Volkswagen Golf

What is it?

You've obviously been living under a rock for a few decades if you've never heard of it! Thirty-eight years after the original, the 7th generation Golf made its debut at the Paris Motor Show in September 2012. After having sold more than 30 units, I'm more than confident in saying that it's a hugely successful small family car available in 3- and 5-door guises. It's even available as a larger 5-seat MPV, cabriolet, estate and electric only version as well as some performance Golfs.

What specs are offered?

Originally offered with just S, SE and GT trims, today the offerings are S, Match, BlueMotion, GT and R-Line.

Go on then, what do I get?

Even entry-level S models get Bluetooth®, a front armrest, DAB, manual air conditioning, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors, a cooled glovebox and VW's Composition Media System (CMS). Only the front windows are electric, and you're stuck with steel wheels which require 15-inch wheel trims. No alloys here.

Match brings you 16-inch alloys, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), front fog lights, front and rear parking sensors, a rear armrest and halogen headlights with LED daytime running lights. On top of that, you get electric rear windows and a roof spoiler.

Economy-orientated BlueMotion models have 15-inch alloys amongst other minor changes.

GT and R-Line trims have 17-inch alloys, and R-Line Golfs have R-Line bodystyling.

All Golfs have 60:40 split folding rear seats, front sports seats with height and lumbar adjustment, Discover Navigation System (DNS) and even an electric parking brake - something I'm very fond of.

Which trim's the best?

They're all very good, but if you can, avoid the Golf S.

What engines are there?

A lot! Which I suppose is to be expected from such a popular car.

Petrol engines are 1.2-litre and 1.4-liter TSI units with various outputs of between 85 and 150 PS. The quickest is the 1.4-litre TSI which produces 150 PS and gets to 62 mph in 8.2 seconds, and continues to 134 mph.

Diesel engines are the 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre TDI ones, producing between 90 and 150 PS. The most efficient here is the 1.6-litre TDI achieving 74.3 mpg and emitting 98 and 99 g/km of CO2 for the 90 PS and 105 PS respectively.

You've also got the 88.3 mpg, 85 g/km, 110 PS 1.6-litre TDI BlueMotion.

Manual transmissions come in the forms of 5- and 6-speeds, whilst automatics are the 6- and 7-speed DSG.

For all the information on each engine, click here.

What options are there?

The Discover Pro infotainment system is a £1,765 option. It's a bit pricey, yes, but it's a pack which includes an 8-inch colour touchscreen, voice control, sat nav, CD, DVD and radio functionality. There are 2 SD card readers, 3D navigation and a 64 GB SSD hard drive.

Bi-xenon dipped and main beam headlights come at a cost of £805.

Keyless entry is only £360 and comes with a start/stop button as you'd expect.

Even cheaper is the £150 Park Assist which helps with both parallel and bay parking. For £15 more, the rear-view camera is a cool feature.

Tw-zone climate control is £210, but there's not much point in this car. It's not as if it's a big estate.

A panoramic sunroof is £920. Yes, it's expensive, but it's what you'll be expected to pay for most manufacturers these days.

What rivals are there?

The Golf's main rivals are the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra and Seat Leon, although its German competitors offer the premium A-Class (Mercedes-Benz), A3 (Audi) and 1 Series (BMW).

There's a Focus ST, Astra GTC, Leon Cupra, A45 AMG, S3 and RS 3 and M135i. What does the Golf have to offer?

Quite a lot. As well as the standard Golf, the familiar GTI remains available. Newer offerings include the GTD and GTE. There's also a Golf R. These are all offered as 3- and 5-door models, with the exception of the 5-door GTE.

The petrol GTI uses a 2.0-litre TSI engine producing 220 PS. With the 6-speed manual, it can reach 153 mph yet still achieve 47.1 mpg and emit 139 g/km of CO2. With the 6-speed DSG, it's less efficient - 44.1 mpg and 148 g/km. It also has a top speed of 152 mph. Both get to 62 mph in 6.5 seconds.

The diesel GTD, with a 2.0-litre TDI engine, gets to 62 mph in 7.5 seconds. The 185 PS engine pushes it to 143 and 142 mph for the 6-speed manual and 6-speed DSG respectively. Both are claimed to get more than 60 mpg and emit 109-122 g/km.

Then there's the GTE. It's a plug-in (PHEV) which manages 166 mpg and emits 35 g/km. Despite its highly economical engine, it's only 0.1 of a second slower than the GTD. It has a combined output of 204 PS.

Another 2.0-litre TSI engine is used in the Golf R producing 300 PS. It uses 4MOTION four-wheel-drive. Surprise, surprise, it uses 6-speed manual and DSG transmissions with the DSG getting the best statistics (4.9 seconds vs. 5.1 seconds and 40.9 mpg vs. 39.8 mpg).

There's even an all-electric e-Golf. VW claims the 115 PS, 270 Nm  battery pack will let it travel for 118 miles, taking just over 10 seconds to get to 62 mph.

How much do they cost?

The GTD is the cheapest, but the GTI closely follows. Both have £26k price tags. The R has a £30k price tag, and the GTE comes in at £33k.

Which would you get?

Out of the performance ones? The sensible GTD.

What about the standard Golf?

Why don't I just show you how I'd spec it?

I chose a lower spec Match and then added what I wanted to the vehicle. It came in at just under £29k.

Have you got any pictures of the normal Golf, then?