The VW Golf was Mrs and Mr Schweizer’s favorite for 41 years. From 1975 to 2016 he held his own at the top of the sales hit parade. Then he was replaced by the Skoda Octavia. And as a result, the descent went quickly. The VW Golf is currently only in 14th place and therefore not even among the top ten best-selling new cars in our country.
How could it possibly come this far? Over the years, there has been a certain amount of golf fatigue. Although we are now in the eighth generation, the Golf has only developed very moderately since it was launched in 1974. Practically the same styling for many decades: perhaps an icon like the Porsche 911 can afford that, while the Golf has overused its traditional shape. In addition, there was the ongoing SUV boom, which brought the Golf a lot of new competition (including from in-house), as well as technical problems before and after the launch of the latest generation.
Extremely spacious
These problems should now be eliminated. That is why we are taking a close look at the station wagon as a “Life” variant with a one-liter petrol mild hybrid drive (eTSI). What quickly becomes noticeable: the latest Golf, with its roofline sloping flat towards the rear, looks a bit more dynamic and has grown considerably compared to its predecessor. 4.63 meters in length is an increase of 35 centimeters compared to the hatchback and seven centimeters compared to its predecessor. Thanks to the longer wheelbase, there is almost as much space at the rear as in the Passat. The trunk has also grown. We were amazed to find that we put our 29er mountain bike with wide handlebars in the Golf with the rear seats folded down, while two years ago we had to dismantle the front wheel to transport the same bike during the endurance test of the larger VW Passat.
Extremely slow
In the cockpit, nobody can fool the Golf so quickly. It takes a long time before the multimedia system starts up after the vehicle is started – and you can finally enter the desired navigation system destination. If the tip also appears in the display that it is more ecological not to leave the vehicle stationary for too long, it seems almost cynical. Otherwise, the cockpit pleases with its modern touch, the easy-to-read digital instruments. And the many safety and convenience assistants are also convincing.
drive 1.0-liter three-cylinder eTSi petrol engine, 110 PS, 200 Nm, 7-speed DSG automatic, front-wheel drive
Performance 0-100 km / h in 10.6 s, top 202 km / h
Dimensions L / W / H 4.63 / 1.79 / 1.50 m, 1540 kg, trunk 611–1642 l
consumption Factory / test 5.5 / 5.1 l / 100 km = 126/117 g / km CO2
price from 33,250 francs, test car including options 37,307 francs
Extremely economical
The small drive unit in our test car is also convincing. In view of only three cylinders and 110 hp, we were a bit skeptical at the beginning whether this engine would not be overwhelmed with the 1.5 ton station wagon. In fact, however, the mild hybrid three-cylinder is surprisingly lively – and we never had the feeling that we were underpowered. We are amazed at how economical the Golf Variant 1.0 eTSI can be. Without paying particular attention to economical driving, we stay with 5.1 liters on average after 800 test kilometers 0.4 liters below the official factory specification.
Our conclusion
The VW Golf may have fallen out of the top ten in the sales hit parade and visually may not be the very last thing. Technically, the variant we tested was completely convincing with its extremely economical hybrid drive. It also offers plenty of space, a modern cockpit and various safety assistants. However, all of this has its price at 37,307 francs including options.