If you want a more practical Volkswagen Golf today you have to buy an SUV like the VW T-Roc, but between 2014 and 2020, the brand offered the Volkswagen Golf SV, a compact MPV in the same vein as the Renault Scenic.
It put family-friendliness at its core, with five individual seats, a raised roofline with wide-opening doors, and even brand new it cost very little more than a regular Golf. As a used buy, it’s just as useful, and will appeal to anyone not convinced that an SUV will quite handle the practicalities of family life.
As well as the Renault Scenic, other similar models to the Golf SV include the Vauxhall Zafira Tourer, the original Peugeot 3008, and the Citroen C4 Picasso, while the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer and Mercedes-Benz B-Class give you more upmarket options.
You can see where Volkswagen was going with the Golf SV: The classy appeal and well-honed driving characteristics of the VW Golf, but with a more spacious body style that’s even more practical for families with young kids, growing teens, or older drivers who will appreciate the slightly higher seating position and larger doors.
The SV makes particular sense if you really need an extra seat in the second row. Most hatchbacks give you an awkward hump between the rear seats but the Golf SV, like all proper MPVs, has an individual seat, making all the difference in comfort and space for that fifth passenger, however young or old they are.
At the same time, with a lineup of petrol and diesel engines, running costs are little different from those of a regular Golf, and the quality, finish, and logical layout of the interior are all typical for a VW product - in other words, a notch above most other mainstream brands. In fact, in some ways, as a slightly older VW product now, they’re better than what VW is putting out in its latest cars.
The driving experience strikes a balance between a conventional hatchback and more van-like MPVs, leaning a little more in corners than the former but feeling more agile and less intimidating than the latter. Refinement is excellent and from what we’ve seen, the SV should be pretty dependable longer term too.
The class the Golf SV was a part of is disappearing in favour of crossovers and SUVs, but used alternatives are still plentiful: think the Renault Scenic, older Peugeot 3008, Citroen C4 Picasso, and Vauxhall Zafira Tourer, or if you prefer a more upmarket image, even the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer and Mercedes-Benz B-Class. For a larger MPV from the VW stable, there’s also the Volkswagen Touran.
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In the past we might have recommended one of the Golf SV’s diesel engines here, as despite some rather well-publicised events, VW’s diesels have typically always been good to drive and frugal in the real world. That’s no different with the Golf SV, but don’t write off the TSI petrol engines either, which are smoother and quieter and still not too thirsty. Just steer clear of the 85PS 1.0 TSI, which feels a little underpowered for longer trips or when loaded with people. Both the manual and DSG auto gearboxes are fine picks though.
S trim is fine if you’re on a budget, but Match is where the Golf SV begins to feel more generously equipped, and has a few features that might prove handy in family life, such as tables on the back of the front seats, privacy glass to keep the cabin cool, and front and rear parking sensors.
The Golf SV was on sale between 2014 and 2020 so Volkswagen made alterations to the car’s trim levels and other features during that time, but the trims listed below are fairly representative of the cars you’re likely to find on the market. Match Edition and GT Edition trims were also available but offered very little noteworthy extra equipment, so we’ve not included them here, and you should consider them similar to the regular Match and GT when they appear for sale.
The Volkswagen Golf SV’s dimensions are:
The Volkswagen Golf SV’s boot size is:
If the Golf SV you’re looking at was registered after April 2017, then it’ll be subject to a flat rate of VED or ‘road tax’, currently £180 a year pending price increases in government Budgets. Prior to April 2017, you’ll pay tax instead based on CO2 emissions, and all Golf SVs score pretty well here - the cheapest 1.6 TDIs will cost you only £20 per year, while even a 150PS 1.5 TSI will only be £35 thanks to its 118g/km CO2 rating.
The Golf SV doesn’t differ much from the regular Golf with its insurance group ratings. The 1.0 TSI in S trim is only group 11, while the most powerful Golf SV, the 1.5 TSI with 150PS, is still only group 16. The Vauxhall Zafira Tourer also starts in group 11, so the Golf SV is about par with its closest rivals.
Read our full Volkswagen Golf SV review
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