Volkswagen Golf Wagon 2021 Review

We’re testing the 2021 Volkswagen Golf Life wagon here, priced from $36,450 plus on-road costs – $2000 more than the equivalent hatch.

That price goes up by $900 when you add the lurid Pomelo Yellow premium metallic paint job, and according to Volkswagen’s website, the cost rises to just over $42,000 once on-road costs are added.

Headline standard features across the Volkswagen Golf wagon range (which opens at $33,750 plus ORCs for the base model) include LEDs for the headlights, daytime running lights and tail-lights, plus adaptive cruise control and lane assist, and a 10.25-inch digital cockpit.

The $2700 premium for the Life buys you a bigger 10.0-inch touch-screen (up from 8.25-inch) that has one of the sharpest displays I’ve used.

It also adds wireless phone charging, keyless access, entry and engine start, along with improved ‘comfort’ front seats, but adjustment is all manual and the cloth trim feels hardy rather than premium.

That there’s no power-operated seats to speak is a surprising omission for a $40,000 small car, wagon or not.

But for the record, the form-fitting seats deliver excellent comfort and support, with height and lumbar adjust helping nicely. The cabin also has an upmarket look and feel, thanks to the elimination of buttons and dials and the use of a stubby Porsche-like gear lever.

For an extra $2000 you can get the Comfort & Style package that adds comfort ‘sport’ front seats with a premium microfleece/cloth upholstery. It also brings a panoramic glass roof.

There are two USB-C ports, a 12V socket and reasonable incidental storage – but no sunglasses holder.

However, you do get a big boot – bigger than many small and mid-size SUVs – and its 611-litre capacity (expanding to 1642L with the rear seats folded down) is way more than the Golf hatch (374/1230L).

Boot load length is 1845mm with the rear seats down, which is mightily impressive, and compares favourably to the hatch’s 1493mm load length.

So the Golf wagon is a viable alternative to an SUV and in many ways offers better value – if you can forgo the sought-after elevated view of the road.

All models come with a space-saver spare tyre, and warranty provisions for a European manufacturer are pretty good – five years and unlimited kilometres.

Capped-price service plans are priced at $1200 for three years or $2100 for five years. Service intervals are pegged at 12-month/15,000km intervals.

VW boldly proclaims that all eighth-generation 2021 Volkswagen Golf models can park, steer, accelerate and brake automatically – and they do, impressively so.

The latest Golf is a high-tech vehicle, fitted as standard with adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and parking assist systems, which exist under the marketing umbrella called IQ Drive.

Other safety features include rear cross traffic alert, plus high- and low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that detects people, cyclist and vehicles.

The blind spot detection system is excellent, with bold LEDs blinking on below the wing mirrors, plus there’s blind spot steering assistance and a turning assist feature.

The airbag count has grown to eight and the latest Volkswagen Golf wagon has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, although this is based on crash tests carried out in 2019. Since then the testing regime has become far stricter.

A driver fatigue alert system, tyre pressure monitoring along with front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera are standard on all models, but there’s no 360-degree overhead parking camera system offered by many rivals.

If you want a head-up display you’ll need to fork out $1500 for the Sound & Vision package, which also adds a 480W Harman Kardon audio system.

The 10.25-inch digital driver’s display is one of the best out there and is very similar to Audi’s virtual cockpit, with class-leading customisation, including excellent map and navigation overlays. The 10.0-inch touch-screen is likewise crystal-clear but took its time booting up.

Wireless Apple CarPlay is great but with the latest iOS on an iPhone 8 it had issues – sometimes when placed in the wireless charger (and getting hot), but other times not. It froze when using mapping apps like Waze and sometimes Spotify podcasts would not function properly.

Once it even just kicked wireless CarPlay altogether, but that may have been due to an overhead gantry toll gate signal.

Other features, such as the intuitive climate control options and novel sliders for temperature and volume adjustment, blend technology and functionality to great effect, but initiating the dual-zone automatic climate system requires a couple more button presses than traditional layouts.

There’s no doubting the 2021 Volkswagen Golf – even in wagon form – is still one of the quietest and most refined small cars available (this side of an EV), and while the 1.4-litre engine and eight-speed auto pairing make driving it a pleasure, Aussie models do miss out on newer, more efficient powertrain options available overseas.

The carryover 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine (110kW/250Nm) generates plenty of thrust and the Aisin-supplied eight-speed auto makes the most of the engine’s generous power band, ably supplying power to the front wheels.

But in Europe there’s a newer 1.5-litre petrol engine and seven-speed dual-clutch auto (DSG) that consumes less fuel and generates less pollution.

Volkswagen says the cleaner engines aren’t available here because they won’t function correctly with Australia’s lower-quality (high-sulphur) fuel. A new refinery as part of a $2 billion fuel security plan should remedy this by 2024 – at which point there will be a variety of electric small car options…

Fuel consumption for the Golf wagon, which is slightly heavier and thirstier than the hatch, is claimed at 5.9L/100km on the official combined (city/highway) cycle. In the real world, we returned a figure of 7.1L/100km which is still pretty good.

Because of the conventional automatic transmission, there’s also no auto-hold feature – it’s only offered with manual and DSG auto gearboxes. You can engage the electric park brake manually but it’s a shame it’s not available.

The 2021 Volkswagen Golf continues to be one of the most pleasant and engaging small cars you can drive today, and the new wagon is no exception.

Build quality is impressive – the doors opening and closely with solidity – and everything has a premium feel for the most part.

The steering is very light which makes urban driving and parking the Golf an absolute doddle and ride comfort on the 17-inch alloy wheels is very good.

Despite an ability to smooth out broken road surfaces and absorb bumps gracefully, the wagon also has excellent body control and road holding so if you want to have a bit of fun on a wending coastal road, you can do exactly that.

Even with its longer body (4633mm versus the hatch’s 4284mm), the Golf wagon corners with precision and decisiveness, tracking cleanly through bends and delivering the sort of driver engagement not many small cars can match.

And this bodes very well for the scorching 235kW Volkswagen Golf R wagon due early next year.

The 2021 Volkswagen Golf Mk8 wagon does not represent a paradigm shift over the talented model it replaces, but it does make tangible gains in key areas and the wagon has an impressive level of cargo space that eclipses some larger and more expensive SUVs.

It’s not a cheap small wagon by any measure, and there’s a handful of issues we’ve identified.

But, overall, it’s a solid showing, and as one of the few compact station wagons still available it should find favour with city dwellers and others further afield looking for a safe, practical and nimble alternative to the high-riding set.

How much does the 2021 Volkswagen Golf Life wagon cost?
Price: $36,450 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 110kW/250Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 132g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)