If you want to buy a cheap car you probably should look towards the superminis which because of their size and comparatively small engines, also come with reasonably low price tags. There are many to choose from on the UK market but one of the better ones is arguably the Ford Ka. If you're a young driver, this is the cheapest car for you to own either new or used as it's on average the cheapest car for a 17-18 year old new driver to insure. You could get a decent used Ford Ka for as little as 300 while a new model will cost you around 7,500. The Ford Ka is also said to be fun to drive as it's nimble but fairly firm. CO2 emissions are around 115g/km and the car is fairly frugal. But in addition to this the Ford Ka is also not very popular amongst car thieves.
The reason for this is that they don't consider the Ford Ka as being desirable enough to steal. The most stolen cars according to the same website are the Toyota Yaris, the Volkswagen Touareg and the Volvo XC90. The big 4x4s are apparently often stolen to use for ram raiding somewhere else. Porsche 911 is another vehicle which is popular to steal both for its value and performance. But regardless of what type of car you do own, in order to minimize the risk of being targeted by car thieves there are some simple things you can do to deter criminals. Always tidy away all your valuables and keep the car keys somewhere safe in your home. Also when parking, turn your wheels towards the curb as this makes the car harder to tow away. Also cars which are personalised or very distinctive are less likely to get stolen because they are so recognisable. So perhaps spray-paint your car pink if you dare.
The interior is another strong point in the VW, because build and material quality are excellent, and the neat design means the cabin feels spacious without losing any practicality. The eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system is excellent, too. Standard equipment on the Golf R isn’t quite as generous as the Honda’s, but it’s on par with the A 35’s because you get 18-inch alloy wheels, sat-nav, a digital dash, smartphone connectivity, parking sensors and a reversing camera. There are also LED headlights and keyless operation to match both rivals’ specifications. The Golf R’s potent engine, snappy DSG gearbox and four-wheel-drive traction work together very well, resulting in ballistic straight-line performance. It was the fastest car from 0-60mph (4.3 seconds) and took just 4.0 seconds to go from 30-70mph through the gears, which was 0.2 and 0.3 seconds faster than the Mercedes and Honda respectively. It was also quickest in our fourth gear 30-50mph test, beating the A 35’s 3.3 seconds and the Type R’s 3.4 seconds with a time of three seconds flat. The Volkswagen was faster than its rivals in higher gears as well, asserting a straight-line advantage everywhere in the slippery conditions of our test.
Alongside its huge performance for a family hatch, the VW’s engine revs smoothly. The Golf R’s overall character is much like the engine: it’s incredibly well engineered and effective. For example, the steering is very precise and there’s lots of grip, which gives you confidence in corners, yet we prefer the more communicative Honda. The A 35 is similarly well engineered, yet the Golf feels lighter on its feet, faster and more composed on a typical B-road than the AMG. Its four-wheel-drive system also feels more eager to send power to the rear wheels, so if you get on the power early in a corner you can feel the system working hard to tighten your line using the rear axle. The electronic differential also works very well, pulling the car around tight bends when you get on the power and maximising traction. That allows you to make the most of the Golf R’s explosive performance.
With the £850 DCC set-up fitted, the Golf R rides very well, especially at speed, and even mid-corner bumps don’t upset the car’s balance. The Volkswagen is also more comfortable than the Mercedes with the dampers in their softest mode. While the Golf’s 4x4 system is useful in bad weather, it eats into boot space. Capacity drops from 380 litres in a front-wheel-drive model to 343 litres in the R, which makes it the smallest in this test. However, this is still enough day to day; it’s just that family trips will stretch it further. The Golf is also roomy for rear-seat passengers, with a wide door opening and lots of head and legroom in the back. There’s not quite as much in-cabin storage as its competitors’, but the dash design means it feels more spacious inside and there are still plenty of cubbies and storage bins. Volkswagen performed well in our Driver Power 2018 survey, finishing fifth out of 26 in the makers’ rankings. The Golf also scored a maximum five stars in its 2012 Euro NCAP crash test, and standard safety equipment includes autonomous braking, parking sensors, lane-keep assist, traffic sign recognition and seven airbags.
