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Volkswagen Golf Estate - MPG, running costs & CO2 (2013-2020)

No model in the Volkswagen Golf Estate range costs the world to run and VW offers an affordable maintenance package

Carbuyer Rating

4.3 out of 5

Owners Rating
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MPG, running costs & CO2 Rating

4.5 out of 5

All Golf Estates come fitted with stop-start technology to improve fuel consumption and with no petrol GTI model in the line-up, the entire range (except the 2.0-litre R model) can return average economy of more than 44mpg. Every diesel, except the all-wheel-drive Alltrack, returns over 52mpg.

Volkswagen Golf Estate MPG & CO2

The entry-level engine for the Golf Estate is a 113bhp 1.0-litre petrol. It can achieve 50.4mpg, but this figure is likely to suffer if the car is driven hard or heavily laden. The 1.5-litre TSI EVO petrol costs a bit more but, thanks to technology that allows the engine to run on two cylinders when full power isn’t required, fuel economy is just as good as the 1.0-litre. There’s a more powerful 148bhp version of the 1.5-litre petrol, which can still manage 49.6mpg, but it can only be chosen in the Match Edition and GT Edition models.

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Every Golf Estate will cost £145 a year to tax under the new Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rules that came into force in 2017. If your car costs more than £40,000, it’ll be subject to another £320 per year for the first five times you renew the tax.

The 113bhp 1.6-litre diesel is the most economical engine in the range, with 57.6mpg possible. This engine used to come with a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic, but now it only comes with a five-speed manual. Meanwhile, economy-focused drivers with a taste for more power will enjoy the 148bhp 2.0-litre TDI diesel, which can still achieve 54.3mpg with the manual gearbox. There’s a 181bhp version of this engine available in the Alltrack model, but all-wheel-drive means fuel economy drops to 44.8mpg.

Insurance

Insurance costs for the VW Golf Estate should be largely comparable with other compact family estate cars – the line-up ranges from insurance group 7 for the entry-level S model to 34 for the performance models.

Warranty

Volkswagen’s warranty is starting to look a little mean in the face of competition from Korean brands. A new Golf comes as standard with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, whereas the Kia Ceed and Hyundai i30 come with seven and five years of cover respectively, with the Kia limited to 100,000 miles and the Hyundai having no mileage limit. You can extend the Golf’s cover to four years/75,000 miles for £250 or five years/90,000 miles for £565, which is well worth considering if you plan to keep the car for a few years.

Servicing

You can take out a plan to pay monthly for your Golf’s scheduled servicing for two years. Your Volkswagen dealer will be happy to advise you about costs.

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Which Is Best?

Cheapest

  • Name
    1.0 TSI Life 5dr
  • Gearbox type
    Manual
  • Price
    £27,240

Most Economical

  • Name
    1.0 TSI Life 5dr
  • Gearbox type
    Manual
  • Price
    £27,240

Fastest

  • Name
    1.0 TSI Life 5dr
  • Gearbox type
    Manual
  • Price
    £27,240

Richard is a former editor of Carbuyer, as well as sister site DrivingElectric.com, and he's now Deputy Editor at Auto Express. Having spent a decade working in the automotive industry, he understands exactly what makes new car buyers tick.

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