Written by Richard Kilpatrick Published: 25 April 2023 Updated: 25 April 2023

Overview

Is the Volkswagen Golf Estate any good?

You won’t be surprised to learn that in eighth generation form, the Volkswagen Golf Estate is a thoroughly polished car and it’s somewhat better than good. However, it’s not a car that achieves greatness, because it is far from unique. The core engineering is shared across many cars from the wider group of brands owned by Volkswagen – from Audi to Skoda – and each one is micro-managed to the finest points to appeal to different audiences.

As both the progenitor of VW’s modern-family car approach, and the ‘widest appeal’ marque, the Golf thus ends up being something of a personality-free zone. There’s none of the zest of the Leon Estate, nor the superior arrogance of the A3 Sportback, or the reserved pragmatism of the Skoda Octavia, even though the best qualities of all three are wrapped up in one package.

So yes – it’s very good, and of high quality, but it’s just a touch anonymous. At least that makes the hot Golf R estate an exceedingly discreet performance car.

In isolation, though, it’s rather impressive against the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake, Ford Focus Estate and Hyundai i30 Tourer. A safe, advanced choice that won’t let you down or lose much money when it’s time to trade in.

Whether it wins your heart, however, is another matter.

What’s it like inside?

Blurring the lines between VW Group’s brands, the Golf has taken some of the ‘high tech’ thunder from Audi and swapped to futuristic touch controls throughout. It’s not just the gadgetry, though. Depending on trim level there are luxury touches that set the Golf ahead of many premium marques – albeit at the cost of family resilience.

Take, for example, the velvety-soft fabric lined door pockets on some models. They dampen rattles and feel much nicer than sharp edged unfinished plastic, but you wouldn’t want to clean it up after leaving some forgotten sweets in there on a hot day.

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Everything is put together to a very high standard, with excellent fit and finish and no in-car rattles even with the large panoramic sunroof. Materials and appearance vary with specification, but all models get digital dials and a touchscreen infotainment system. This is where the polish starts to wear off as the infotainment system can be laggy, the touch-sensitive heater controls are hard to use and after a while you just wish it had been designed with more focus on usability rather than looking good.

None of it is a dealbreaker though and you’ll adapt, it’s just there’s a lot of progress for the sake of it in a car that is supposed to be a familiar family friend.

Practicality and luggage space

With big windows, a long, flat roofline, and a large, slab-sided boot the Volkswagen Golf Estate is the perfect shape for carrying people and stuff; there’s little attempt to make it too ‘sporty’ or fashionable (R Line and R aside), and that’s the way we like it. The tailgate extends low down with a wide, unimpeded opening and there’s an impressive amount of width available relative to the car’s size.

Because the Golf Estate is still a relatively small car has a short load area (albeit far longer than the hatch) that is easily extended by folding the seats – and it has the useful feature of Isofix points on the front seat so you can fetch large items and take your infant with you.

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Front seat comfort is the same as a normal Golf. In the rear seats the more upright roof and windows mean visibility is better, and Volkswagen’s thoughtful touches extend to not one, but three pockets on the seat backs on some models – with smartphone-sized slots further up the back of the front seat.

All models come with air conditioning or climate control as standard, so making sure your family and friends are comfortable on a long journey.

What’s it like to drive?

We’ve tested the Volkswagen Golf 150 TDI Style, a mid-range model with torquey diesel engine and DSG automatic gearbox and the hot R that gets its own dedicated review. VW’s diesel offers impressive refinement and more than adequate performance, as well as near 60mpg real-world economy.

Despite a wealth of driver assistants on offer, the Golf’s unobtrusive, driver-friendly setup means you can enjoy the car’s precise steering and neat handling. Yet it’s easy to let the tech take over in more tedious situations, which it does very effectively.

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Nothing is outstanding on this spec, given the price – it’s just very, very good, intuitive, and predictable. As the Golf Estate is also available in very basic, luxurious, all-wheel drive and high-performance R models as well, you should be able to find the experience you want; crucially they all have the same impressive, no-nonsense practicality that you want an estate for in the first place.

What models and trims are available?

As the best of Volkswagen Group, the Golf Estate offers, well, the best of VW’s engine selection. Everything from a 110hp 1.0-litre petrol to the storming Volkswagen Golf R is available – the latter offering all-wheel drive and 320hp. This is a truly fast load-lugger with only the smallest of external clues to tell other drivers what it is.

At present hybrid Golfs – the e-Hybrid and GTE – aren’t available in estate form, and for this generation there’s no e-Golf as the VW ID.3 fulfils that role. If you want a plug-in hybrid estate we’d recommend looking at the Skoda Octavia iV, while the MG 5 is an all-electric alternative.

However, there is a slightly higher ground clearance, all-wheel drive Golf Alltrack, which is only available with 200hp diesel power and DSG automatic gearbox.

On other models, you can opt for a manual gearbox or VW’s proven DSG automatic, and there’s a comprehensive set of driver assistance available if desired. In short, the Volkswagen Golf may be a byword for the essentials of family motoring, but it can be lavishly equipped.

What else should I know?

One thing the Golf Estate has going against it is cost. No VW Golf is ‘cheap’, but even so you’ll find you pay a hefty premium for a normal spec of Golf against strong rivals such as the Ford Focus Estate, Kia Ceed SW and of course, the in-house rivals of the Skoda Octavia and SEAT Leon estates.

However, the Golf feels more like a premium product – in places it feels more upmarket and higher quality than more obvious posh brands such as Mercedes-Benz and even some Audis. A little bit of that is in soft, short-lived things like soft-trimmed door bins – but it implies a longer-lasting, more robust car overall.

On the other hand, if longevity is important to you other manufacturers are now offering warranties that make VW look decidedly stingy. With that in mind, read on to find out if we think the Volkswagen Golf Estate is worth buying.

• Read more: Best estate cars
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Click to find out whether we think the Volkswagen Golf Estate is worth going for…

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