Volkswagen Golf dimensions

The Volkswagen Golf is so familiar that almost everyone knows roughly what it looks like and how big it is. But if you;re thinking of buying the current version of the Golf, then "roughly" might not be good enough.  If you're wondering whether the VW Golf will fit in your garage or if you can squeeze your growing family into the back, then look no further. You'll find details of the car's dimensions, interior space, boot size and more below.

The figures for the three-door and five-door cars are the same and there's more information on the car in our full VW Golf buying guide.

VW Golf dimensions: exterior

There's enough space inside to carry five adults, but the VW Golf is shorter than most family cars, measuring well under 4.3m in length. That helps to make the car compact enough to drive in narrow city streets, and to take advantage of small parking spaces.

One of the key measurements of interior space is the car’s wheelbase - the distance between the front and back wheels. In general, the longer this is, the more space that passengers have.

VW Golf dimensions: exterior		Compared to similar cars
Length	4255mm	Shorter than average
Width without mirrors	1799mm	Average
Width with mirrors	2027mm	Average
Height	1452mm	Average
Wheelbase	2637mm	Average

 

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VW Golf boot space

While the Golf can’t match the vast 477-litre bootspace offered by the Honda Civic, its 380-litre luggage area is big enough to take a buggy or a weekly shop, and even a family holiday’s worth of luggage - if you pack carefully.

There are other useful touches in the boot too, including a 12v power socket, luggage hooks to keep items from rolling around, and a low ridge at the opening, which makes it easy to slide items in. A ski hatch behind the middle seat opens up so you can slide longer items (like skis) through without having to put the seats down.

VW Golf boot space		Compared to similar cars
Boot space with seats up	380 litres	Average
Boot space with seats down	1270 litres	Average

VW Golf dimensions: interior

A VW Golf is never going to feel like a Rolls-Royce, but the interior is big enough for the car to be a useful jack-of-all-trades. It’ll accommodate two bulky child seats in the back, or you can carry three adults in the rear seats. They should be able to get comfortable, even if they are over 6ft-tall, thanks to good headroom.

However, the middle seat is narrow, and the floor in front of it is raised, so passengers have to rest a leg in each of the footwells on either side of them.

VW Golf dimensions: interior		Compared to similar cars
Front headroom	1018mm	Average
Rear headroom	967mm	Average
Rear legroom	903mm	Average

 

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VW Golf towing capacity

The Golf is never going to be the ultimate towing car, but each car has a maximum towing capacity of at least 600kg, which rises to 1,000kg for a trailer or caravan with brakes.

Bear in mind that the Camping and Caravanning Club advise that you only tow a caravan that’s 85% of a car’s kerbweight (see below), which is lower than these figures.

VW Golf towing capacity
Towing capacity: braked	1000 - 1600kg
Towing capacity: unbraked	600 - 690kg

VW Golf weight

A car’s kerbweight is a guide to how much it will weigh in real-world use. It includes the weight of an almost-full fuel tank, and an extra 68kg for the driver and 7kg to replicate luggage. 

The Golf’s figures are typical of family hatchbacks. The extra weight added by crash protection features mean that they weigh considerably more than a tonne.
These figures don’t include the electric e-Golf and hybrid Golf GTE, which are heavier because of their batteries.

VW Golf weight
Kerbweight	1205 - 1495kg

VW Golf fuel tank capacity

Most VW Golfs have 50-litre fuel tanks. Combined with economical engines, this should give you a range of 500-miles or more between fill-ups.

You’ll probably manage a bit less with the Golf GTI, which uses fuel more greedily. The high-performance VW Golf R is even worse, which has meant that the tank has had to be increased to 55 litres. Even so, you’ll probably still have to fill up every 350 miles.

See full details of fuel economy and emissions in the VW Golf buying guide.

VW Golf fuel tank capacity
Petrol fuel tank	50 - 55 litres
Diesel fuel tank	50 litres

VW Golf turning circle

A reasonable 10.9m turning circle, means that you can turn the car around completely in an area that’s just under 11m wide.

VW Golf turning circle		Compared to similar cars
Turning circle	10.9m	Average