Volkswagen UK celebrated the Golfs 50th birthday at Caffeine & Machine where Company Car & Van popped along to drive the updated Golf Estate.
What’s new ?
Outside there are new LED light signatures, Matrix at the front and 3D rear, where you get 3 different welcome & goodbye animators, a more aggressive front bumper & a new rear bumper, plus the VW badge on the bonnet is now illuminated. Customers can also select from five new alloy wheel designs & four new metallic paints.
Inside is where things have changed the most. The quality is up with some nice dashboard finishes & touches & a more premium feel. Colour wise it’s still a little safe with our test car finished in grey & black with some chrome touches here & there.
The most pleasing new feature is the centre mounted free standing 10.4″ central touchscreen, which is similar to the one found in the latest Passat & Tiguan. You also get a customisable 10.2″ ‘Digital Cockpit Pro’ display, a head-up-display, ChatGP AI, & the option of a new ‘Park Assist Pro 2 ‘system allowing users to park via their smartphone.
Infotainment
As a family we run a 2022 Tiguan which still features stand alone controls for many of the functions such as climate. The Golf 8 Estate was introduced with a much more paired down interior, prioritising the ‘look’ over the functionality. Nearly all of the physical controls went, replaced by touch-sensitive adjusting panels both on the steering wheel & on the dashboard for the climate & volume. These were slow to respond or often frustratingly over sensitive. And at night weren’t backlit. Thankfully, VW have listened to the public who weren’t fans & the new version comes with many old-style buttons & switches on the steering wheel, a backlight so you can see the sliders at night & most importantly a new operating system MIB4 for the infotainment.
Volkswagen’s latest ‘MIB4’ infotainment software is much smoother & faster to use with less menus to navigate than what came before. Other additions include a head-up display & a new ‘Park Assist Pro2’ system that allows the Golf Estate to be driven in and out of parking spaces using your smartphone.
Engine choices
The Golf Estate doesn’t get as much choice in powertrains as the hatchback. There’s 114bhp & 148bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engines with a six-speed manual. Plus two diesel TDI offerings again with 114bhp & 148bhp. The lower-powered diesel gets a manual six-speed with the more powerful version coming with a seven-speed DSG. Unfortunately, there’s no PHEV, but there will be a Golf R Estate later on in 2024.
Model choice
Just three versions of the Estate; Life, Style or R-Line.
Specs
The Golf Estate comes well equipped, with Life offering features such as 16” alloys, automatic climate control, adaptive cruise control & parking sensors at the front & the rear. The new MIB4 Discover infotainment system, wireless App-Connect, mobile phone interface, digital cockpit, LED headlights & LED tail light clusters are also fitted as standard.
Style goes further with individualised bumpers in Style design with chrome strips, performance headlights, sports comfort seats, brushed dark metal door & dash inserts, interior ambient lighting with 30 colour options, Air Care Climatronic (three-zone) with a rear air conditioning control panel, Rear Traffic Alert & lane change system.
The sporty Golf R-Line differs from the Golf Style by virtue of distinctive bumpers in the R-Line design & elements in high-gloss black including the side sill trims. These features are complemented by black 17” alloy wheels with diamond-cut outer surfaces. There’s also the addition of sports suspension, a leather & heated multi-function sports steering wheel with shift function, driving profile selection & premium sports seats with R-Line fabric seat covers.
Practicality
A massive 611 litre boot with space underneath & when folded down 1642 litres makes loads of workable space suitcases. The rear bench splits 60:40 & also features a ski hatch. Front passengers have ample head & legroom & the rear head space is generous too. Tall passengers will find leg room tight though & the centre back seat isn’t really large enough for an adult.
Better news are the massive front door pockets, under armrest storage, a decent sized glove box & spots to store your keys, phones & drinks in the centre area. Rear seats also have storage with two front & two USB C connections also offered.
Driving
Not a lot has changed in this regards. We drove the 2.0 litre manual diesel which feels a little more sprightly than the petrol being offered. Top speed is 126mph & 0-62 mph will take 10.2 seconds. The seats are comfortable & the cabin is quiet. A short spin on the motorway meant selecting cruise control which works well & we connected to the hands-free CarPlay too, which again was quick & easy to do. The new larger screen is excellent featuring clear graphics fast responses & logical menus & it is genuinely easier to work with the controls than in the first version.
Utilising the cruise control, takes the hassle out of long journeys & the cabin features some good storage for drinks, keys, iPhone, sunglasses & the like. The longer estate body actually seems to add a bit more road holding to the Golf & a series of tight & undulating roads proved no problem. Our only criticism is that the 2.0 litre diesel engine isn’t sprightly enough for rapid overtaking.
Pros
So much better in the cabin. Excellent infotainment system, plenty of safety, sensible as well as logical switchgear & very well built.
Cons
No PHEV is being offered when others do offer a plug-in estate.
Verdict
Volkswagen are to be applauded for re vamping the Golf Mk8. The changes may not seem significant, but trust us the cabin is now one of the best in class & far better than before. The only real downside in the SME Fleet sector is that there won’t be a PHEV.
A Michael Stich 4.25/5
