Used Volkswagen Golf review: 2013 to 2019 (Mk7) - Practicality and boot space

The Volkswagen Golf is a spacious family hatchback, with reasonable legroom for adult rear passengers and a decent-sized boot. The back seat splits and folds in a 60:40 ratio and the boot features a low load lip, luggage hooks and a 12V plug. In the cabin, the Golf gets plenty of clever storage spaces including a cubby under the front armrest, a glovebox that’s cooled by the car’s air-conditioning and numerous cup-holders.

How big is the VW Golf Mk7?

The 5-door Mk7 Golf mesures in at 4,258mm long and 2,027mm wide. It's a standard family hatchback in terms of proportions slightly shorter than a Ford Focus (4,358) of the same era. 

How much space is there for passengers?

Passengers are likely to enjoy life aboard the Golf. The cabin is fairly spacious, with room in the back for three adults, although whoever sits in the middle may find the large hump in the floor eats into the space for their feet. The Skoda Octavia has the edge here.

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Storage for odds and ends is plentiful in the Golf, with a large, cooled glovebox, a cubby under the centre armrest between the driver and front-seat passenger and another in the roof console. There are also two cup-holders up front, while all but the S models benefit from a lidded cubby between the front seats.

On top of this, there are large bins in all the doors, lined with felt to stop their contents from rattling. And the bins at the front have massive drinks holders that can accommodate two-litre bottles.

How big is the boot?

Lift the tailgate and you’ll find the Golf Mk7 has more boot space than its Ford Focus rival. The five-door Golf’s 380-litre capacity increases to a maximum of 1,270 litres when you fold the rear seats, while the Ford has to make do with figures of 318 and 1,101 litres respectively.

Other cars in this class have clearly been benchmarked against the Golf: the Hyundai i30 and Kia Ceed offer 378 and 380 litres respectively with the rear seats in place, and a slightly greater amount of maximum boot space than the VW.

The Golf is trumped for ultimate capacity by the Skoda Octavia, which provides a massive 590-litre space, increasing to 1,580 litres with the seats down. But while the VW can’t match this, it still stands out thanks to some clever touches. When you fold the back seats, the rear seatbelts are held in place by neat ridges, plus there’s a hatch built into the seats through which you can carry long loads such as skis. Also, when the boot’s moveable floor is attached in its uppermost position, there’s no step between the boot floor and folded seatback, making it easier to slide items in.