What is a Volkswagen Golf? Twenty years ago, that would have been a simple question to answer. The Golf was an inexpensive, no nonsense car that ran and ran. Nowadays however, Volkswagen have loftier aspirations for their staple family hatchback and the question is far trickier to tackle. In fifth generation guise, the car has been taken even further upmarket with an even higher quality look and feel but it also reprises a strand of Golf DNA that seemed to have been an evolutionary dead end - driving fun.

If this Golf has had a problem, it has been that some customers have equated quality of build and driving experience with a price outside their budget. Hence Volkswagen's more recent attempts to set the record straight in this respect by reducing prices (which now start from £12,255) and increasing specifications (which now include climatic air conditioning as a standard feature).

In the standard three and five-door hatch range, there's a choice of two trim levels - S and Match. The Match level that many customers choose looks particularly tempting thanks to a leather steering wheel, cruse control, automatic headlamps and wipers, a trip computer, a multi-function steering wheel, an MP3-compatable CD stereo, 15" alloy wheels and a full complement of body-coloured exterior addenda. Need more practicality? Volkswagen offers the Golf Plus and the Golf Estate.

Aside from the entry-level 80PS 1.4-litre engine, petrol buyers have the choice of a 1.4 (90PS) or a hi-tech turbocharged 122PS TSI engine. Diesel buyers can opt for the proven 75PS SDI engine or the slightly more modern 105PS 1.9-litre TDI powerplant.

If you want something sportier, then the GT Sport series offers a choice between 140 or 170PS versions of the 1.4-litre TSI turbocharged/supercharged petrol engine or 140 or 170PS 2.0-litre TDI diesel units. Prices start at £18,120. The next step up is the GTI series, where as you'd expect, the pace hots up a little more. Here you get the superb 200PS 2.0T FSI engine at prices starting from £20,825. Of course, if the GTI models don't do it for you, there's always the option of the range-topping R32. Here you get a 248bhp 3.2-litre V6 with the 4MOTION transmission system. At the other end of the economy scale is the BlueMotion derivative which eeks maximum economy and minimal emissions from the 1.9-litre diesel engine.

"Most will know it's a Golf they're looking at without recourse to clocking the badge on its rump"

One criticism levelled at the two previous generation Golf models was that although the cars offered a ride and refinement package that was hard to beat, they never really offered the sort of infectious handling that many rivals could boast. The fifth generation car adopts a pragmatic tactic in 'benchmarking' the suspension of the Ford Focus and first impressions are promising. The body is eighty per cent stiffer than its predecessor and the new electro-mechanical steering feel and composed body control are leagues ahead.

The styling is evolutionary rather than revolutionary insofar as most will know it's a Golf they're looking at without recourse to clocking the badge on its rump. As company boss Bernd Pischetsrieder explained: "The only mistake the Golf can make is to stop being a Golf." There's little doubt that the fourth generation Golf was - and is - a handsome piece of car design, but the fifth generation marks probably the biggest evolution in the Golf's design language since the Mk 2 became the chubbier Mk 3. Everything is just that little bit curvier, sleeker and more elegant. It runs on the same platform as the latest Audi A3, Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Touran models and this means that the sophisticated suspension system has a huge scope for tuning from the most affordable city runabouts to hardcore sports versions.

The interior keeps the Golf at the top of the family hatch tree. It uses a fascia design reminiscent of the Phaeton luxury saloon, although the centre console is lifted from the Touran mini-MPV. With the possible exception of its pricier Volkswagen Group cousin, the Audi A3, the cabin has the beating of anything out there as regards ambience. The interior features soft-feel slush-moulded plastics, high-quality switches, subtle use of chrome, fabric-covered A-pillars plus blue instrument backlighting with red needles, a signature of the fourth generation model. The latest Golf also sets new standards by introducing 2Zone climate control and four-way lumbar support within the line-up. In addition, ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Programme), no fewer than six airbags as well as anti-lock brakes are fitted as standard throughout the range. Big car features such as automatic activation of headlamps and wipers are built into the car's electronics.

Many buyers will opt to go the turbo diesel route and these engines are well worth seeking out, especially after you've driven them back to back with the petrol Golf powerplants, the 2.0-litre 140PS TDI being especially impressive. This engine will punt the big-boned Golf through 60mph in 9 seconds and on to a top speed of 126mph, making it a brilliant long distance cruiser. The 105PS unit is no slouch though and will get to 60mph in 11 seconds and top out at 116mph. It's also the bigger seller. Fuel economy of both engines is excellent, the 1.9-litre averaging 56.4mpg and the 2.0-litre faring almost as well at an impressive 52.2mpg. Get the 1.9-litre in BlueMotion form, though, and it can produce nearly 63mpg.

The emissions figures of 135, 146 and 160g/km respectively for the 1.9, 2.0 140 and 2.0 170 engines are among the class best and the BlueMotion's 119g/km betters many citycars. The 1.9-litre car is fitted as standard with a five-speed gearbox but the 2.0-litre TDI variants get six cogs as standard with the option of the revolutionary DSG twin-clutch sequential gearbox.

Volkswagen have made great strides concerning the refinement of these TDI engines and the effects are palpable as soon as you turn the key. The TDI system was once derided as being far less effective than the new wave of 'common rail' diesel engines that have become popular and in terms of refinement, Volkswagen's solution has lagged behind. No longer: the difference is now virtually negligible.

With prices for the Golf starting at around £12,000, much-vaunted Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra models are finding that the target they thought they were aiming at has shifted. What is a Volkswagen Golf? That's a question which seems to have foxed the opposition too.

TOP 5 GOLF DEALS

The results below show the top GOLF deals on buyacar

	Volkswagen Golf 2.0 GT Sport L TDI 170 DPF 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £301	Saving £1,823	Price £18,407
	Volkswagen Golf 1.4 S 80 3dr [AC] Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £187	Saving £948	Price £11,327
	Volkswagen Golf 1.9 BlueMotion Match TDI DPF 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £276	Saving £808	Price £15,962
	Volkswagen Golf 1.4 S 80 5dr [AC] Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £194	Saving £1,003	Price £11,772
	Volkswagen Golf 1.9 Match TDI 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £251	Saving £1,303	Price £14,172

typical 10.82% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000