After nine years away, the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, an icon in its day, is back.
Convertibles aren’t traditionally a corporate car, and this one is no different. However, VW reckons a third of volume will be business buyers predominantly in the user chooser market.
The new model is expected to take captive sales from the Eos, the car that filled the brand’s convertible gap in the Golf Cabriolet’s absence.
Unsurprisingly, it is essentially a Golf inside and out, although there are a handful of physical Eos parts within the chassis.
The choice of engines include 1.2 105hp or 1.4 160hp petrol engines or a 1.6-litre 105hp diesel. The latter, with Bluemotion technology, is likely to be the biggest seller, and emits 117g/km, so currently falls into the 13% benefit-in-kind tax band. The mid-range SE trim comes with climate and cruise control, a wind deflector, rear parking sensors and Bluetooth all fitted as standard. The soft-top, rather than the metal roof of the Eos, drops in an impressive nine seconds and can be worked while driving at up to 18mph.
As with its three- and five-door hatchback siblings, there’s little to criticise with regards to the drive, with good brakes, a fluid gearshift and well-balanced steering all evident.
The Golf’s residual values at 38% are lagging behind rival and sibling Audi A3 cabriolet, at 43%, so despite matching BIK bands (13%) and the Audi costing more at £24,205 compared with £23,190 for the
Golf, the A3 just wins on whole-life costs, with 49.9 pence per mile versus 49.3ppm. Still, it easily beats another alternative, the Peugeot 308 CC, which costs £23,510 but loses out in emissions at 128g/km, equating to an 18% BIK rate. Overall, that means 55.6ppm.
There’s little doubt that the reincarnated Golf cabriolet will do exceedingly well in the drop-top sector. Expect to see many of these roaming British roads.
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