Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £11,945 to £20,460
Image, strong residual values, all-round competence, the hatch to aspire to.
Engines a bit noisy, slightly uninvolving and remote-feeling, conservative styling and character, minor cabin quality short-cuts.
The Mk 5 Golf sets the benchmark again in this class for sheer all-round desirability, though the Focus is the sharper drive.
Golf MK 5 rides much better than its predecessor, even with the optional sports suspension; it is smooth, beautifully balanced and with none of the Mk 4's tendency to pitch, roll and wallow. Tyre noise and wind noise are well-suppressed, and there's an impressive reduction of engine vibration, especially in the diesel models.
However, all the engines are noisier than expected; strangely, they're more raucous than in equivalent Audi A3 models. The FSI models are less pleasant to the ear, with a distinct whine when pushed; when idling, they're actually more rattly than the diesels.
The seats, although well-shaped in the front, aren't exactly sumptuously upholstered, and the rear bench is flat and unsupportive. The boot space is generous in both three- and five-door standard models without being outstanding, but it's a shame that the rear bench seat doesn't do more than fold (no flat-tumbling or sliding).
A CD player is standard, and there's also a fairly comprehensive list of good-quality optional set-ups, from a single-disc 20-watt unit with six speakers to a six-CD autochanger (with stacker placed in the front centre armrest) and 10-speaker system with satellite navigation, seven-inch colour screen with full mapping and touch-screen controls. The highest-spec stereo is easier to use than that in earlier top-end Golfs, with a more user-friendly menu function, and sound quality is pretty good.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volkswagen Golf
wrote on 20 06 2007
wrote on 14 10 2006
wrote on 06 06 2006