An upmarket interior, some advanced engine technology and a host of technological innovations make the sixth generation Volkswagen Golf a formidable presence in the family hatch sector. Retaining the best bits of the outgoing model, it moves the Golf game on yet again.

Most people who've driven it are of the opinion that the fifth generation version of the Volkswagen Golf is a very good car. Very good, however, is not quite good enough for Volkswagen and the marque is seeking to up its game another few notches with the sixth generation of its legendary hatchback. The Golf traditionally sells at a premium over its family hatchback rivals and the focus of this latest Golf is fixed on making the paying of that premium seem a no-brainer to buyers in this sector.

It has been said that the fully-independent suspension system on the MKV Golf was the cause of its problems. The advanced system worked like a charm but the costs of developing and manufacturing it necessitated the cutting of corners in other areas, notably the cabin quality. The MkVI Golf retains the clever underpinnings of the MkV but increases levels of perceived quality to reassert its position at the plusher end of the family hatch class.

Under the bonnet, customers have a choice of four petrol and two diesel engines. Petrol units are a 1.4-litre with 80 PS or a 1.6-litre with 102 PS, plus 1.4-litre TSI powerplants with 122 or 160 PS. The TSI units utilise a turbocharger and a supercharger to produce a smooth flow of power across a wide section of the rev-range. Want a diesel? There are a couple of 2.0-litre common rail diesels offering power outputs of 110 or 140 PS. A number of options are available on the Golf for the first time, including Volkswagen's Adaptive Chassis Control (ACC) which allows the driver to select from normal, comfort or sport modes to define the desired suspension, steering and accelerator response settings for any particular journey. ParkAssist, which takes over steering inputs to facilitate parallel parking manoeuvres, is also available as an option.

"With its high quality image restored, the Golf will take some beating.."

Riding on the same underpinnings as the MkV Golf, you won't be expecting the MkVI model's road-going performance to be anything other than highly polished. It uses a combination of MacPherson struts at the front wheels and four-link suspension at the rear promising to replicate the supple ride and adroit handling of its predecessor. The electro/mechanical steering system is also carried over, enabling an 11m turning circle. Power is fed to the wheels through a standard six-speed manual gearbox, but the fast-shifting seven-speed DSG twin clutch gearbox is also available.

Volkswagen was never about to break with tradition where the Golf's styling was concerned. A clear design lineage can be traced back to the original Golf circa 1974 and breaking that in favour of some bold new styling direction would have been completely out of character for the German marque. Conservative but classy has long been the Golf staple and the MkVI model diligently tows that line with the wide grille first seen on the Scirocco coupe which merges with the headlamps to form a single band across the nose. At the back, the huge tail light clusters are similar in shape to the headlamps and curve round into the rear wings to visually widen the car.

It's the interior, though, where the most obvious alterations have been made. Quality soft-touch plastics are everywhere and virtually every available button or dial gets its own chrome border. The instruments that used to illuminate in blue are now bright white but the overall shape of the dash is similar to that in the MkV Golf. There's a big step forward in terms of refinement however, thanks to a completely new design of door and window seals, a new damping film that supports the windscreen and a new engine mounting system.

This Golf is available in three trim levels - S, SE and GT - and all boast a high level of standard specification. The S has, among a number of features, ABS and ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Programme), seven airbags including a driver's knee airbag, remote central locking, Climatic air conditioning, a CD/radio, plus body-coloured bumpers, door handles and electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors.

Moving to SE trim adds an uprated stereo with eight speakers and an MDI (multi-device interface) for connection to external multimedia sources such as an iPod, then there are 16-inch alloy wheels, cruise control and a coming/leaving home lighting function, as well as rain and dusk sensors. At the top of the range, GT buyers will benefit from sports suspension (lowered by around 15 mm), sports seats with Alcantara trim, front fog lights and a multifunction steering wheel, plus 17-inch alloys.

The Golf's key rivals include the likes of Ford's Focus, Peugeot's 308 and Honda's Civic, cars that have relentlessly hunted down the MkV Golf over recent years. These models have narrowed the advantage that the Volkswagen held with improved quality and plusher interiors of their own but the MkVI Golf is aiming to jump ahead once more.

Volkswagen's common-rail diesel engines will be an attractive option for those looking to reduce their car ownership costs. The 2.0-litre 110bhp unit can return a very creditable 62.7mpg with emissions 128g/km making it an attractive choice for company car users. A hybrid model is also rumoured to be in the offing but we'll have considerably longer to wait for that one.

The sixth generation Volkswagen Golf isn't the giant leap forward that some of the other iterations have been but then, it didn't really need to be. The car is a thorough and far-reaching facelift of the previous generation model, retaining the highly adept chassis but making significant improvements in virtually every other area. The revised interior is the most noteworthy of these as it addresses the one area where the previous model came in for sustained criticism. With its high quality image restored, the Golf will take some beating.

TOP 5 GOLF DEALS

The results below show the top GOLF deals on buyacar

	Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI 160 GT 5dr DSG Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly	Saving £2,723	Price £17,672
	Volkswagen Golf 2.0 TDi 140 SE 5dr DSG Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly	Saving £2,001	Price £17,799
	Volkswagen Golf 2.0 TDi 140 GT 5dr DSG Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly	Saving £2,792	Price £18,183
	Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSi SE 5dr DSG Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly	Saving £1,749	Price £15,951
	Volkswagen Golf 2.0 TDi 140 GT 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly	Saving £2,633	Price £17,012