What_Car_UK_-_August_2020

62 August 2020 whatcar.com

whohasslidtheirseatback,your

kneeswillhaveloadsofclearance.

TheFocusandLeonarealsofar

moreaccommodatingwhenyou

needtocarryathirdadultinthe

back;anyonesittinginthemiddle

rearseatoftheGolfwillreally

struggleforlegroom.Gettinginto

theGolf’smiddleseattostartwith

isalsotrickiest,especiallyifyou

havebigfeet,notleastbecause

oftheawkwardlypositioned

USBsockets;itwouldbeeasyto

kick,andpotentiallydamage,

anycablespluggedintothem.

TheFocusdoesn’thavethehigh

centralfloorhumpoftheLeonand

Golf,soithasthemostfootroom

foramiddlerearpassenger.

BoththeFocusandLeonhave

above-average-sizedbootsforthe

class,takingsixcarry-onsuitcases

belowtheparcelshelfwith

roomleftover.TheGolf?Well,it

managedjustfivecases,although

it’stheonlyonewithaheight-

adjustablebootfloorthatcreates

aseparatecompartmentbelow

whenit’sraisedtoitshighest

position.Doingthisalsoreduces

thesizeofthelipattheboot

entrance–handyifyou’reheaving

heavyitemsinorout.IntheFocus

andLeon,there’sasubstantial

dropdowntothebootfloor.

Whenyoudroptherear

seatbacksintheFocusandLeon

(allthreehavea60/40split),

you’releftwithastepinthefloor

oftheextendedloadbay.That’s

somethingelsetheGolf’sheight-

adjustablefloorcansortout;it

createsaflatfloorallthewayto

thefrontseats,soyoucanslide

longloadsinmoreeasily.Speaking

oflongloads,theLeonandGolf

alsohaveaskihatch,whichadds

abitmoreflexibility.

BUYINGANDOWNING

Costs,equipment,reliability,

safetyandsecurity

TheGolfhasalwaysstraddledthe

pricegapbetweenthereallyposh

familyhatches(thinkAudiA3and

Mercedes-BenzA-Class)andmore

mainstreamalternativeslikethose

it’slinedupagainsthere.Andthat,

atleastwhenitcomestoup-front

costs,remainsthestatusquo.

Butconsiderlong-term

ownershipcostsandit’sadifferent

picture.Indeed,theGolf’sslow

predicteddepreciationisoneof

themainreasonswhyit’slikelyto

cost private cash buyers the least

in the long run. Excellent real-

world fuel economy is another,

with the Golf averaging 49mpg

in our tests. Unsurprisingly,

the more powerful Leon wasn’t

as thrifty but still managed a

respectable 44.9mpg, which makes

the 44.1mpg achieved by the Focus

look a bit mediocre. However, it’s

COMPARISON

There’squitea highload

lipto liftitemsover,

andnoadjustableboot

oor.Butspaceis above

averagefortheclassand,

aswithallthree,youget

60/40foldingrearseats

Leonhasthebiggestload

lipto strainyourback

gettingstuffin,butit has

asmuchspaceasthe

Focus.Asin theFocus,

there’sa steppedoor

withtherearseatsfolded

Golf’s boot is smallest

but, like the Leon’s, comes

with a ski hatch. Raising

the height-adjustable boot

 oor reduces the load lip

and gives a  at  oor with

the rear seats folded

FORD FOCUS

SEAT LEON

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

Boot 341-1320 litres

Suitcases 6

Boot 380-na litres

Suitcases 6

Boot 381-1237 litres

Suitcases 5

795-1620mm

730-1550mm

745-1505mm

545-790mm

540-795mm

430-775mm

1015-1160mm

1040-1205mm

1005-1270mm