Volkswagen Golf Estate (2013 – 2020) Review

The Volkswagen Golf Estate is a quietly handsome wagon with all the benefits of the hatch, plus a large cargo bay that gives plenty of cars from the class above a hard time. The Skoda Octavia Estate can carry more and a Ford Focus Estate is more engaging to drive, but the German model is hard to fault. Read on for our full Volkswagen Golf Estate review.

The load-carrying version of the Volkswagen Golf offers the same excellent build quality, relaxed driving and high levels of technology as the hatchback, but with the added benefit of increased practicality thanks to a usefully large and well shaped load area.

From the driver’s seat, it’s more or less impossible to tell the Volkswagen Golf Estate apart from its hatchback counterpart.

Not only does it look the same, but everything from the steering feel and ride quality, to the comfort and performance, is recognisably similar. So there’s no compromise for choosing an estate version – even the engine range and trim structure are the same.

The differences only really become apparent when you open the boot, which has a capacity of 605 litres with the seats in place, and 1620 litres with them folded forward.

The boot floor is flat and low, so loading and unloading is very easy, plus you can hide items underneath it, and there are two storage bins for odds and ends.

The engine range kicks off with a 1.2-litre 85PS petrol, with a choice of a further three petrol units up to 140PS.

There are also four diesel engines ranging from a 90PS 1.6 TDI to a 150PS 2.0-litre TDI. The most efficient engine is the 110PS BlueMotion, which is claimed to deliver an official 85.6mpg, with emissions of 87g/km.

The Volkswagen Golf Estate manages to combine everything that’s good about the hatchback with all the advantages you’d expect of a wagon, which makes it a compelling used buy.

However it is worth remembering that the SEAT Leon ST and Skoda Octavia Estate offer a very similar package – in fact, they’re both based on the same platform – but are cheaper.

Looking for a new Volkswagen Golf Estate? Read our review here.

Despite all the extra load space, the Volkswagen Golf Estate is only around 30cm longer than the hatchback, so parking is very easy.

For those who would prefer to let the car do the hard work, there was an optional automatic parking system that works well and is simple to operate.

Regardless of the engine under the bonnet, the Volkswagen Golf Estate is a versatile, easy-to-drive car. It’s as at home traversing speed bumps in a housing estate as it is crossing huge distances on A-roads and motorways.

Ride quality and refinement are very impressive, yet handling is neat and predictable through twists and turns.

The steering and pedals are well weighted, while the gear change is slick, precise and light. All cars have an electronic handbrake, but that’s no bad thing – it’s one of the best around.

It holds the car automatically and won’t let it roll backwards, yet it doesn’t keep you from setting off smoothly.

The Volkswagen Golf Estate uses the same range of engines as the hatchback, meaning a choice of five petrol and four diesel variants.

The range kicks off with a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol, producing 85PS. It’s surprisingly sprightly thanks to a healthy torque figure of 160Nm from just 1400rpm, so you don’t need to work it hard to get decent performance.

The 105PS version of the same engine, later uprated to 115PS, is a little stronger, though, offering 175Nm of torque across a slightly broader rev range. That makes it a better choice if you’re regularly going to have a full car.

Economy and emissions for both 1.2-litre engines impress, with an official 56.5mpg, and the lower-powered version producing 115g/km of CO2.

The sweet spot in the petrol range is the 122PS 1.4-litre TSI (later with 125PS), which produces 200Nm of torque, has economy of 53.3mpg and emissions of 124g/km.

It’s a lively performer and also very refined, even at motorway speeds.

There’s also a 140PS variant which is similar, but offers better acceleration with no real impact on economy or emissions, thanks to cylinder deactivation technology.

In the middle of 2017 the range was facelifted, and the excellent 1.5 TSI petrol engine introduced as another option.

With 150PS and manual or auto gearboxes, it’s a great all-round choice if you’re looking for a newer version of this estate.

The entry-level diesel is a 1.6-litre TDI with 90PS, and Volkswagen also offered 105PS and 110PS versions of this unit.

Whichever of the three you choose, you’ll get fairly similar performance and a good amount of accessible torque – ideal for motorway cruising, towing and hauling heavy loads.

The diesel range is topped off with a 2.0-litre 150PS TDI, which produces a hefty 320Nm of torque.

For those who tow caravans or haul particularly heavy, bulky loads it’s the one to go for. But for most it won’t be necessary.

This version of Volkswagen Golf has an excellent safety record, with Euro NCAP awarding it five stars on its launch, although this rating has now expired.

All models come with seven airbags and stability control, with SE versions and above getting a city emergency braking system that automatically applies the brakes when obstacles are detected.

Options included lane-keeping assistance, a drowsy driver warning and a camera that reads road signs and displays them on the instrument panel.

The emergency braking system was enhanced as part of the 2017 facelift, with a repositioned sensor making it even more effective.

Most Volkswagen Golf Estate models of this generation can pull an unbraked trailer of up to 700kg.

Hook up to a braked trailer and some versions are capable of hauling as much as 1800kg, but most have a maximum capacity of 1600kg and the smaller-engined models go as low as 1300kg.

The seats in the Volkswagen Golf Estate are comfortable, and visibility is good, plus the major controls are all well placed, including the electronic parking brake.

This has the added advantage of freeing up some space in the transmission tunnel for storage.

Passenger space in the rear seats impresses, so adults will have no complaints on longer journeys.

At 605 litres, the boot has significantly more capacity than the 380-litre equivalent in the hatchback, plus it can be expanded to 1620 litres by folding down the rear seats.

There’s a low, flat floor to make loading and unloading easier, plus hidden storage compartments underneath for smaller items.

It’s very practical, well shaped and useful, ideal for dog owners, campers or gardeners who need the extra capacity. Folding the seats forward is easy and gives a flat deck, which is especially useful when loading or unloading bulky items such as white goods or furniture.

For particularly tall loads it’s easy to remove the luggage cover and there’s a slot to stow it beneath the false floor, which is helpful when you need more space than you’d originally planned.

From the driver’s seat, the Volkswagen Golf Estate feels identical to the hatchback. Build quality is excellent – the materials are plush and neatly fitted, yet feel hard-wearing and durable.

The dashboard layout is sensibly laid out and uncluttered, as is the centre stack, with simple, easy-to-use controls for audio or air-conditioning.

Early cars came with a 5.8-inch colour touchscreen infotainment system, which is simple to use, if now a little dated.

For sat-nav, you need to find a Volkswagen Golf Estate with an eight-inch screen. It’s a good system, with a clear menu set-up and quick mapping. Bluetooth, DAB digital radio and a USB socket come as standard.

Post-2017 cars have a better infotainment offer. Base models gained a 6.5-inch touchscreen, while higher trim levels received a 9.2-inch system called Discover Pro.

You also benefit from Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. We’d recommend a facelifted ‘Mk7.5’ Volkswagen Golf Estate, if only for the superior infotainment system.

It won’t take much effort to find a very clean and tidy Volkswagen Golf Estate that is eight years old for £8500.

For that, you will get a 1.2-litre TSI petrol or 1.6-litre TDI diesel in SE specification with 70,000 miles under its wheels.

A three-year-old example, with 30,000 miles, in GTD 2.0-litre diesel or 1.5-litre TSI petrol form will come in around £20,000.

The rapid Volkswagen Golf R Estate at three years old starts at £27,000, while older examples in fine shape are around the £20,000 mark.

Anyone covering plenty of miles will naturally be drawn to the 1.6-litre TDI engine that offers up to a claimed 72.4mpg, although this was achieved under testing methods that were less accurate than those now in place.

These improved testing regulations give the Volkswagen Golf Estate 1.6-litre TDI a combined economy of 68.9mpg, and you can easily expect to see near 60mpg in normal driving.

Don’t discount the smaller petrol engines for economy, either, as the 1.0-litre TSI has an official consumption of up to 65.7mpg and happily returns in the high 50s in mixed driving conditions.

The 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre TSI petrols are not far behind, either, if you need their extra oomph.

Only the larger petrol engine in the R models will put off anyone looking for frugal motoring, but buyers of these cars are likely to be more focused on the performance on tap.

When it comes to carbon dioxide emissions, the 1.0-litre petrol engine and 1.6-litre turbodiesel will see you paying between £20 and £35 per year for road tax for cars registered before 1 April 2017.

Any Volkswagen Golf Estate put on the road after that date will require the standard rate of £180 per year for Vehicle Excise Duty.

Servicing a Volkswagen Golf Estate will cost much the same as it does for the hatch, while insurance sits in groups 11 to 30, so most buyers won’t have to worry about their premiums being too high.

The Volkswagen Golf Estate S is the starting point for the range.

Latterly, it came with 15-inch alloy wheels, a cooled glovebox, cloth upholstery, variable boot floor, eight-inch colour touchscreen with DAB, Bluetooth connectivity, XDS front differential, electric parking brake, predictive pedestrian protection, start/stop, manual air-conditioning and electric windows.

The Volkswagen Golf Estate SE version adds 16-inch alloy wheels, chrome interior details, adaptive cruise control, auto emergency brakes, drive mode selection, auto lights, front and rear parking sensors, Car-Net with Android Auto, MirrorLink and Apple CarPlay.

The Volkswagen Golf Estate SE Navigation does what is says, and adds navigation.

A Volkswagen Golf Estate GT spec model adds 17-inch alloy wheels, ambient lighting, navigation and an upgraded Car-Net system.

The top-level Volkswagen Golf Estate R-Line adds sporty R-line interior and exterior styling details.