New VW Golf revealed - In the cabin

The interior may be all new, but there's a typical VW-ness about it. It echoes the simplicity and orderliness of the new exterior – you can go straight to any of the switches and controls with the unerring aim of a homing pigeon.

The rear seats fold the same way, which means the cushions are fixed and the backrests don't go flat. Even the bottle-opener that serves as a divider for the front cupholders is still there.

Bischoff's claims of higher quality seem to be largely borne out, too.

The plastics on the seat bases have a hard, durable feel in contrast to the softer finish everywhere else, and the air-conditioning switches move in a fairly limp way, but generally, the fit and finish is closer to that of the Golf Mark IV, the car that had just about every other mainstream manufacturer wondering how VW did it at the price.

It's an unenviable task, creating a new Golf. If VW goes too far it risks destabilising its biggest seller; if it plays safe it's accused of being over-conservative.

With that is mind, the new model is just about right. It's more of a Golf Mark Five-and-a-half than an all-new car, but somehow, we doubt you'll be hearing too many complaints about that from either buyers or dealers.