Volkswagen Golf Hatchback (04-08) - Review

Review by David Ross on
Last Updated: 28 Sep 2009
4
With an excellent drive, roomy interior and a five-star Euro NCAP crash-test rating, the Volkswagen Golf is one of the best hatchbacks around. It's improved in every area over the car it replaced - it can carry four adults in comfort, is enjoyable and comfortable on the road and has most of the equipment you'll ever need.

Latest Volkswagen Golf Hatchback review

3 out of 5

Running costs

Fuel economy is pretty good, especially on the 1.4 TSI and diesel models while the Bluemotion models is peanuts to run. The on board computer informs you when your car needs to be serviced, so intervals can be varied, depending on usage. Servicing costs themselves tend to be high in the Volkswagen dealer network due to high labour rates, though the costs of parts can be quite reasonable.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,286 - £1,889 *

Diesel

£1,012 - £1,426 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 133p and diesel 138p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

Variable according to on board computer.

Warranty

Three years/60,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£30.00 - £280.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

3.5 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
  • C
    119
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
    206
  • L
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The Golf scores well on the eco front. With an average of 161g/km CO2 across the range, its emissions are relatively low for a small family hatchback. Eco-conscious buyers and those looking to keep costs down should go for the Bluemotion model - thanks to emissions of just 119g/km it's cheap to tax while it will average 63mpg. It looks like a standard Golf and drives just as well - plus comes with features such as air conditioning and ESP as standard.

Find the exact engine and CO2