SPORTS VAN COMES OF AGE (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 129

If you've ever got out of a Volkswagen Golf feeling you could do with a bit more space, the answer is right here in the chiselled form of the Golf SV, the letters standing for 'Sports Van', a name never used in the UK. Here, back in 2014, the Wolfsburg brand at last brought us a proper, purpose-built family-sized five-seat MPV offering properly purposeful advantages to justify its premium over the standard hatchback model. It's Volkswagen's idea of what a Scenic or a C-MAX should really be and if you're buying in this segment from this era and want something with a really quality feel, you could find it hard to resist. Here, we look at the later facelifted version of this model, which sold between 2018 and 2020.

Modelsword count: 10

5dr MPV (1.0, 1.5 petrol / 1.6, 2.0 TDI diesel)

Historyword count: 406

Designing an MPV People Carrier needs to amount to more than just raising the roof height of a conventional family hatchback and giving it a different badge. Volkswagen knows that now after a sobering experience with their slow-selling Golf Plus model, launched in 2005 and updated in 2010. That car was supposed to be the brand's answer to five-seat People Carriers like Renault's Scenic and Ford's C-MAX, contenders that were successful because they were properly developed to offer families significantly more. Constrained by restrictive old fashioned turn-of-the-century underpinnings, the disappointing Golf Plus couldn't deliver that kind of proposition. Its replacement though, the Golf SV 5-seat people carrier that was launched in 2014, certainly could. The 'SV' moniker stands for 'Sports Van', a name the importers here understandably didn't much like, hence its shortening to a couple of simple letters. True, some utilitarian MPVs are little more than refurbished vans - Volkswagen's own Caddy Life model for example. This one though, is a long way from being an LCV. By the same token, it also sits some distance from sportiness. What buyers do get though is a proper five-seat compact MPV in the Scenic or C-MAX mould that borrows from its conventional MK7 model Golf stablemate but, thanks to the hi-tech flexibility of the Group's clever modern day MQB platform, doesn't have to sit on that car's restricted wheelbase. It's free-er, in other words, to do its own thing - just as, after purchase, Volkswagen hopes potential buyers will be. The niche here is an admittedly narrow one. If a standard Golf isn't enough but you still want something pretty compact, there's the Volkswagen brand's straightforward Golf Estate, their 7-seater Touran small people mover or the van-derived Caddy Life MPV we mentioned earlier. None of these cars though, have the dynamic style, flair and driveway cred necessary for widespread acceptance in the Scenic and C-MAX class. In contrast, the Golf SV has always claimed to offer exactly that. It's still not the largest car of its kind - but claims to be the classiest. The SV sold in its original form until early 2018, when it was updated with slightly smarter looks and a more modern range of petrol engines, plus upgraded safety and media kit. It's that later version of this model we look at here as a used buy, a car which sold until 2020, when it was deleted from the range and not replaced.

What You Getword count: 613

The last thing the stylists wanted with this Golf SV was the high-roofed Toytown awkwardness of the old Golf Plus. Though this car is just as tall, its proportions are far more carefully considered, with aesthetic tricks like a glasshouse-extending fifth side window and bonnet-lengthening creases preserving the smartly conservative look of Volkswagen's best-selling family hatch. As for the changes made to this revised post-2018-era model, well the alterations made can mostly be found at the front, where this central lower grille was re-designed. The forward-facing camera that previously sat in the middle of it was more neatly located behind the Volkswagen badge in the central of the upper grille. From this brand logo, chromed strips flow out into revised headlamps that feature re-styled LED daytime lighting graphics. In analysing the interior, let's start with issues of luggage versatility, since that's probably one of the key things that a prospective MPV buyer is going to want to know about. Some of the motoring magazines have moaned that this SV doesn't have quite as much luggage space as some of its direct rivals, but that's a bit misleading as it's a comment that applies to a seats-folded total cargo configuration you'll hardly ever use. In terms of the standard boot, the thing you'll access every day, the capacity that this Volkswagen can offer is actually class-leading from its era - 590-litres with the neat sliding rear bench pushed right forward, which is 30% more than a Golf hatch from this era can offer and only a fraction less than you'd get in a Golf Estate. The flexibility continues once you push the rear backrest forward, something that's possible to do in a 40:20:40 configuration that's very useful if all you want to do is to poke long items like skis through from the boot. Take a seat up-front and you'll find yourself sat 59mm higher than you would be in a Golf hatch, which provides a slightly more commanding view out. Around you lies the usual classy Volkswagen interior, embellished by higher quality materials on this revised model and now even more difficult to fault. The big change with this revised model was the inclusion of a more sophisticated 8-inch 'Composition Media' centre-dash infotainment screen which above entry-level trim is enhanced with Volkswagen's clever 'App-Connect' set-up. This is the starting point for the brand's 'Car-Net' connectivity system and the key tool for bringing the best functions of your smartphone into your Golf SV via the 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto' smartphone-mirroring systems. An even higher-tech 'Discover Navigation Pro' set-up with an even larger 9.2-inch monitor and clever 'gesture' control was optional. And in the rear? Well, it's true that in a rival Scenic, a C-MAX or a C4 Picasso, you've the option of taking out the middle seat to free up more space for the two outer passengers. That's not an option with this Volkswagen - but then how often would you really want it to be? On the positive side, most models get useful fold-out seat back tables, plus there are door bins capable of taking 1.0-litre bottles and you get little storage areas on each side between the seat base side and the door. There's a fold-down armrest with twin cup holders, plus a central 12v socket so the kids can power up their games and a storage area around it for small items, along with rear passenger vents. More importantly, headroom's good and can be improved by the included seat reclining function. Likewise, your legroom can be similarly enhanced to almost limousine levels by the fact that the rear bench can slide backwards and forwards throughout a travel of 180mm. Lovely.

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