Volkswagen Golf Review: The Golf 7 - Full Review

Volkswagen Golf Review: The Golf 7

Overview

The 7th installation of the Golf marks the wild success that VW have had with this car. From the original Golf (Citi Golf shape) the VW Golf has come a long way, not only in it’s design, but in the drive and technology used.

Performance

The test car we had was the 1.2-litre 77kW TSI Trendline. What’s most significant about this little car is that you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a 1.4. We’ve tested many VW and Audi variants with the 1.4T FSI engine, and they’re really good engines. But this 1.2-litre engine really was amazing.

In fact, if you weren’t told that it’s a 1.2-litre engine, you’d have a hard time guessing. Because of the clever use of TSI technology the Golf produces a very smooth power and torque band. So from as low as 1300 RPM you feel the power kick in and it carries all the way through to about 6000 RPM.

Economy

VW Brand it ‘Bluemotion’, but it’s their way of saying that they’ve gone to great lengths to make the car as economical as possible.

The claimed figure from VW is 4.9 litres per 100km. We put this to the test and found that it was totally possible, with careful driving to achieve below 5 litres per 100km. However, the smaller engine does have 1 fault. As soon as you find yourself on a mountainous road, you can’t smoothly accelerate up hill in 6th gear. In fact, 5th and sometimes even 4th gear are problematic.

This translates to an annihilation of your fuel economy, and you’ll quickly find yourself in the 6.5 to 7 litres per 100km area.

Tech

Standard with a 5” LCD touch screen you get to control your radio and navigation system. AUX input is provided, as well as an SD card slot for extra listening pleasure. All this audible goodness comes out of the 8 speaker system you’ll find standard in the VW Golf 7.

Comfort

This is where the Golf 7 really shines. The comfortable ride produced by the Golf 7 is staggering to be blunt. The Golf 7 isn’t a radical departure from the Golf 6, and for good reason. The Golf 6 was brilliant, so the Golf 7 is just made better.

So you’ll find every aspect of this car near perfectly refined. The ride is smooth but grippy. Steering is light and fully electronic but not entirely lifeless and numb.

The seating positions are great, clutch and gear changes on the manual are light and easy, and general ergonomics are fantastic.

Practicality

Boot space is respectable at 380 litres, and the rear seats fold down to offer you even more space. In the back you can comfortably get 2 adults.

Ground clearance is pretty standard, the lavish use of aluminum to lighten the car means opening and closing doors doesn’t become a chore, which is especially helpful for moms doing school runs.

Conclusion

For the longest time, the Golf has always been the benchmark for the hatchback market. It’s been good looking, economical, practical, but delivered on the performance, and other hatches were almost automatically compared to the Golf.

Once again, Volkswagen have built the benchmark. It’s an excellent car, which has it roots in a long history of excellent cars, and it’s near faultless.