BUYER’S GUIDE: Volkswagen Golf
CO2 /tax
109-114g/km
£155
Running costs
52-64mpg (2.0 TDI)
£68 fill-up
Performance
0-62mph/top speed
8.6 seconds/134mph
THE original Golf of 1974 represented a seismic shift for Volkswagen, which was still producing the air-cooled Beetle, and would be for another 29 years. But the Golf soon proved a hit, helped by the introduction of diesel editions and a GTI model, which kick-started the hot-hatch revolution.
VW continued to hone the formula, and by 2013 it had come up with the deeply impressive, multi-talented seventh generation. This was facelifted four years later, with high-tech driver-assistance systems, impressive new infotainment options, and digital displays along with fresh engines and transmissions. The changes were so significant that the new car was called the Mk7.5 because it wasn’t all new, but it was updated significantly enough to no longer be merely a Mk7.
History
THE Golf Mk7 arrived in
