body-coloured paint.
But inside there’s quite a lot of hard plastic and the door bin is lined with felt where you can see it but not on the edge that you can’t so that oddments will still rattle.
A wide range of powerplants are available, all are options except for a pure electric version of the car – the upcomingVW ID.3 covers that base – including a couple of 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engines, 1.5-litre four-cylinder and a two-litre diesel engine with a choice of two power outputs.
Both of the petrol engines are available with mild hybrid and it’s one of these that we’re testing.
Fitted to our £26,390 Life spec test car is the 1.5-litre four-cylinder, producing 148bhp and driving in our car through a seven-speed DSG auto gearbox to the front wheels.
Four-wheel drive is available as an option on certain Golf models.
It’s an excellent powertrain, especially if you’re concerned about buying a diesel car and don’t have off-street parking which makes owning a plug-in hybrid impractical. The eTSI powertrain (as it’s badged) features a belt-driven 48v starter/ generator unit that enables brake energy regeneration, more efficient start/stop function and also fills in with torque to aid acceleration.
The 1.5-litre engine also features cylinder deactivation, which knocks the motor down to two cylinders under light load or coasting.
Plenty of tricks here to improve economy.
They work, too, as we easily managed mid 50s to the gallon during our test.
That said, the diesel will better these numbers almost regardless of how you drive it.
Quality is still top notch but you do, especially in the belt-tightening times that we’re about to face, have to wonder how much technology and soft furnishings you really need?
A more fundamental question is, ‘What am I getting with this new Golf that I don’t have with my Mk7 and is it worth the expense of moving up to the new one?’
I’d say that if you’re not swayed by digital screens and features like onboard wifi and online features, then probably not.
The new Golf is a little more precise in its handling but then right from the start of its life the Golf has always offered safe and dependable behaviour on the road.
Other cars might be more fun to drive, but few can beat its all-round appeal.