Volkswagen Golf (Mk7) review

The headline here is the ride, which is little short of a revelation. It absorbs, isolates and simply glides above the disturbance of Britain’s knackered roads. Yet, with less weight up front and all-new suspension, the chassis also delivers more feedback and grip than you may expect from such a supple ride. Sure, you’d never call it agile, but for progression and precision, it’s fine – albeit better on higher-end multi-link rear suspension than the penny-pinching torsion bar setup of lesser cars. Engine-wise, the facelift heralded a new 1.5-litre turbo four-cylinder (called the ‘evo’ by VW), which is possibly the single most refined four-cylinder we’ve ever come across. Smooth and uncannily quiet, it really shows up diesels, which, smooth as VW has made them, can’t compete with this low, low level of noise, vibration and harshness. You can have it with 128bhp (and a clever coasting function that switches the engine off completely when freewheeling to save as much fuel as possible), and a more spritely but hardly firebreathing 148bhp version.

Now let’s talk about the interesting ones. The e-Golf and GTE both suffer for the 150kg or so of battery pack they stow down below the back seats, which has slightly old-school Porsche 911 effects on the handling, none of which are welcome. But then, those are the Golfs you’re least likely to toss around on a gnarly road, so we’ll forgive and forget.

The GTI is a genius piece of kit, a Goldilocks performance car that despite being left behind in the power stakes, still maintains a wonderful sense of all the car you’ll ever need glow. Our pick is the GTI Performance, because its 245bhp to the standard car’s 227bhp means you’re not quite at the mercy of well-driven Fiesta STs. It also gets a pucker limited slip front differential in place of the standard GTI’s traction-control fakery, so you spend less time with the brakes jabbing at the front wheels and more time dangling a rear tyre in the air on a roundabout. Think of it as the world’s most fun way of reducing tyre wear. Oh, and if you’re medically able and don’t spend too much time in traffic, try to avoid ditching the clutch pedal. The DSG is fine and all that (six speeds for the standard car, seven on the Performance), but the manual is so, so sweet, and you even get a retro-tastic golf-ball-dimple gearknob to make every shift that bit more evocative. It’s like a discount 911 R. Sort of.

And now to the Golf R. Wow. Where did this come from? Traditionally, adding an R badge and all-wheel drive to the Golf made it fast, sure, but also lethargic and heavy and altogether not as satisfying at the cheaper, more nimble GTI. That all changed for the Mk7. The 310bhp engine is linear, sharp, revs beautifully and sounds like an old Audi Quattro. The Haldex AWD resists understeer superbly, and will even give you a sense of the power being shifted to the rear axle on corner exit, unlike an Audi S3 or RS3. Okay, you might think this is all a bit last week now the Focus RS has got drift mode, but in the real world the Golf R is every bit as quick, and just as entertaining without needing wholesale switches of mode and character which also have a questionable effect on your insurance explanations should there be a sudden blockage in the talent department. Fast, chuckable, subtle and keenly priced, the Golf R is for TG’s money, the best all-round hot hatch in the world. Naturally, given the Golf is the best all-rounder, full stop.