For The VW Golf Estate has a practical, well-shaped boot, and the car offers a good mix of ride, refinement and handling. It also has plenty of safety kit.
Against Rivals such as the Skoda Octavia offer more boot space for less money.
The VW Golf estate is a stylish and classy car, but some rivals offer better value.
It may not be immediately obvious, but this VW Golf estate is based on the previous-generation Golf, so it doesn't have quite the same high levels of quality as the latest hatchback.
Likewise, although this isn't the largest estate in its class, what space you do get is well shaped and pretty practical, with extra space under the boot floor.
You also have a fine range of engines. Cheapest is the 1.2 TSI, but the pick for average-mileage drivers is the 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol. High-mileage motorists have a choice of three diesel engines. We’d avoid the weedy 89bhp 1.6 TDI, but the 113bhp version is a much better bet and decent value, too. The 2.0 TDI is a fine engine, but also the most expensive, leaving our favourite engine as the 1.4 TSI.
Whichever you choose, go for SE trim, which comes with all the kit most drivers will need, including air-conditioning, alloys, cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, an alarm and a socket to plug your iPod into.
My last 5 cars have been Hondas but I was looking for a car with a small diesel engine promising low emissions and good economy so the offer of a 10…