Best small car under $35,000

Solid results in design and function and on the road gave the Volkswagen Golf 90 TSI Trendline an unassailable lead in this year’s awards.

Golf earned top marks for safety and environment and almost perfect scores for comfort and ergonomics, thanks to comfy but enduring seats and switchgear that falls easily to hand. Performance shares top billing with the Mazda 3 diesel and the Mitsubishi Aspire as best in class.

Volkswagen is on a roll, as evidenced by the number of best cars award categories the company has won in the past couple of years. One of the secrets to its success has been the excellent handling characteristics VW has been able to incorporate across the range.

Little wonder then that Golf’s handling and ride package is matched only in this category by the sports version of the Ford Focus, with the pair achieving identical on-road scores.

The jewel in the crown is the car’s 1.4-litre inline, direct injection, turbo-petrol engine. Volkswagen has done a great job of matching the seven-speed DSG to the engine’s power delivery, with crisp shifts all the way through the gears. One minor failing is the DSG’s lack of smoothness in engagement as the car moves off.