Review: 2017 Volkswagen Golf 1.0 TSI 110

New infotainment, a fine drive on UK roads, and a lower price. Sign here please.
1/7

If car makers can have a Royal-style annus horribilis, then Volkswagen has been having one. Luckily, it has the Golf on its books.

From 1974 to now, one Golf has been sold every 40 seconds. This is quite a stat for a car that’s been developed to a level of such universal appeal that it features on just about any car buyer’s shopping list at some point or another.

With that sort of icon in your range, development is the key word. Changes are considered and gradual, to the extent that it’s hard to see exactly what the changes are on this new Mk 7.5. The platform is the same as the Mk 7’s, but the bumpers and front wings have been slightly altered, and there are new LED tail-lights and halogen (or LED) headlights.

Here are the two biggest changes: a new infotainment system, with the class-first option of gesture control; and a new price. A new, lower price. A price that has gone down. That’s worth repeating.

You step into the new Golf range at the 1.0 TSI 85 level, but we’re having a go in the 1.0 TSI 110 engine. It’s a fair bet that this will be the most generally recommended entry point.

First question is, does a 1.0 litre three-cylinder engine do the job in a not insubstantial car like the Golf? Well, yes, if the Golf is light enough. Put a driver and a full tank of petrol into this one and the scales will read 1216kg, which is pleasingly low. The engine needs to have reasonable torque too, so it’s heartening to hear that this 1.0 unit cranks out the same amount of that stuff as the 1.4 TSI 125. Admittedly it delivers it across a less wide powerband, but you can’t have everything.

As per usual with a three-cylinder engine, some revs need to be dialled in to get a good squirt away from a dead stop, but once you’re rolling it zings away happily through the midrange right through to a free-spinning red line. You might not be travelling quite as quickly as it sounds like you should be, but for urban use there’s no glaring shortfall in useable power, and 70mph comes up quickly enough on the big roads.

Habitual outside laners will struggle to record outstanding economy figures as they will be mashing the throttle for much of the time. If that’s your modus operandi you might want to wait for the all-new 1.5 TSI Evo coming later in 2017. Otherwise, for steady drivers in the real world the 1.0 will easily average mid-40s.

A newly-released Golf that didn’t seem obsessively polished to a new zenith of excellence would be an unusual thing indeed, and this 7.5 is no exception to that stern rule. Space all round for both humans and cargo is perfectly judged and the car does a great job of shutting out the outside world. With this engine, the Golf only gets a basic rear axle rather than the multi-link set-up granted to posher models, but even this relative hobbling doesn’t prevent the car from being one of the class’s best riders. The composure and balance that’s evident on difficult roads is an object lesson to other manufacturers on mixing comfort and control.

You’ll enjoy the intelligently geared and well weighted steering too. A Golf is many things, and that’s a huge part of its appeal, but it isn't a sports car. As long as you don’t burden it with unreasonable expectations you should be perfectly happy with the accurate and obedient manner in which it follows instructions.

Some find Golf cabins boring to look at, but even the most curmudgeonly critic would grant the improvement wrought to this one by the introduction (on all models) of a new, glass-fronted 8.0in touchscreen. Our SE Navigation car had – guess what? – but not gesture control that’s part of the optional Discover Navigation Pro system. That comes with a 9.2in screen.

The crystal-clear display on our humbler 8-incher is a real lift on previous Golf infotainment systems. Familiar menus generate faster responses through enhanced processor power. SE models upwards get Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink. From SE Navigation spec, various online services join the party.

Another Golf first is the option to substitute a 12.3in digital screen for the normal instrument package. That puts navigation maps usefully front and centre, and undistractingly below the driver’s eye line. There’s nothing boring about how all this gear is fitted into the cabin, by the way. It’s immaculately well put together.

Picking out faults in the Mk 7 Golf was never an easy task. The biggest one, arguably, was a price that pitched it more against premium cars like BMW 1 Series or Audi A3 rather than the Focus you should have been comparing it to. That was a branding problem for VW.

Now, with average price cuts of £650 across the Golf range, the problem plops back into Ford’s lap. Those infotainment upgrades have freshened up the proposition nicely and the sprightly 1.0 TSI 110 will potentially deliver good economy numbers.

If all-round family car capability is more important to you than ultimately nuanced road feedback, the Golf must, once again, be high on your list.

Volkswagen Golf 1.0 TSI 110 SE Navigation 5dr manual

Price £20,120
Engine 3 cyls, 999cc, turbo, petrol
Power 109bhp at 5000-5500rpm
Torque 148Ib ft at 2000-3500rpm
Gearbox 6-spd manual
Kerb weight 1216kg
0-62mph 9.9sec
Top speed 122mph
Economy 58.9mpg (combined)
CO2/tax band 109g/km, 20%
Rivals Ford Focus 1.0T Ecoboost 125, Skoda Octavia 1.0 TSI 115

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