Volkswagen » Golf Plus

The Golf's bigger sibling scores highly for economy (it's capable of 55mpg), performance and safety. This family cruiser is bigger and taller than a Golf, so don't expect quite the same sporty response. What you get instead is loads more headroom (9.5cm more than the Golf) and a better view, a boot with 45 litres more space, and rear seats that can can be folded individually and also slide forward, upping the load space to a very useful 505 litres. Safety features include six airbags, anti-lock brakes, and automatic stability control - very useful for a taller car when cornering.