More than just a safe bet

FEW positives can be taken from a recession apart from
our newfound appreciation for the simpler things in life.

Gone are the days of
flamboyant spending on unnecessary niceties. Instead we’re more prudent and
sensible with our money especially when it comes to the second biggest purchase
most of us will make in our live times – our choice of car.

And this is where the Volkswagen Golf comes in. It’s
more than just a safe bet. It’s a stylish one.

I’ve been driving and falling for the 1.6 Diesel
Edition R, which has well and truly won me over with its reliability, fuel
efficiency and practicality.

The styling is smart and friendly, if a little boxy,
but it’s hard not to look at the car without seeing all it stands for.

The 1.6 diesel engine with 105 break horse power sits
in the cheapest tax band – Tax Band A – and has incredible fuel economy. If you
drive it carefully you can get 1,000kilometres on a fuel tank but an average of
800 kilometres if you’re less concerned about clock watching.

It’s well built, comfortable, spacious, practical with
a big boot, lots of legroom and Isofix points for child car seats.

It feels solid compared to its rivals the Opel Astra,
Ford Focus and Toyota Auris.

Admittedly it’s not terribly exciting but it’s
unlikely that theatrics are a priority when you’re in the market for a reliable
hot hatch like this.

It’s hard to fault it but if you were to nit-pick you
could argue that it’s not hugely fast but what it lacks in top-end speed it
makes up for in low down torque.

The Edition R is a limited edition offering plenty of
nice features including 16-inch alloy wheels, a touch screen multimedia
interface, Bluetooth connectivity for your phone and music devices, cruise
control, a ubiquitous auxiliary port and an SD slot.

Prices start at

?¬22,580 for the Edition R three-door
version with a 1.2-litre TSI petrol engine and the 1.6-litre diesel Edition R
starts at

?¬24,330.