Used Volkswagen Golf long-term test review:

The car 2019 Volkswagen Golf 1.5 TSI EVO 130 Match Run by Mark Pearson, used cars editor

Why it’s here To find out if buying a used Golf makes financial sense, and to see if the soon-to-be-replaced Mk7 is still a five-star car

Needs to Add a bit of sparkle to suburban motoring, and cope admirably with a variety of uses, including daily commuting, motorway journeys, school runs and family life

Mileage 3045 List price new (2019) £21,885 Price new with options £24,570 Value now £18,950 Options fitted Atlantic Blue metallic paint (£595); Winter pack (£410); Keyless entry (£390); Rear-view camera (£345); Carpet mats (£85) Test economy 41.7mpg Official economy 47.3mpg

17th December – An unexpected blow to the rear

The Volkswagen Golf may well be loaded with all the latest safety kit, including such things as predictive pedestrian protection, emergency braking and a driver alert system, and it may offer front and rear parking sensors and, as an option on my car, a mega-useful rear-view camera, all to help stop you hitting something or someone, but none of that can prevent someone else from actually hitting you.

You see, left to fend for itself on the street for a couple of days, my Golf has been hit. Who or whatever did it has broken my rear light cluster. When I was first told of it I feared the worst, but in fact the damage is merely cosmetic – the lights still function as they should.

Indeed the good folk at VW are happy to wait until the car’s returned to them next month to fix it, so it’s business as usual for me, and that business has been further boosted by an increase in my fuel economy. I managed an impressive read-out of 48mpg on the digital instruments on one recent 50-mile trip from Surrey to Bluewater, and this despite the frustrations of much stop-start traffic on the M25.

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