Volkswagen Golf 7.5

World’s best small car raises its game for the infotainment age

- Ash Westerman

IF THERE’S one sure way to lose your grip on a leadership position, it’s by sitting around on your backside, doing little, whistling whatever ‘Dixie’ is in German, while rivals steadily, quietly, raise their game.

Clearly VW has had this thought front of mind, as this is the first time in the history of the Golf that the company has seen fit to update a model comprehensively enough to declare it a ‘point-five’; that is, a specific mid-point in the model cycle, rather than a full model change. But while the updates are mostly worthwhile and welcome, the question can’t be avoided: are they enough?

Let’s start where it matters least: the exterior styling. There was nothing wrong with the Mk7’s taut, pert proportions, and the updates don’t mess with that by any significant degree. It’s the usual bumpers, grille, and head lamp/tail-light tweaks, with the most practical change being the shift to LED headlights, from xenons, on up-spec variants.