Picture a family hatchback and you're probably thinking of one of these two.
The Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf are enduringly popular on the UK's roads. Their everyday practicality, sensible sizing and easy driving experience mean they're usually up for any driving task you set them.
We've driven both cars to help you choose the one that suits you best. Get big savings off the brand new price by shopping a huge range of used Ford Focus and used Volkswagen Golf cars at Motorpoint.
Ford Focus vs Volkswagen Golf compared
| Ford Focus | Volkswagen Golf |
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Styling and design
Family hatches aren't really about standing out, so both the Focus and the Golf stick with familiar styling over making a bold statement.
The Ford's look is defined by flowing surfaces with a slightly organic quality, featuring neat crease lines over the front and rear wheels that give the car some visual muscle. Huge, glaring headlights sit either side of its wide, shield-shaped grille, giving the front end an angular, purposeful look. Many buyers spec the popular ST-Line trim, which adds a sporty body kit and larger alloy wheels. You might also spot Active models, which get jacked-up suspension, SUV-inspired cladding and roof rails for a tougher look.
Volkswagen's also chosen a look that'll be familiar to existing Golf owners. The front end is similar to previous models but now draws the headlights and the thin grille into a single line that stretches horizontally across the car. Higher-end models even feature an illuminated strip in the grille to complete the car's signature 'face'. The rest of the styling is sensible but unremarkable. You'll find a crisp crease running through the door handles, and pointed brake lights to match the front end, but little else that stands out. Again, you have the option to jazz up the look with R-Line trim, which adds big wheels and a gaping lower air intake.
Interior and practicality
The Focus' interior is simple and straightforward. There's an infotainment display in a pod on top of the dashboard and a handful of physical controls below that for key controls and climate adjustments. What's lacking is much of a 'wow' factor. Most surfaces are dark grey or black plastic with a nasty, scratchy feel and there's barely any styling details to lift the ambiance. On all cars, the infotainment system is fairly responsive with a reasonably intuitive layout, although older models had outdated graphics and a small screen. A facelift in 2022 fitted a larger screen with clearer menus, although it also sacrificed the physical heater controls for annoying on-screen ones.
Immediately, it's obvious the Golf has a more deliberately minimalist approach than Ford with a single wide screen in the middle of the dashboard and scarcely any physical buttons below. While you'll get used to most of the Golf's idiosyncrasies, it's not always the most intuitive thing to use. The touch-sensitive sliders below the screen for volume and climate temperature have inconsistent responses, and are unlit making them hard to use at night-time. There's also little consistency in how infotainment menus are laid out, which can make the system tricky to navigate. Like the Focus, the Golf also relies on dark-coloured plastics a little too heavily, but the overall look is more obviously stylish.
As for space inside, both cars should prove large enough for a family of four provided you no longer have to cart around bulky pushchairs. You'll be able to get tall adults in the back seats of both cars, although they'll have a little more room to stretch out in the Focus. And, if you're carrying a fifth passenger, there's much less of a transmission tunnel in the Ford, so they get a bit more foot space. On paper, the Golf has the larger boot – 380 litres versus the Focus's 375 – but the Ford's space is a little more useful in practice. If you do need to carry pushchairs or the family pooch, however, you can solve this issue with the Focus Estate or the Golf Estate.
Engines and performance
These are sensible cars and they come equipped with a sensible selection of engines. Starting with the Ford, many buyers will find the company's familiar 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbo petrol engine is plenty for day-to-day driving. Most versions have 125hp, which is enough for both city and motorway driving, or you can step up to the 155hp version, which has a little more punch during fast motorway overtakes. There's also a 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel widely available on the used market – this is a little sluggish but should be able to return north of 60mpg if you drive carefully.
The Golf's engines have a little less power on paper than the Focus's but they're a much closer match for acceleration. For example, the VW's entry-level 110hp 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine is only 0.2 seconds slower from 0-62mph than the 125hp Focus, while the 130hp 1.5-litre TSI Golf will match the 155hp Focus in a sprint. For high-mileage drivers, there's also the Golf's popular 2.0-litre diesel engine, which offers lots of low-down torque and more than 60mpg with a light right foot. There's little to split the two cars' manual gearboxes, but we've found the VW's DSG automatic to be a little smoother while manoeuvring than the Ford's auto 'box.
But what if you want your hatch to be hot? The good news is both models still offer range-topping performance options, although it's the Volkswagen that takes the victory for outright firepower. That's because, with no RS model in the range, there's only the sporty Ford Focus ST in the blue oval camp. It's no slouch, with 280hp on tap and a sub-six-second 0-62mph time. The Golf GTI goes toe-to-toe with the Focus ST, offering similar front-wheel-drive thrills and acceleration, but outright bragging rights belong to the 320hp Golf R which, with four-wheel drive, blasts from 0-62mph in a sports-car-baiting 4.7 seconds.
Driving
Over the decades these cars have been competing, the Focus was usually hailed as the more fun car to drive, while the Golf was typically set up to be a little more comfortable. That's still the case to this day, but both cars have moved much closer to one another in an effort to please drivers from the other side of the aisle.
Where older Focuses were very obviously sporty, with excellent balance and body control, the new one has toned down some of the car's more frenetic responses. There's more obvious softness in the suspension and less immediate responses to changes of direction – all of which makes the Focus a calm and easy car to drive everyday, if not quite the driver's choice it once was. You'll still appreciate the accuracy and weighting of the steering, however, as well as the snappy manual gearshift action.
The Golf, similarly, began life as a car known for its softness and refinement, and has since sought to add more driver appeal to the mix. This eighth-generation car has mostly achieved this goal, with a light and accurate front end that feels less prone to the nose-heaviness that afflicted older Golfs. There's little in the way of feedback through the controls, and very aggressive driving will quickly see the electronic nannies reign in your right foot, however, so it's a much better car to drive swiftly than at a full ten tenths.
Value and reliability
If you're shopping current Focus and Golf models, you'll find the Ford is usually the more affordable of the two, although the gap is tight. The main reason for the Focus's lower starting prices is because this model's been on sale for around two years longer than the Golf, giving it more time to drop in value. However, a like-for-like comparison with cars of a similar age, spec and mileage will still usually return the Focus as the slightly cheaper option.
The value-for-money case for the Golf and Focus becomes especially compelling is when comparing them against the compact SUVs that have, in some cases, begun to replace family hatches like these. They'll often undercut similarly specced SUV models by several thousand pounds, which translates to a decent discount off a monthly finance payment. That means, if you can live without SUV looks and their extra practicality, hatches like these represent strong value for money.
Both the Focus and Golf tend to return decent scores in reliability surveys. We've not heard of any widespread issues with these models, although you should keep on top of scheduled maintenance to make sure they last as long as possible. New or used buyers can add an extended warranty to their car when they buy it to protect themselves from the cost of unexpected mechanical or electrical repairs.
Which is best?
The good news here is there's no bad choice between these two cars. Whether you drive away in a Focus or a Golf, you're unlikely to be disappointed by your choice in the long run. However, that can make picking between the two harder because there's so little to split them.
If you enjoy driving, you might find the Focus's slightly more engaging handling swings it for you, especially considering how little compromise it demands of the rest of the ownership experience. On the other hand, you might prefer the more obviously stylish interior in the Golf, as well as its slightly more fuss-free, less involving driving experience.
Whichever you choose, you'll find big savings off the brand-new price by buying or financing a used Ford Focus or a used Volkswagen Golf from Motorpoint. To see a broader selection of cars, take a look at our picks for the best used family hatchbacks on sale.
