Volkswagen Golf Estate (07-09) - Review

The cabin provides plenty of room for those in the front, and there's enough room for two adults or three kids in the back. If you need more passenger space, then the Golf Plus or Touran offer more flexible rear seating arrangements. The interior has a suitably high quality feel to the fit and finish, and equipment levels provide all the essentials. The ride is reasonably smooth and wind and tyre noise levels are acceptable at normal speeds.

No immediate alternative betters the Golf Estate in terms of boot space - it's even bigger than the Ford Focus Estate. Lift the rear hatch and you'll find a cavernous boot, while with the back seats folded (they split 60/40) to increase the load space to a shade under 1,500 litres. By comparison, the Golf Plus has 100 litres less maximum load space. The Estate has further practical touches in the form of a bag hook in the luggage area, storage sections under the boot floor and in the side of the boot and roof rails. SE versions also have a load-through hatch in the centre arm rest for longer items such as skis.

Driver's of all shapes and sizes should have no difficulty getting a good driving position thanks to fully adjustable driver's seat that includes height adjustment, and a height and reach adjustable steering wheel. The interior design is attractive with a quality that reinforces the Golf's position as the best quality small car. As well as being attractive, the dashboard is functional with large, easy-to-use buttons and - where fitted - a simple sat nav system. All the controls are close to the driver for on-the-move adjustments and the screen is close enough so you don't have to squint. The system is a bit slow however, but cars from March 2008 come with a much faster and slicker system. The sat nav directions - as well as average fuel consumption, radio station, time and range are displayed in a panel in the instrument cluster, so you only have to momentarily take your eyes off the road.