Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet

• Rating:
• Latest deal price: from £18,888 to £24,646
• For : Build quality, quiet even with roof down, handling
• Against : Cramped rear seats, slow entry level petrol, noisy diesel

The Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet returned in 2011 after a nine-year break. It's based on the Golf Mk VI, so benefits from excellent refinement and sharp handling, but has the added benefits of a folding fabric roof. In fact there are very few compromises over the standard Golf, making the Cabriolet a great choice for summer fun. 

Our pick: Golf Cabriolet 1.4 TSI GT

Video: watch CarBuyer's video review of the Golf Cabriolet

Styling

The Cabriolet is arguably a more succesful design than the standard Golf. It looks great with the roof up or down – that's thanks to the clean design which sees rollover hoops hidden out of sight and the roof stowed neatly on top of the rear deck.

Driving and Performance

The most notable thing about the Golf Cabriolet is the incredible refinement, even at motorway speeds. At the national limit you can easily hold a conversation when the roof is down, and at low speeds there's barely any wind buffeting at all. Both petrol engines are smooth and punchy, but we'd say it's worth going for the extra performance offered by the 1.4-litre TSI. There is a 1.6-litre diesel option, but it can be a bit noisy for top-down motoring. It does have benefits for fuel economy though.

MPG and running costs

Combined fuel consumption for the diesel is an impressive 64.2mpg and CO2 emissions are 117g/km. The petrol units are impressive too, and the 104bhp 1.2-litre unit claims to return 47.2mpg. Our favourite engine – the 1.4 TSI – isn't too far off this figure with 44.1mpg. A three year or 30,000 mile service plan costs just £299.

Practicality

Some cabriolets give up boot space to accommodate the roof when it's folded, but that's not the case with the Golf Cabriolet. Instead, it folds on to the top of the boot meaning 250-litres of space with the roof up or down. The rear seats do fold down in case you need to carry larger items.

Safety and reliability

Volkswagen includes a three year/60,000 mile warranty with the Golf Cabriolet which should put any worries you have about reliability to bed. Roll-over accidents won't be a problem, as the car can detect if the car is a bout to roll and deploy the hoops from behind the rear seats in a quarter of a second to protect occupants. There is no Euro NCAP rating, but the hard-top Golf got a full five stars with a 97 per cent score for adult occupant protection.