To the annoyance of some people whose preferences lie with other manufacturers, the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf has been not so much showered with praise as practically drowned in it. Media reviews have been exceptionally positive, awards have been presented to it on a regular basis, and perhaps most intriguingly of all the Golf recently became the first car not built in Japan to be voted Japanese Car of the Year. It's also the most-registered car in Europe by a huge margin.If it weren't for the pictures you've already seen on this page, the above paragraph would probably have inspired a mental image of a Golf hatchback, but this summer Volkswagen introduced an estate version. The restyling of the back end is inoffensive without being particularly attractive, but that's not nearly as important as the fact that it surrounds a most impressively large luggage compartment.Here are the stats: with the rear seats in place, the Golf offers 605 litres, which is only ten short of what you get in the Skoda Octavia estate though it's worth noting that the forthcoming Honda Civic Tourer will be roomier still.Fold down those seats, a process which can be started by pulling a lever within easy reach of the tailgate, and the volume increases to 1620 litres, a figure Volkswagen has achieved while still leaving room for a space-saver spare wheel rather than a stupid tyre repair kit. The Octavia is now well ahead, as the Civic will be, and there's also more room in the estate versions of the Hyundai i30 and Kia cee'd, but the mainstream opposition - the Vauxhall Astra, the Renault Megane and especially the comparitively cramped Ford Focus - all lose out to the Golf.Clearly you can pack in a lot of stuff, but as always with cars of this type the rear suspension has had to be compromised to account for the possibility of heavy loads, and - if it matters - the estate isn't as good to drive as the hatchback. The handling isn't as sharp, but having covered well over a thousand miles in less than a week I'm happy to report that there's no great loss of ride comfort.The test car was fitted with VW's 104bhp 1.6 TDI turbo diesel engine and a five-speed manual gearbox whose shift quality seemed a bit crunchier than those of other Golfs I've driven. Maybe that was just a problem with this particular example.The reason for picking a 1.6 TDI over any other Golf engine is that it's very economical. 72.4mpg economical, according to the official test. My first tankful was used up by driving almost entirely on motorways, frequently in lousy weather, and I was pleased, if a little suspicious, to see that the trip computer was telling me I'd averaged 57.1mpg. I was a lot more pleased when my measurements suggested that the computer was actually being modest, and that the car seemed to have achieved 60.1mpg.Later, I got into the indicated mid 60s on a deserted A-road in the early hours of the morning, helped by the fact that conditions were freezing and I was being careful about possible ice patches. Assuming that the trip computer always under-reads, I'd guess that I came close to 70mpg on that run, and I bet I could do better than the official 72.4 if I tried.SE is the middle of three trim levels in the range, above S and below GT. You get quite a lot of equipment, including semi-automatic air-conditioning, automatic headlights and wipers, Bluetooth connectivity, DAB digital radio, PreCrash protection and a driver alert system (though I thought this was a bit too keen on recommending that I should stop for a coffee, particularly when I'd done so less than half an hour previously).The specification doesn't include parking sensors, metallic paint or satellite navigation, which I suppose is fair enough on a mid-range car. Puzzlingly, and frankly rather annoyingly, it doesn't come with a USB port either. There's a Multi Device Interface which comes with a cable that allows you to charge iThings, but if you want USB functionality you have to buy a connector lead from your VW dealer, and it costs £38.In terms of behavioural economics it seems a better idea to offer a car for £21,773 with a USB port already fitted rather than, as Volkswagen does, charging £21,735 and making the customer go to that extra trouble. It may be a small point, but if I were that customer I think I'd be treating it as an important one. Engine 1598cc, 4 cylinders Power 104bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 72.4mpg / 102g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 11.2 seconds Top speed 120mph Price £21,735 Details correct at publication date
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