Volkswagen Golf SV SE Bluemotion: car review | Martin Love

Feeling the squeeze? VW's new Golf SV is a plus-size model that gives you plenty of room to stretch yourself

Price: 21,200
Top speed: 123mph
0-62mph: 10.4 seconds
CO2: 105g/km
MPG: 62.8

Sadly, we are all getting bigger. Here in Britain our elasticated trousers are tighter than ever and we top the table for obesity in Europe. According to the NHS Choices website it is because we" wait for it" eat too much. Doh! Can that revelation have come as a massive surprise to anyone researching their ballooning waistband online, late at night and halfway through a pack of HobNobs? "Ah! So, that's it"" Anyway, here is some good news. To accommodate all our extra girth, VW has launched a new "plus-size" model. It's called the Golf SV. Years ago there was the Golf Plus which was basically a regular Golf with a slightly raised roof. It looked ungainly and top heavy and didn't handle at all well. It was soon put out of its misery. Now VW has done the job properly. Its new SV has been stretched slightly in all directions so it is higher, wider and longer than its slimmer looking Golf sibling. The SV is also a good deal prettier than the old Golf Plus.