I’VE just been down to a drive event to test the new VW Golf. It’s the MkVI model – although MkV.V might be closer!
While much of the chassis ‘hard points’ remain – the suspension and all the bits below the skin – the outside metal has changed. Although at first glance it’s hard to tell.
But place the outgoing Golf and the new Golf side by side, and the difference is quite marked.
The new Volkswagen Golf looks flatter, lower and cleaner. It’s a visual trick (horizontal lines rather than vertical lines) because it’s no lower than the current car. But it does make the new Golf look more modern.
However, the level of detail applied to the new car is amazing.
New VW Golf focuses on refinement
There are double seals on the doors to keep wind noise to a minimum; the door mirrors have channels that divert rain water to the base of the housing to prevent rain drops obscuring the mirror; the reversing camera is hidden inside the VW boot release badge – that way it stays clean; and even items such as the engine undertray on the diesel models has special acoustic baffles to keep noise within the engine bay, instead of the driver cabin. All clever stuff.
The Golf is always such an interesting car. It’s a motoring touchstone: the classless car. You could drive a Golf and own a half million turnover company; or a £50,000 turnover business – and no one would know which one you were.
I spoke to Matthew Bowden, VW’s national fleet services manager, about the new Golf. He reckoned the great TSI 122PS engine would be ideal for most small businesses if annual mileage was around 10,000 a year.
“In many ways, we’ve launched the new Golf at the ideal time. It’s very much a car of the moment – good value, and classless. You can downsize from a bigger car, add a few extras to provide that big car feel, and still run an economical business car.”
I think he’s spot on. The new Golf might not look greatly different. But it’s definitely a car for today.
