VW Golf Cabriolet: Test Drive Review

Date: 28 October 2011

Unsurprisingly, it is essentially a Golf inside and out, although there are a handful of physical Eos parts within the chassis.

The choice of engines include 1.2 105hp or 1.4 160hp petrol engines or a 1.6-litre 105hp diesel. The latter, with Bluemotion technology, is likely to be the biggest seller, and emits 117g/km, so currently falls into the 13% benefit-in-kind tax band. The mid-range SE trim comes with climate and cruise control, a wind deflector, rear parking sensors and Bluetooth all fitted as standard. The soft-top, rather than the metal roof of the Eos, drops in an impressive nine seconds and can be worked while driving at up to 18mph.

As with its three- and five-door hatchback siblings, there's little to criticise with regards to the drive, with good brakes, a fluid gearshift and well-balanced steering all evident.

The Golf's residual values at 38% are lagging behind rival and sibling Audi A3 cabriolet, at 43%, so despite matching BIK bands (13%) and the Audi costing more at £24,205 compared with £23,190 for the

Golf, the A3 just wins on whole-life costs, with 49.9 pence per mile versus 49.3ppm. Still, it easily beats another alternative, the Peugeot 308 CC, which costs £23,510 but loses out in emissions at 128g/km, equating to an 18% BIK rate. Overall, that means 55.6ppm.

There's little doubt that the reincarnated Golf cabriolet will do exceedingly well in the drop-top sector. Expect to see many of these roaming British roads.

Subscribe