Car manufacturers hate the thought of current owners going off to buy other companies' products, so they will often go a long way to try and keep them in one of their own offerings. The Golf Plus, then, is clearly the result of some judicious market research that indicated families who might otherwise once have been happy in their Golf hatchbacks were casting around for something a little bit bigger and a little bit taller.
The Plus might look odd within the Volkswagen range, but when you look at it in a wider context against a family rival like the Seat Altea or the Renault Scenic it does start to look a little more sense. The odd thing about it is that it doesn't really offer anything new, though - the name doesn't lie, it really is just a bigger Golf.
Perhaps the seven-seat Touran is a little too square for some people, so the Plus does take on some of the sleeker lines of its Golf hatchback sibling even if they do sit a little uncomfortably on its larger frame. Its main virtue is the extra space inside, for much of the interior is carried over from the Golf and, with just the five seats and no seven seat option, the Plus does lack the flexibility you would get from a proper MPV.
The Golf Plus is much like the C-Max is to the Ford Focus, then - the Ford drives with less athleticism than its capable hatchback alternative, but much better than the full-size MPV option in the form of the Galaxy. So it is with the Golf Plus - it would disappoint when compared with a Golf but is much more pleasant to drive than a Touran.
There is a small range of engines available with the car, all of which are geared more towards economy than performance. The best of the lot is the 2.0-litre TDI diesel with its 138bhp. The only other options are 1.6-litre petrol and 1.9-litre diesel engines which struggle to keep up when the car is fully laden.
The Golf Plus is essentially a rather pointless car, offering nothing more over the Golf than a bit of space and a lot less than a proper MPV could manage. But then again, if it manages to keep customers who want something taller than a Golf but smaller than a Touran it's job done for VW.