IF you're buying a used family hatch, it's hard to do much better than looking at a Volkswagen Golf mark VI. You won't find any outrageous bargains, but you will find a wide choice of very sturdy, extremely reliable vehicles to choose from.
The mk VI was the Golf where everything came together for Volkswagen and sales have been justifiably huge.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Keep a look out for cars that have been flogged by corporate users and ensure that servicing has been attended to diligently. Check the car's specification carefully, as some of the more desirable features, like air conditioning, weren't standard on lower-spec cars.
You'll also need to watch for sales staff aggressively pushing mk V cars, knowing that the mk VIs will virtually drive themselves out of their dealerships. Other than that, the Golf is a car that can be bought with confidence.
ON THE ROAD
Under the bonnet, customers have a choice of five petrol and four diesel engines. Petrol units are a 1.4-litre with 80bhp or a 1.6-litre with 102bhp, plus 1.4-litre TSI powerplants with 122bhp or 160bhp and the 2.0-litre TSI from the GTI.
The TSI units utilise a turbocharger, and in some cases a supercharger as well, to produce a smooth flow of power across a wide section of the rev-range.
Want a diesel? There are a couple of 2.0-litre common rail diesels offering power outputs of 140bhp or 170 bhp. Further down the range, the 1.6-litre oil-burner is available with 90PS or 105PS.
A number of options are available on the Golf for the first time, including Volkswagen's Adaptive Chassis Control, which allows the driver to select from normal, comfort or sport modes to define the desired suspension, steering and accelerator response settings for any particular journey. ParkAssist, which takes over steering inputs to facilitate parallel parking manoeuvres, is also available as an option.
Riding on the same underpinnings as the mk V Golf, you won't be expecting the mk VI's model's road-going performance to be anything other than highly polished. It replicates the supple ride and adroit handling of its predecessor and the proven steering system enables an 11m turning circle. Power is fed to the wheels through a standard six-speed manual gearbox, but a fast-shifting seven-speed DSG twin clutch gearbox is also available.
OVERALL
The mk VI Golf is a real used car gem and the stock is so large simple statistics dictate that with a bit of patience you should be able to spot an honest car with a come-get-me price. The smaller petrol engines are well worth pursuing, especially the 1.2TSI and 1.4 TSI engines, as these don't yet have the public recognition and can be undervalued. Whichever model you opt for, you'll end up with a quality family car that retains a capacity to entertain.