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our test drives or view them all

Volkswagen Golf SE 1.4 TSI five-door

SOME new cars are "modest" and have plenty to be modest about – but the latest Golf is not one of them.

This low-key family hatch has evolved over more than 30 years and the sixth incarnation is the best – and best of the best has to be one of the most modest.

The 1.4 TSI is a remarkable small-capacity hatch with genuine punch, outstanding refinement and economy that belies its lively performance.

Having spent more than a week with a mid-range six-speed manual SE five-door model I cannot think of a better five-seat holdall that is as well built, comfortable, practical, affordable, frugal and finished in top quality materials.

It’s a modern masterpiece and fits the original Volkswagen "peoples’ car" model to a tee.

Golf 6 blew in with winter’s winds, but it was a warming arrival that confirms that even in times of adversity some parts of the motor industry have not taken their eye off the ball. It’s paid off, because, in the last few months, sales of the new Golf have been as buoyant as its predecessor.

It’s one of the sensibly conceived family hatches on the market. Rather than being created from scratch it is based largely on the excellent Golf 5 that was, believe it or not, rather too complex and expensive to build to be a real money spinner for the Fathers of Wolfsburg.

What Volkswagen did was clever. It revised the wedgey Golf 5 and designed it to be more cost-effective to build – not cheaper, just more affordable. The result is a conservatively restyled Golf 5 that’s elegant with a timeless shape that gives it a classy look while robbing none of the breed’s interior space, comfort, safety and desirability.

It’s not perfect. The split and fold rear seat may collapse in seconds and is easily pushed back into place, but while it’s flat it leaves an awkward lip in the loading bay that weakens the Golf’s utility character. But it’s still good and carries 350 litres of luggage with the rear seats in place and 1305 litres with them folded.

Visibility is good to the front, but the B-pillars obstruct views at a junction and the wide C-pillars behind the rear door glass make reversing a chore without the optional £390 parking sensor package.

The 1.4 TSI is brilliant – a 1370cc multi-valve petrol unit fitted with a single turbocharger that helps it deliver a healthy 120bhp without fuss, but with low noise and remarkable smoothness. It has an easy cruising gait and like the Volkswagen Beetles of old can trundle on all day over long journeys without fatigue.

I had reason to take this car twice to the Central Belt and back. It was so relaxed and enjoyable to drive I even diverted one homeward journey to take it over Glenshee and on via the spectacular Cockbridge to Tomintoul hill route.

The 1.4 TSI took it all in its stride and, even with two up and a boot full of luggage, managed a creditable 39mpg – not bad for a route that took me to 1800 feet above sea level and along some demanding single trackers. Better still was my average on a relaxed run from Fort William to Inverness via Loch Ness – an amazing 46mpg.

At £16,515 the SE is not cheap for a 1.4 litre petrol hatch. But the Golf is exceptional. Equipment levels are generous and the quality of the fit and finish is as high as I would expect from so-called prestige badges.

Like all 20 models in the new Golf range, the SE comes with excellent electronic stability programming, a differential lock, traction control, a curtain airbag system in addition to front and side airbags, a driver’s knee airbag and front occupant active headrests. The anti-lock brakes have a brake assist mode.

The steering is speed sensitive and makes the SE a delight to drive on a fast trunk road or through a twisting Highland glen, while air conditioning is powerful and easy to control. Cruise control, remote central locking and front and rear powered windows are part of the SE package, but if you want metallic you’ll have to pay £395, while leather is an eye-watering £1850 option.

The dash is a work of art. Plastics are tasteful, low key but of the highest quality. Instrumentation is large, clear and unfussy while the switches for heating and ventilation are easy to use and simple.

The SE may come with a lower-grade RDS CD radio than Volkswagen’s excellent touch-screen system, but it’s still among the best. Cruising down the A9 and along the A86 I was able to hang on longer to marginal signals where many other car radios would have given up the ghost.

Strange isn’t it how the BBC still thinks it’s acceptable to continue paying scandalous multi-million pound amounts to some so-called and disgraced radio "stars" but not invest in a Highland radio signal network that guarantees coverage on the north’s most important arterial road? Just south of Kingussie we all run into the same 20-minute "cone of silence" that Highland drivers have had to tolerate for years – and nothing has improved.

At least the scenery is fantastic and the Golf was comfortable enough to ease the boredom and prevent me starting to talk to myself!

There’s a lot of technology under the Golf’s skin. Attention to detail is a byword. Take the windscreen. Most cars have triple layer glazing with a plastic film sandwiched between two sheets of glass. The Golf has five. The idea was to introduce two acoustic films to help deaden mechanical and wind buffet noise from the engine and bluff nose.

I have no doubt it works – but it’s hard to notice any real difference. The Golf is so well insulated the quintuple glazing sounds more like a statement of refinement rather than delivering any ground-breaking improvement.

Standard SE models get 16-inch alloys, but the test car’s optional 17-inch alloys with 55-section tyres add to the low overall noise levels and provide a feeling of great solidity and comfort. The cabin is roomy, the seating supportive with plenty of adjustment for the driver and the ambience similar to what you might expect in an Audi.

There are 20 models in the new Golf hatch range from a three-door 1.4 litre petrol S with 80bhp at £13,580 to a mighty five-door two-litre GTI with 208bhp at £22,995. Diesels start at £16,175 for a three-door 109bhp two-litre TDI in S trim or £16,760 for a five-door.

As an all-rounder you’ll look hard to find a better family hatch than the well-appointed 1.4 TSI five-door SE – for quality, design, refinement, safety and economy it’s not just one of the best, it is the best.

Rating: 8.5/10

FINAL THOUGHT: Without doubt the best Golf yet. In Mark 6 guise Volkswagen’s bread-and-butter hatch is a superb family holdall with outstanding build quality, great refinement and, with high-efficiency 1.4 TSI petrol power, has one of the most advanced engines of its type that’s frugal, responsive and quiet. The Golf is a "modest" car – a shrinking violet even. But in 1.4 TSI SE guise it has nothing to be modest about.

Volkswagen Golf SE 1.4 TSI five-door

• Price: £16,515
• Capacity: 1370cc
• Power: 120bhp
• 0-62mph: 9.5 seconds
• Maximum speed: 124mph
• Economy: Combined 45.6mpg; Urban 34.4mpg
• CO2 emissions: 138g/km
• ESP: Standard
• Insurance: Group 7