Latest VW Golf on par?

Posted 14 January, 2026 Dylan Campbell

SUV who? At $39,290 before on-road costs, Volkswagen’s evergreen base Golf makes the case for an excellent small hatch even if the price of an entry-level model isn’t quite what it used to be.

We’ve entered an age where many car brands are doing away with hatchbacks to make way for SUVs. But one of the original arbiters of the humble hatch, Volkswagen, is still carrying the torch for this much-loved type of car.

A new Mk8.5 Golf has arrived on Aussie shores and is available in five grades, from the base $39,290 Life we tested to the range-topping, $71,990 R.

Interior

The Golf Life comes with all the tech you would want in 2025, with a few small, thoughtful touches.

Wireless phone charging and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is standard, and VW now fits a small air-conditioning vent in the wireless charging tray to prevent your phone from overheating as they can be prone to do in an Aussie summer.

The base Life comes with the same 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster used across the Golf range, and it works well. The Life gets a smaller 10.3-inch central infotainment touchscreen, but it’s more than big enough.

While some owners will rue the lack of physical air-conditioning and audio buttons and dials, the screen software is easy to figure out.

If you’re not the most confident at parking, the Life comes with VW’s superb automatic reverse parking feature as standard.

The first thing you notice when you sit in a Golf is a lovely sense of quality. The front seats are excellent, and whether you’re accessing the boot, sitting in the back or trying to do something like pair your phone, everything just works.

There’s plenty of space in the front and back, complemented by a useable 374-litre boot. Endlessly practical, the Golf Life would blend invisibly into the background of however your life looks, in the best of ways.

Safety features

All Golf models come with a long list of standard safety equipment – including a front-centre airbag and full autonomous emergency braking (AEB), active lane-keeping and blind-spot monitoring.

Importantly, VW’s active safety systems all work well, and you aren’t encouraged to go looking for their ‘off’ buttons.

On the road

If you’ve owned an SUV for the last couple of years, driving a low-slung hatchback could be slightly revelatory. In the VW Golf Life, roundabouts somehow require less effort and are more fun.

The Golf Life is a very easy, quiet and refined car to drive. In the corners, the steering and handling are superb for what is a humble passenger hatch.

VW has sold 37 million Golfs for very good reasons, which continue to be evident in the excellent Life. Highly equipped with standard features, don’t be tricked by the Golf Life’s manual, cloth front seats – this is not a base model like it used to be. That can also be said of the price.