First drive: VW Golf Sportsvan - Top Gear
This is the new Golf Sportsvan. Which is, in every tiny particular, a Golf, but a bit bigger. A bit like the old Golf Plus , then. Just like the old Golf Plus, but a fraction bigger still. At 4338mm long, the SV’s 134mm longer than the old Plus, and 83mm longer than the current Golf, 224mm shorter than the Golf Estate, and at 1578mm tall, 126mm higher up than the pair. VW’s product developers tell us it’s for people that don’t want an estate car, do want a slightly higher driving position, but don’t want any of the appellations attached to SUVs. Yes and no. You don’t get the longitudinal space you’d find in the estate, but the 2685mm wheelbase is 48mm longer than the normal Golf and 81mm wider, which frees up more room for things like legs. The rear seats, for example, can slide forwards and backwards by up to 180mm, which still leaves 500 litres of boot space - 76 more than the old one, and five tall, well-fed types can still get inside with enough room in front and above them. Basically, if there’s only four of you, it feels like a Passat with a bit more head room. If you move the rear seats forwards, you can increase the luggage capacity to 590 litres, or drop the seats entirely to free up 1520 litres. If you tick the folding front seat option, you’ll be able to fit 760 2. 0-litre bottles of Coke in there (that’s 1520 litres, genius) and stuff that’s up to 2484mm long. Source: www.topgear.com
