Fast Facts

Verdict:
One small step for styling, one giant leap for overall desirability. The new Golf is the most complete car in its class

Class-leading performance and fuel economy, superb transmission, great cabin quality, much-improved refinement

Looks too similar to the Mk5, interior doesn’t look exciting either, engine isn’t as crisp as the old GT’s

It seems little more than a mild evolution of its predecessor, but there’s real progress under the skin of VW’s Golf Mk6

By Colin Yong in Reykjavik, Iceland

IT’S EASY TO be a little disappointed when seeing the new Volkswagen Golf for the first time. From a distance, it’s tough to tell it apart from the previous model (especially side-on) and while it’s not dated, neither does it look like it’s just been driven off a motor show stand.

But what did you expect? New Golfs have never been revolutionary, with each successive iteration being a considered update rather than a full blown revision. It just happens that this new Mk6 has quite a few carry-over bits from the Mk5 – no bad thing since that car was steadily improved over its lifetime.

In fact VW could probably have gone on selling the Mk5 for at least a couple of years, such was its ongoing popularity with buyers around the world. There are a couple of reasons why it didn’t. First, the car was expensive and time-consuming to build, and when you’re talking about such a huge volume seller, every dollar and minute counts.

There’s also the matter of VW wanting to make a return to simpler, purer designs across its range. What better ambassador to send the message to the people than the Golf?

To this end, although the roof panel and 2578mm wheelbase are unchanged, new body panels make the Mk6 look more precisely sculpted, more three-dimensional. The shoulder crease is now stronger and the side window line less wedge-shaped, giving the car a more planted stance on the road.

VW says it’s actually more difficult to style a clean-looking car than one with complex shapes. The way the Golf has ended up looking more posh, despite its lack of embellishment, proves the design team got it right. There’s a timelessness to the car’s styling that’s shared with the 1974 Mk1.

For Singapore, the engine range will kick off with the recently introduced 122bhp turbocharged 1.4 TSI unit. One step up is the twincharged version of this engine with 160bhp – that’s 10bhp less than what it produces in the current GT Sport, but it’s now mated to the newer seven-speed twin-clutch Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) instead of the older and less efficient six-speeder.