What we like:

Styling

Build quality

Delivery of drive

Practicality

Kit

What we dislike:

Slightly on the costly side

Added weight to the Variant means an additional 0.4 seconds to hit 100km/h, the Hatch does this in 9.1 seconds. With 125ps and 200Nm churned from 1,400 to 4,000rpm from their 1.4 litre turbocharged TSI engine, and mated to a 7-speed dual clutch (DSG) transmission, the Golf Variant feels brisk in acceleration. Effortless up steeper hills, the Variant has enough gear ratios to keep that needle well within maximum band of torque.

Steering is precise too, with plenty of communication fed back to the driver, and we simply love how the car corners flat. One minor gripe for me which you would likely not experience is perhaps just a little more vibration, versus the hatch at close to “Autobahn speeds”. Most times, if you are cruising on the highway, there is another party trick. Economy mode allows you to coast, as if the car is on neutral when you lift off the accelerator, meaning that you do not burn unnecessary fuel while cruising down the highway.

The Variant adds another dimension as a daily driver, thanks to the added space, and you will almost not realise that the extra bit of car at the rear, when pitching this sharp and precise car, which handles almost like the Hatch version around the bends.

Originally intended only as a hatchback when it was first built in the 70s, the Golf has come a long way. Unless you are planning to pack the family pet at the rear, not everyone has a wagon in-mind when they are searching for a compact family car, the Variant however is simply just so attractive and practical, and like the experience we got from the hatch we did test recently, the Variant too delivers…

Simply "A Little Slice of Driver Heaven".

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