Good for a few more rounds: the best used Volkswagen Golfs

Price: from £1000-£5000

It took two full generations for the Golf to finally gain an estate variant, known in Europe as the, er, Variant.

Unlike more recent estate-bodied versions of family hatchbacks, it wasn’t much of a looker, but its industrial shape and stretched underpinnings meant it was tremendous as a load-lugger.

Better still, it had a nice low load level and there was no boot lip to negotiate, so in that respect it was more like a proper van than just another fat-rumped hatchback.

Mk5 Golf GTI

Price: from £2000-£12,000

The arrival of the Ford Focus in late 1998 changed family hatchbacks for good. Suddenly, that underlying dynamic sparkle that courted the enthusiast driver and about which we all rave was thrust into the mainstream, becoming a real point of difference for the average buyer.

It’s no coincidence that VW pinched a few of the Focus’s ideas (and engineers) for the fifth Golf, then, and it worked: the GTI’s status as a serious driver’s car was finally restored.

It was the first to offer the now ubiquitous DSG dual-clutch auto ’box, too.

Mk6 Golf R cabriolet

Price: from £7000-£10,000

The Mk6 followed the typical Golf cadence: every even-numbered generation was in effect a major overhaul of its predecessor. That isn’t to say it contributed nothing to Golf lore, though, having cemented the R brand and four-wheel-drive mega-hatch formula.

But the open-top version stood out as a bit of an oddity, delivering its power exclusively through the front wheels rather than all four.

It was properly rapid in a straight line but was otherwise too tightly wound – and it was more expensive than a Porsche Boxster, limiting its appeal. An interesting curio nonetheless.

Mk7 Golf 

Price: from £2000-£50,000

The seventh-generation Golf is often regarded as the high point in the model’s lifespan. It married stellar build quality, refinement and ease of use with all the digital addenda you’d want in a modern car – and none that you wouldn’t.

The GTI was a cracking all-rounder (if not quite as fun as a Renaultsport Mégane or a Focus ST) and the diesel-powered Bluemotion delivered tremendous fuel economy.

Mk7.5 e-Golf

Price: from £7000-£15,000

Our first taste of a mass-market, zero-emission Golf was refreshingly normal. It looked and drove just like its dinosaur-fuelled stablemates, while contemporary electric rivals sought to to differentiate themselves with all manner of strange gimmicks.

The 90-odd-mile real-world range of early cars was slightly limiting, but it’s a tremendous option for short-hop commutes.

Mk8.5 eHybrid

Price: from £29,000-£41,000

A full decade after the e-Golf was launched, you can now have a hybrid with almost as much electric range – but also an engine in tandem for longer journeys.

It’s one of the best versions of the eighth-generation car, whose recent facelift looks to have redeemed it following a rocky first few years mired with software issues.

A Golf by any other name

The sheer size of the Volkswagen Group means the Golf’s underpinnings have been used for a multitude of other models. Here are the best.

Skoda Octavia

Price: from £500-£40,000

Czech brand’s best-seller has always shared a platform with the Golf, and this roomy family do-it-all is a stalwart of the banger market: we found a tidy diesel for just £750 with six months’ MOT, and it doesn’t look like it will need much work to keep it on the road thereafter.