Volkswagen Golf Estate (Mk8) review

The seating position is perfectly judged, there are plenty of nice soft-touch materials (particularly the brilliant cloth seats) and it’s all screwed together well. Which you’d expect, to be honest.

And none of which has really changed from Mk8 to Mk8.5. No, where the pre-facelift Golf fell apart – even against those from within the VW Group – was largely the ‘Innovision’ cockpit. So, Volkswagen tells us it has listened to our complaints, and gone back to the drawing board.

For example, all Golfs now get proper buttons on the steering wheel, in place of the terrible touch-sensitive, haptic surfaces previously seen on upper-spec cars. This alone is a huge win.

What about the central screen?

All Golfs now get Volkswagen’s latest MIB4 infotainment system, centred around a 12.9in free-standing touchscreen. It’s a far better system than before, with the menu structure much improved, and the system altogether more responsive. And it now gets ChatGPT, if you like that sort of thing. We don’t.

It’s not perfect, mind. The confusing capacitive slider under the screen that controls temperature and volume remains, but it does at least light up now. It’s still far more complicated to use than simple knobs and buttons, and you’ll also accidentally touch it a lot when trying to use the screen on the move. 

But the screen does at least now get a row of customisable shortcut buttons at the top (allowing you to quickly turn off the hidden driver assistance systems, for example), while setting cabin temperature and turning on/off the heated seats is now easier thanks to permanently displayed controls at the bottom.

How much space is there inside?

Suppose we should talk about practicality, given that’s probably the sole reason you’re here. The wheelbase on the Mk8 Estate is 66mm longer than the previous version of the car, and the whole thing is 35mm longer in total. This means an increase in bootspace to an impressive 611 litres with the rear seats up and 1,642 litres with them folded flat. That longer wheelbase also means you can easily seat six-footers front and rear.

It’s worth pointing out, though, that the similarly MQB-based Octavia and Leon Estate both get even bigger boots. Not by much, but still.