Volkswagen Golf Estate 2.0 TDI 2021 UK review

Spacious estate costs less than £1500 more than the regular Golf, but broadens its remit considerably The Golf Estate is one of those cars that people forget exists. Only when the R version crops up and brings the almost irresistible reality of an extra-spacious but still manageably sized hatch with 300bhp and four-wheel drive do most remember it.The larger Passat Estate is much more popular, and while you can find alternatives to the Golf Estate in its own class (Ford, Seat, Skoda and Toyota all make one), premium offerings are non-existent. Audi, BMW and Mercedes don’t bother, possibly in an effort to corral buyers to towards their larger, more expensive models, which do offer estate versions.So what does the Golf Estate buyer get that the Golf hatchback owner does not? Much more boot space, naturally: 611 litres compared with 380. That beats the Focus (575 litres) and the Corolla (598) but not the Leon (620) or the cavernous Octavia (640), which precisely matches the carrying capacity of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.Note, however, that the Passat Estate trumps the lot, with 650 litres, even if you go for the plug-in hybrid.