THERE'S something of the class swot about the Volkswagen Golf, writes William Scholes.
It gets to the top of the class not so much by being best at one particular thing but by doing pretty much everything well.
As befits Europe's favourite car and one of the best-sellers in Ireland, north and south, the Golf is available in a dizzying range of flavours, from wouldn't-pull-the-socks-of-you 1.2-litre S hatch to Porsche-baiting 2.0-litre R, with GTIs, convertibles, three- and five-doors, lots of diesels, four-wheel-drive, automatic and manual gearboxes, hybrids and everything else in between.
Swottiest of the bunch, however, may very well be the car on this page: the GTD estate.
Essentially a diesel-engined GTI with estate car bodywork, this is one of those cars that can lay claim to being 'the only car you'll ever need', so broad is its repertoire.
These days, a GTD badge on your Golf means a 182bhp diesel engine is under the bonnet.
That's less than you'll find in the petrol-engined GTI, but the GTD's trump card is a very healthy 280lb/ft of torque.
More drivers these days prefer the characteristics of big-punching diesels than high-power petrols, and the GTD hatch outsells the GTI by a margin of about three to one.
This may help explain why there is no GTI wagon, although the R version is available as an estate.
The GTD is commendably brisk, however, and I suppose for most drivers it will be a more than decent approximation of what they think a sporty family car should be.
In the GTD estate's case, that means a 0-62mph time of 7.9 seconds and a top speed potential of 143mph.
Those figures rather disguise just how punchy the Golf is in everyday driving, where its easily accessible torque gives it a decent turn of pace.
The combination of that sort performance with EU combined cycle fuel consumption of 64.2mpg - though I didn't get anywhere near that, see At a Glance panel - and CO2 emissions of 115g/km have helped make the GTD particularly popular with business users.
A big boot won't harm its case either. Volkswagen charges a very reasonable £695 premium for the estate over its five-door hatch sibling. In return you get a simply massive boot: 605 litres, which swells to 1,620 litres if you drop the back seats. Were you so minded, you could even swing a golf stick in there.
The boot gets a rollerblind-style cover which, handily, can be stowed under the boot floor when you have the seats folded or it's not required.
Being a sporty Golf, there are a range of cosmetic appointments to remind you that you've bought a car that sits towards the top of the range, including black and white tartan sports seats, illuminated door sills, honeycomb grille, 18-inch alloy wheels, a gear knob styled as a golf ball, xenon headlamps and sports suspension.
Volkswagen get these sorts of details just right and the GTD is overall a very pleasing package in which to sit.
It's very pleasant to drive, too. As already mentioned, the engine provides ample thrust, and the test car's six-speed manual shifted ratios quickly and easily.
The GTD has that feeling common with most Volkswagen Group products of having its controls - steering, pedals, gearchange - consistently weighted and balanced.
It's one of the reasons it is such an easy car to drive. It inspires confidence and encourages you to use as much of the engine's performance as is sensible.
Keener drivers may find themselves admiring the GTD's ability to demolish a road but also wishing for a little more engagement and adjustability - or that they had bought the R estate...
Wind things back and drive 'normally' - the rush hour commute, bringing the children to school, doing the shopping - and the GTD settles down into that groove of big car refinement that the current Golf has mastered.
As you might expect, the GTD isn't cheap. The standard car is a little over £28,500 and the test car, which for once wasn't outrageously optioned, was over £30,000.
At that sort of money, cars with even stronger credentials than the Golf, such as the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 start to enter the equation. Keen lease deals tip things back in the GTD's favour, however.
But regardless of price, few cars can match the swotty GTD estate's blend of easy usability, performance and space and sheer all-round competence.
:: AT A GLANCE
Volkswagen Golf GTD estate
Price: £28,615. As tested £30,115, with metallic paint £545, dynamic chassis control £830 and smartphone 'app-connect' £125
Engine and transmission: 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel turbo, six-speed manual gearbox, front-wheel-drive; 182bhp, 280lb/ft
Performance: Top speed 144mph, 0-62mph in 7.9 seconds
Fuel consumption: 64.2mpg (EU combined); 45.6mpg (real world)
CO2, road tax, benefit in kind: 115g/km - not liable in first year, then £30 annually - 23 per cent
Euro Ncap safety rating: Five stars (94/89/65/71)
