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What is it?

This is the new VW Golf Plus 2.0 TDI 110 SE, the latest version of VW’s Golf-sized almost-MPV.

It’s a bit of a case of spot the difference with the new VW Golf Plus. At the front the horizontal grille slats are now fewer in number and no longer body coloured, while the headlights mimic the new Mk6 Golf’s in design if not in shape. Otherwise the sheet metal is all but identical to the outgoing model.

The interior, shared with the Tiguan and the previou...Read the full article

Thank goodness that VW have more imagination than your correspondant.   The are many persons who want a VW for the quality, want a Golf for size but need that extra little bit of carrying capacity and versatility without going to the Touran.   Leg room in the Golf Plus is superior to the Golf, Touran and Tiguan particularly for the taller person and the slightly less mobile elderly person.   As for the rest of the package, good old VW quality, reliability and long life!!

mags8733:

The are many persons who want a VW for the quality, want a Golf for size but need that extra little bit of carrying capacity and versatility without going to the Touran.

Cobblers. This car is nothing more than a tall Golf. The 'carrying capacity' & versatility that you praise is no more impressive or useful than the standard Golf either. I tested one a couple of years back. Totally pointless car- couldn't get three booster seats across the rear bench. WTF? So this car is primarily aimed at people that need to carry three very tall adults in the back. Very useful.

If they did an estate version of this, it could be called the Golf++...

kerrecoe:

Cobblers. This car is nothing more than a tall Golf. The 'carrying capacity' & versatility that you praise is no more impressive or useful than the standard Golf either.

Agreed. It does nothing that the smaller C3 Picasso can't do for alot less money, including quality/reliability. Oh, I forgot the C3 doesn't have a VW badge - big deal.

kerrecoe:

 

mags8733:

The are many persons who want a VW for the quality, want a Golf for size but need that extra little bit of carrying capacity and versatility without going to the Touran.

Cobblers. This car is nothing more than a tall Golf. The 'carrying capacity' & versatility that you praise is no more impressive or useful than the standard Golf either. I tested one a couple of years back. Totally pointless car- couldn't get three booster seats across the rear bench. WTF? So this car is primarily aimed at people that need to carry three very tall adults in the back. Very useful.

With you kerrecoe.  I have never seen the point of the Golf Plus.

If you want a VW quality that's a bit bigger, buy a SEAT Altea, at least it's better looking, and cheaper!

mags8733:

Leg room in the Golf Plus is superior to the Golf, Touran and Tiguan particularly for the taller person and the slightly less mobile elderly person

Think I pointed out most of that in the review... still don't quite see the point of it though - it could go further, like a five-seat C4 Picasso or Ford C-Max does.

mags8733:

As for the rest of the package, good old VW quality, reliability and long life!!

That's damning with faint praise if ever I heard it.

Contrary to popular opinion, VW reliability is very much in the lower half of the spectrum, considerably lower than rivals such as Toyota, Ford and Honda. A look at any recent reliability/quality survey will confirm this.

My family is all over 1.85 m tall so the Golf Plus is the perfect car...I own one I didn't just test it.   It proves that your method of testing was poor because you failed to realise that the rear seats slide forward to make access to booster seats easier....does the Golf do that?

I would imagine that VW market research (like Audi) is looking for niches where by that can adapt a product and create a new market area to sell into and use the base of an existing vehicle.  The Golf Plus is a derivative.   Personally I can see no point to a Golf GTI or a Passat R36 but hey if VW can make money out of a product then good luck to them.   To tidy up your last point about competeing with the C4 Picasso and the Ford C-Max I believe that the Touran variants do that adequately

My expierence is not as the survey suggests.  My Golf Plus is a 55 plate never let me down, has never had to be returned for a defect.  It's good.   My last Ford was a Mondeo L plate which did 125k miles without a problem. Never owned a Honda or Toyota.  Always seem too small for the taller person.

Yes this is a very niche product for the elderly with access issues, or those few with requirements between the standard Golf and Touran, and it won't win much praise or column inches in an enthusiast site like this, but if VW can build & sell it profitably then they may as well - most things are carried over from other models so there's very little extra cost to them other than for a few new pressings. People don't question a golf estate or a Jetta, which has a similar amount of extra storage space attached to the Golf, just in a different position. VW aren't making any bold dynamic claims about the car, unlike say BMW with the GT concept.

I just hope the BMW 5 series GT gets the similar "whats the point?" treatment in its review rather than lavishing praise on it.