Volkswagen Golf SV In-depth Video Review, Pricing & Rivals

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The Golf SV has arrived in South Africa at quite an interesting time. The segment that was quite literally invented by the Renault Scenic – which ironically is no longer available in SA – has been shaken up recently by the arrival of the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer.

A massive departure for the brand, the front-wheel drive MPV from Bavaria was a bold move, and time will tell if departing from the BMW formula so drastically has been worth it.

But the concept of front-wheel drive, family orientated cars sits considerably more comfortably with a company like Volkswagen. It’s kind of in its name.

And so we have a Golf that looks like it has been cartoonishly inflated to twice its size. However, in the metal, the SV design works. The proportions have been carefully considered and the car doesn’t seem ungainly from any angle.

The benefit of driving a car shaped a bit like an igloo is vast interior space. The rear seats in particular have quite exceptional legroom, and the boot space is claimed at 500 litres, almost exactly the same as its German rivals. But I found the BMW Active Tourer and Mercedes B-Class to have noticeably larger load space.

That said, the comfort and luxury offered by the Golf SV left me wondering why on earth I’d spend vastly more on those aforementioned rivals.

In this video, we compare the Golf SV to the BMW Active Tourer and Mercedes B Class, Mazda5 7-seater and the Citroen C4 Picasso. We also try to highlight some of the little niggles of living with the Golf, and which options you’ll need to pay extra for at the dealer.

Volkswagen Golf SV versus The Rivals