The new Volkswagen Golf Estate has gone on sale in the UK with prices starting at just over £24,500. Sharing much with the latest-generation Golf hatchback, the new Golf Estate promises slightly more boot space than its predecessor, as well as more modern on-board tech and mild-hybrid powertrains.
As with the ‘normal’ Golf, Estate buyers will be faced with a choice of three mainstream trim levels. The £24,575 asking price, however, will only get you the entry-level Life model. That version comes with automatic LED headlights, 16-inch alloy wheels and a 10-inch colour touchscreen with satellite navigation. That’s teamed with the Active Info Digital Display Cockpit Pro – a digital instrument cluster – and parking sensors front and rear.
Dig deeper and you’ll find smartphone integration technology and adaptive cruise control that can maintain a safe distance to the car in front. The Life also comes with connected car technology and safety features including Front Assist and Lane Assist.
Moving up to the Style trim gets you 17-inch alloy wheels, front sports seats and three-zone climate control, as well as interior ambient lighting with a choice of 30 colours and some extra safety gadgets. And opting for the sport-inspired R-Line gets you more aggressive bumpers, sports suspension and a system that allows you to tune the car’s characteristics to suit the road.
The engine range, meanwhile, effectively comprises six different engines. The entry-level 1-litre petrol is only offered in tandem with the Life variant, and it produces 109 bhp. It does come with a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearboxes, though.
That’s joined by a 1.5-litre petrol that’s available with mild-hybrid assistance if you go for the seven-speed automatic. Both variants come with 128 bhp as standard, but you can upgrade to the 148 bhp versions if you so wish.
Diesel options are limited to just two, both of which are 2-litre engines. The 113 bhp version, which is only available with a six-speed manual gearbox, is offered lower down the range, while the Style and R-Line models are available with a 148 bhp iteration. That more powerful version comes with a choice of manual and automatic gearboxes.
Gallery: Volkswagen Golf Alltrack (2020)
However, if you want more power, you could always go for the new Alltrack model, which joins the Life, Style and R-Line models in the Golf Estate range. Like the old Alltrack, it’s an off-road orientated model, offering bulky body cladding and four-wheel drive, as well as 17-inch alloy wheels and three-zone climate control.
The Alltrack also comes with a 197 bhp 2-litre diesel engine, which is shared with diesel versions of the new Skoda Octavia vRS. That’s paired with a seven-speed automatic gearbox, which permits a 0-62 mph time of 7.1 seconds.
More on the new Volkswagen Golf:
Every version of the Golf Estate comes with a 611-litre boot that eclipses the old Golf Estate by six litres and represents a 230-litre increase on the standard Golf hatchback. Fold down the rear seats, and the boot swells to 1,642 litres - a 22-litre increase on the MkVII Golf Estate.
“The new generation of our much-loved family estate is undoubtedly our best yet,” said Lisa Hartley, product manager at Volkswagen UK. “It’s bigger, more advanced and more refined while retaining those traditional Volkswagen values of safety, practicality and comfort that have always made the Golf a leader in its class.”
Gallery: Volkswagen Golf Estate R-Line (2020)