In partnership with Auto Trader
Used test: Volkswagen Golf vs Volkswagen T-Cross costs
Comfy and practical, a used VW Golf is a great buy, but are you better off with a small SUV like the VW T-Cross?...
Buying and owning
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
When new, our VW Golf came in at £21,200, while the VW T-Cross would've set you back £19,555. After five years on the used market, they've wound up at roughly £13,000 each.
Over the next three years, our data predicts the Golf will lose £3750 of its current value, which is less than it predicts the T-Cross losing, its figure being £4225.
The Golf is going to gobble up less of your fuel money, too. On our test route, it averaged an impressive 46.5mpg. The T-Cross still managed a commendable 45.1mpg average, though.
Insuring either car should be a relatively affordable affair. The Golf, in insurance group 13 (out of 50), should set you back around £457. In group 10, the T-Cross should cost you even less: around £399.
If you're interested in buying a service plan through VW, we were quoted the same £492 figure for either car and that included two services.
Both cars are a bit mixed for kit. They impress when you see they got adaptive cruise control and adjustable lumbar support fitted as standard from new.
Then again, the T-Cross baffles when you spot that the original owner had to pay extra for rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera, as we touched upon. Both cars demanded extra for climate control, as well as keyless entry and start, too.
In our 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey, the Golf managed an 18th place finish out of 29 cars in the family car class. Its reliability score of 90.4% is respectable at best. The T-Cross, out of 22 cars in the small SUV class, ranked eighth. Its score of 96.9% is more confidence inspiring. As a car brand, VW came 22nd out of 32 manufacturers, its score 90.2%.
After safety testing, the Golf was awarded the full five stars from Euro NCAP back in 2012, but this rating has since expired and the Golf was never retested – it's worth noting that this generation of Golf was replaced in 2020. Meanwhile, the T-Cross was tested in 2019 and its five-star rating still stands.
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