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our test drives or view them all

Volkswagen Golf Plus 1.4 TSI SE five-door

DYNAMICALLY and mechanically the new generation Golf Plus 1.4 TSI SE is a masterpiece – but why would you want to buy one?

It’s a curious model. When the first Golf Plus arrived I asked the same question – and I’ve still to come up with an answer.

Model-for-model it’s more expensive then the Golf 6 on which it is based, more than 120kg heavier, looks overweight and slightly bloated and on first acquaintance does nothing better than the smaller and trimmer standard five-door Golf hatch.

Place these cars side by side and the 1.4 TSI SE Golf Plus costs around £1300 more than the Golf 1.4 TSI SE. It stands 113mm taller, 27mm wider and is 105mm longer overall although they both share the same 2.57metre wheelbase. Both vehicles can tow the same weight – three tonnes.

Where the Golf Plus begins to make some sense is in luggage capacity. At 395 litres its boot is 45 litres bigger than its hatch sister. Fold the rear seats and while the Golf hatch can swallow an impressive 1305 litres, the Golf Plus goes on to pack away 1450 litres.

So on a cargo carrying basis the Golf Plus slips ahead – but why not buy a good-looking Golf Estate? Especially the new Golf 6 Estate that is due soon. It has better lines and will swallow more than 500 litres with all the seats in use and nearly 1500 litres with the rears folded.

Having said that, the Golf Plus is a good cargo shifter. The mechanism to tuck the rear seats away is simple and leaves the loading floor flat. The loading floor is firm with a deep compartment beneath for dirty or wet items.

It took me a while to begin to see the possible attractions of the Golf Plus, and even then I’m not convinced.

If you like an airy interior and perhaps appreciate a car that makes getting in and out easier because of a tall roof and wide doors, the Golf Plus is a possibility.

I certainly found it easier to get behind the wheel than the ordinary Golf. You don’t have to stoop or bow your head and visibility is marginally better – but marginally is the key word. You would have to have real mobility issues or desperately need extra headroom before I’d recommend the Golf Plus over a Golf 6 hatch.

Where there’s no argument is in its mechanical and dynamic ability.

Volkswagen generally doesn’t get enough praise for its engines – especially the little gem that powered my test car.

Coupled to a sweet-changing six-speed manual gearbox was a modest 1.4 litre petrol unit. Charged with having to propel a 1.34 tonne five-door hatch with the frontal drag of a brick compared to its sleeker Golf 6 hatch, I expected the Golf Plus to be a sluggard. Not a bit of it.

The turbocharged 1390cc 16-valve TSI is a superb unit – powerful, torquey and quiet. It pumps out a lively 121bhp at 5000rpm – that’s amazing and smashes the criticism I have heard levied at "high revving small capacity engines" that revved their heads off. It’s nonsense. The TSI develops all its power at a reasonable 5000rpm and better still generates a healthy dollop of pulling power from a modest 1500rpm when you can tap into 200 Newton Metres of torque and run it all the way to 4000rpm.

I drove the Golf Plus more than 500 miles over the Grampians via the Lecht and Bridge of Brown before heading West to Argyll. It was reasonably well loaded with two people and a lot of luggage and progress was brisk.

Economy, I thought would be dire, and while I was not all that impressed by its average 37mpg at the end of those hauls, I was able to improve on the figure along the Moray Firth Coast and spending some time in and around Inverness when it rose to an acceptable 42mpg.

More significantly than the consumption was the way this tiny petrol engine performed compared to its 1.6, 1.8 and even two-litre peers. It was brilliant.

The TSI never showed signs of strain, was universally quiet and smooth and even when I was too lazy to change down to a lower gear and it started to struggle, I was stunned by its ability to continue to pull the vehicle along without undue transmission shudder. That’s a true test of a properly designed engine.

There were many times when I doubted Volkswagen’s specification sheet. I convinced myself as we climbed towards the Lecht ski slopes like an electric buggy on steroids that I was actually in a 1.6 or two-litre – but no, the TSI was really that impressive.

At a mere 2000rpm it spins along at 60mph, with 70mpg at an effortless 2400rpm.

The engine’s only vice, one it shares with most multivalve petrol and diesel engines, is that it demands a good foot-full of revs to move it away from a junction. It will not pull cleanly away from a standstill or low speed with low revs and will stop with a thud if you persist. But giving it revs is no chore and the clutch is light and easy to control.

Like the Golf 6, the Plus is exceptionally well assembled. It’s comfortable and easy to drive with a slick manual gearchange, featherweight clutch and well-weighted power steering. I like the safety first feature that means you have to depress the clutch first before you can start the engine – just in case you accidentally fire up in gear and bounce forward.

The dash and instrument panel are works of art. The materials look and feel superb and the layout is simple and intelligent. Interestingly, it’s not a clone of the Golf 6. Like the first Golf Plus it gets its own dash design with a deeper and more thrusting centre panel. It works well and is easy to use with switches that have a satisfying, quality feel to them – something many manufacturers ignore, thereby sadly missing the importance of giving the driver a tactile message of quality.

The SE model on test is very well appointed, and like all Golf variants very safe with front and side airbags, advanced ABS and electronic stability programming as standard. The optional DVD touch-screen radio, audio facility and sat/nav is one of the best – but expensive at £1625. I could also live without the £155 rear-view camera. But the £295 multi-function steering wheel worked well and I think £410 for metallic paint is reasonable.

But would I buy one? No. Even with the easy boarding attributes of the Golf Plus I would spend my money on a five-door Golf 6 with the same engine... and keep the change.

RATING: 7.5/10

FINAL THOUGHT: The Golf Plus is a difficult purchase to justify when you compare it against the cheaper standard Golf in the same trim and with the same power plant. But if you feel you need more room in your five-door hatch you will find it slightly easier to get in and out of than the taller Golf Plus. One point is not in dispute though – the 1.4 TSI petrol engine both Golf and Golf Plus share is astonishing.

Volkswagen Golf Plus 1.4 TSI SE five-door

• Price: £18,560
• Capacity: 1390cc
• Power: 121bhp
• 0-62mph: 10.2 seconds
• Maximum speed: 121mph
• Economy: Combined 43.5mpg; Urban 33.6mpg
• CO2 emissions: 152g/km
• ESP: Standard
• Insurance: Group 7