Volkswagen Golf wins Best Urban Car under $50K

While buyers are splashing out for large SUVs and dual-cab utes in growing numbers, there’s still incredible choice for buyers with $50,000 to spend shopping for an ‘urban car’ – a compact vehicle blending technology, space and efficiency with a touch of style and luxury.

Much of that is thanks to the growth of hybrid and electric power, which has made for one of the most diverse categories at Drive Car of the Year 2024, spanning rugged city SUVs and small performance cars to hybrid runabouts and electric hatchbacks.

The urban car needs to deliver on a variety of briefs for different buyers, whether that’s the second car in a two-car household, the family’s only vehicle, or an owner’s first – or last – car.

A field of more than 40 contenders was whittled down to see the Volkswagen Golf – the Drive Car of the Year Best Small Car for two years in a row – face off against two electric hatchbacks, the MG 4 and BYD Dolphin, for a shot at the title.

None of these finalists takes the form of an in-demand SUV body style, but they represent three hatchbacks that promise to deliver on the urban-car brief: compact city-friendly proportions, roomy cabins, user-friendliness, and value for money.

The $50,000 budget is not small change for a compact car, so judges looked for a winner that made every dollar count towards a refined driving experience and the comfort, technology and style expected of a car at this price point.

And the winner of the Drive Car of the Year Best Urban Car under $50K for 2024 is…

Drive's pick: Volkswagen Golf 110TSI Life from $39,190 MSRP

It may come as no surprise to hear the Volkswagen Golf – the reigning Drive Car of the Year Best Small Car – has claimed this year’s Urban Car under $50K award.

But that would undersell just how close this category proved to be, and how long judges deliberated over which of the three finalists should win this award.

In the end, it was the same refinement, class, style and all-around excellence that had previously won over Drive judges that drove the Volkswagen Golf – now in its eighth generation, on sale in Australia since 2021 – to victory once again.

At a touch over 4.2 metres long, the Golf hatchback is the right size for urban living – not too small for the occasional weekend away, but not too large for tight spaces on city streets – with light steering, a compact turning circle, and plenty of parking sensors and cameras to assist with city driving.

Yet inside there’s enough room to transport adults, kids, and their cargo in comfort. Judges weren’t expecting mid-size SUV levels of space from cars in this category, but the ergonomics for front occupants are good, the back seats are roomy enough for kids – or adults in a pinch – and the boot offers 374L of space with the rear seats up, or 1230L with the seats folded.

The Golf line-up has been simplified since it last won a Drive Car of the Year award, with the wagon – as well as the base-model 110TSI hatch – deleted to leave two models in the core range: the $39,190 plus on-road costs 110TSI Life hatch, and $42,190 plus on-road costs 110TSI R-Line hatch.

Drive’s pick is the Life, which offers plenty of equipment for the money – twin 10.25-inch interior screens, tri-zone air conditioning, satellite navigation, LED headlights, and a full roster of safety technology – for a drive-away price of $44,933 in Victoria.

The R-Line adds some tantalising extras – sports suspension, larger wheels, unique exterior styling, sports seats, and better LED headlights, among others – but judges didn’t feel it offered enough to justify the $3000 additional spend.

GTI and R performance models remain available, but these are outside the $50,000 budget set for this category – and we’d argue most urban buyers don’t need any more performance than what is offered by the Life’s 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine.

With 110kW/250Nm it makes for a refined, comfortable drive in the city and on the open road, matched with a slick eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission that is smoother around town than the dual-clutch gearboxes in previous-generation 1.4-litre Golfs. A willing engine combines with a comfortable ride over bumps, and confident handling that delivers on what urban buyers expect.

Volkswagen still doesn’t sell the Golf as a hybrid in Australia, but with claimed fuel consumption of 5.8L/100km, the 1.4-litre turbo motor is one of the more efficient petrol-only, non-hybrid engines in this category – though it does require more expensive 95 or 98-octane premium unleaded petrol.

The latest Golf was fitted with a full suite of well-calibrated safety assist features when it arrived three years ago, but the German car maker should be commended for doubling down in that time, adding a centre airbag between the front seats to prevent the driver and front passenger clashing heads in a side-impact crash.

It has also resubmitted the Golf for testing by ANCAP under newer and more stringent 2022 test protocols than those in place when it launched in Europe at the end of 2019, and still came away with a five-star score.

However, there is still room for improvement. Our gripes with the interior technology remain, with too many functions hidden in the touchscreen, and the fitment of touch-sensitive control sliders for the volume and air-conditioning temperature that are fiddlier than they ought to be.

The Golf is about to receive a midlife facelift in Europe, with a new infotainment screen and controls that promise to improve the user experience – though it isn’t due in Australia until 2025 at the earliest.

Volkswagen’s small hatch also isn’t the cheapest to service in its category – which at $2879 for four years/80,000km of scheduled maintenance is more than twice the price of the other finalists – and prices have risen by about $5000 since this generation Golf arrived in Australia three years ago, although some of the increases have coincided with extra equipment.

Overall, these don’t wipe the shine off what is a refined, well equipped and resolved small hatchback that is well suited to urban-car buyers.

As the only petrol-powered car among our group of finalists, the Golf’s method of propulsion could look a touch old-school compared to its two electric rivals – in a motoring world adopting hybrid and electric power on a growing scale.

Electric power presents plenty of advantages – a quieter driving experience, zero tailpipe emissions, perky performance, and lower running costs if the vehicle is recharged at home.

However, as it stands in Australia in 2024, concerns remain with the reliability and availability of public electric-car charging infrastructure, which means recommending an electric car for urban living – where many buyers do not have access to off-street parking to charge their car – comes with asterisks.

Even if the Golf were fitted with an electric – or hybrid – drivetrain, judges would still choose it above the other finalists, cementing its place as the Drive Car of the Year Best Urban Car under $50K for 2024.

As one judge put it, “There's no Australian household that couldn't take the Golf and make it work for them”.

Editor's note: While Drive's pick is the Golf Life, due to production timing the Golf R-Line (from $42,290 +ORCs) is pictured.

Find out everything you need to know about all the Drive Car of the Year 2024 category winners at our DCOTY content hub.