Volkswagen Golf Hatchback (2024 - ) review

The Golf is available as either a hatchback or an estate with a wide array of engine, gearbox, and trim combinations. This should mean there’s a Golf for everyone, but it does make trawling through the options list rather confusing. By the time you’ve added a few useful extras you’ll be lucky to get any change from £30,000. This is about the going rate for a family hatchback these days, but other cars such as the Mazda3 are more generous with their standard equipment. Whether you opt for petrol, diesel or the mild hybrid, the Golf should easily manage between 40-50 mpg. Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s next generation of plug-in hybrid promises around 80 miles of electric only range. This should more than cover most journeys and if you are able to charge at home running costs should be minimal. For quick top-ups when out and about, it now supports rapid charging too and Company car drivers can benefit from the lower Benefit In Kind.

The eighth-generation Golf initially got off to a rocky start with a flaky infotainment system and poorly designed temperature controls, but Volkswagen has periodically been addressing this with tweaks to both the software and hardware. This latest update makes for a much-improved car. It feels like Volkswagen has learnt from its mistakes and as a result we are hopeful the Golf is now at the level it needs to be. The fundamental building blocks of the model are shared throughout the wider Volkswagen Group which should give confidence the parts are tried and tested. Each Golf is covered by a standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty and you can pay to extend this for extra peace of mind.

Like any German engineered car, the Golf feels solidly put together. As you close the doors with a satisfying thunk you’ll feel in safe hands and Volkswagen has an excellent track record with NCAP. The entry-level models come with familiar safety features and driver aids including two ISOFIX anchors in the back and one in the front, lane keeping assistance, emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. You’ll need to move up to at least Style trim to get useful features such as blind spot monitoring as standard mind. We found the lane keeping assistance to be rather overzealous, though it’s pretty simple to turn off in the settings menu by using the shortcut button below the main central screen. We’ve docked a point from our overall safety score for this and because additional airbags are a cost option.

The hatchback Golf provides ample space for most people’s needs, and opting for the estate will give you more room besides. Being lower down to the ground than an SUV it feels like you are more connected to the road rather than perching high above it. Ride quality and noise reduction is generally good too. The interior, though not as exciting as you’ll find in a Peugeot 308, is practical if perhaps a little plain and has plenty of storage compartments. It’s a comfortable place to be. On the entry-level Life trim and the next step-up Match cars you’ll get the same interior with grey cloth seats, chrome effect dashboard inserts and the light headlining helping to give it an airy feel. Moving up to Style trim you get microfleece seat inserts in your choice of light or dark fabric with match door cards. R-Line cars get sportier seats with larger bolsters. These models have a dark headlining so you might want to opt for the panoramic sunroof to make the space feel more open. In the back there’s room to carry two adults comfortably and three at a squeeze, with useful touches like cup holders in the central arm rest and handy small pockets for your phone on the back of the front seats. Though the interior is not cavernous, it’s certainly roomy enough and all materials feel durable and well made.

The most notable feature of the Golf is the new infotainment system, it’s the same one you’ll find in a Passat or Tiguan and it’s oh so much better than the previous version. The 12.9-inch screen is now more responsive and has customisable shortcuts for features you use the most like parking aids, climate control and the driver assist settings. This combined with the newly backlit temperature and volume sliders and the physical steering wheel buttons, makes for a much less frustrating experience. Another new addition is the integration of ChatGPT into the in-built virtual assistant ‘IDA’. We had fun trying it out, but we’re not quite sure how useful this really is. Getting the assistant to spring into life was a bit hit and miss as we put on our best telephone voice, repeating “Hello Volkswagen” into the ether. For requests relating to the car, like finding the menu to turn off the lane keeping assist ‘IDA’ handles this without ChatGPT and it seemed to work ok. If, for example, you ask the Golf “How old is President Biden?” it will respond using machine learning. “According to ChatGPT president Biden was born on the 20th of November 1942 so his age changes as time progresses.” Thanks Volkswagen, we’re reassured machines will not be replacing humans for a while yet. However Volkswagen does say this will improve with software updates as time goes on. One of the more practical features on the Golf is the option for a 360-degree camera giving a bird’s eye view of your surroundings. It’s the first time this has been available and it’s helpful, but not as clever as the cameras on the latest Nissan Qashqai.

We started out by trying the entry-level 115-horsepower 1.5-litre TSI petrol hatchback. This was easy to drive and felt perfectly nippy with a smooth six-speed manual gearbox. There’s also a more powerful 150-horsepower option offering increase confidence for those who spend more time on motorways. We then hopped into a mild hybrid eTSI estate this recoups braking energy and uses it to provide a small boost of power. The eTSI are all seven-speed automatics and have the same 115- or 150-horsepower options. We tried the 150-horsepower which was very slick, and we enjoyed having that extra bit of oomph. It seemed pretty efficient on fuel too, claiming to do nearly 50 mpg on our test route. We didn’t get the chance to have a go in the new plug-in hybrid with an impressive, claimed range of over 80 miles, but based on our experience of the Tiguan and Passat we expect it to feel swift out on the road and to come close to the official range figures. Those who do mega milage or use their car for towing will be pleased to know you can also still get a diesel Golf for now. This uses a 2.0-litre TDI engine with the same power output options as the petrol cars. For those used to driving petrol cars it feels a little less refined but is a solid option for those who mainly do motorway driving. Volkswagen continues to build a Golf fit for every occasion and while SUVs remain in vogue, the Golf still delivers on all the essentials you really need from a car.