The Volkswagen badge brings with it a classless cachet, while the car offers room for a family, solid build quality and a driving package which blends solidity with comfort.

And in its Mark VI iteration, the Golf is the best it has ever been.

Build quality is excellent, the cabin is spacious and also exceptionally well insulated against wind and tyre noise, it looks sporty (especially in GT trim which brings a lowered ride height, 17-inch alloy wheels and numerous styling tweaks to signify it is a sporty model) and plenty of standard equipment such as air conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, cruise control, tyre pressure monitor, CD player with MP3 dock, a host of airbags and leather trim for the gearknob, handbrake and steering wheel.

Factor in a monthly benefit-in-kind tax bill of £59, and the maximum five stars in the EuroNCAP crash tests, and the appeal for a driver is clear.

And there are also benefits for a fleet running a Golf. Thanks to the positioning of the Volkswagen brand, sitting between the volume and premium badges, the Golf is the best performer in this test when it comes to retaining its value.

CAP estimates it will be worth £6,425 (33% of cost new) after four years and 80,000 miles.

Only the BMW 118d comes close to this performance (£6,050/30%), while the Honda Civic retains 24% and the Focus a lowly 18% over the same period.

This translates into the lowest running costs of the four cars featured here, costing around £200 less over four years and 80,000 miles than the BMW in second place.

While the Golf can not match the BMW’s outright fuel economy figure, in daily use we still managed nearly 50mpg in a range of conditions during our week-long test.

As more fleets and their drivers look to downsize into vehicles from the class below to save money, the Golf looks sure to continue its success in the fleet market.

From a driver’s perspective it offers a quality badge and product with reasonable costs (as well as looking the part in GT trim), while for a fleet the model’s residual value strength makes it a sensible choice.

Fleet view

“Volkswagen is an inspirational brand. We have 70 Mark VIs on the fleet – they have been well received, with staff commenting on the sporty looks.”

Mark Cameron, fleet administrator,Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward

Rivals

• BMW 118d Sport 5dr
• Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S 5dr
• Honda Civic 2.2 i-CTDi ES GT 5dr

P11d price

Fully-loaded Civic looks good value while Ford price rises have made Focus look expensive.

1. Civic £19,380
2. Golf £19,641
3. 118d £19,850
4. Focus £19,865

Emissions and tax

A 20% tax-payer’s BIK bill will be £43 a month in the BMW – Civic £58, VW £59, Focus £63.

1. 118d 119g/km/13%
2. Golf 129g/km/18%
3. Civic 139g/km/18%
4. Focus 144g/km/19%

Fuel costs

BMW returns 62.8mpg combined. Golf offers 57.6, Civic 53.3 and Focus 51.3mpg average.

1. 118d 7.46/£5,968
2. Golf 8.13/£6,504
3. Civic 8.79/£7,032
4. Focus 9.13/£7,304

Wholelife costs

Strong RV gives Golf the edge, while BMW’s fuel economy secures a strong second place.

1. Golf 29.27/£23,416
2. 118d 29.53/£23,624
3. Civic 32.22/£25,776
4. Focus 33.65/£26,920

Leasing rates

Lowest monthly rental with maintenance from www.comparecontracthire.com (excluding VAT).

1. Focus £250 (TCH)
2. Civic £255 (TCH)
3. Golf £262 (TCH)
4. 118d £274 (TCH)

Verdict

BMW’s EfficientDynamics technology brings useful fuel and emissions savings in this test, and its BIK bill of £43 a month is way ahead of the others.

The Golf counters with the lowest running costs of the four. So it comes down to a straight chocie between the Golf and 118d – the Golf wins thanks to its better interior space.

Winner: Volkswagen Golf 2.0 TDI GT

BlueEfficiency is, rather confusingly, Mercedes-Benz’s name for its eco sub-brand. And while the name may not automatically be associated with being green, the savings it offers to drivers and fleet managers certainly is.

Many models in the Mercedes-Benz line-up now carry BlueEfficiency badging, denoting they are equipped with fuel saving measures such as low rolling resistance tyres, more aero-dynamic wing mirrors and optimised engine components as standard.

There is also a dash-mounted economy gauge and a shift indicator light to alert the driver to the optimum point to change gear to maximise fuel economy. 

The C180K is, so far, the only C-Class to be offered in BlueEfficiency trim, powered by a supercharged 1.6-litre petrol engine delivering 156bhp. 

Further models will follow later this year when the C-Class diesel models adopt the 2.2-litre engines from the recently-launched E-Class range.

But for now the C180K is not only the sole BlueEfficiency model, it is also the cheapest to buy at £22,350.

It replaces the previous model, which carried the same name, but offers a host of improvements which make it an all-round better package, and at the same price.

The BlueEfficiency model has the same power output (despite the engine downsizing by 199cc), but fuel economy rises by 11% to a claimed 44.8mpg average. CO2 emissions fall by 18g/km to 149g/km.

As a result, a 40% taxpayer’s benefit-in-kind tax bill falls from £156 a month to £126. And for companies who outright purchase their fleet, the emissions reduction sees this model drop well under the 160g/km threshold for increased writing down allowances.

Running costs also fall, with the BlueEfficiency version being just over two pence-per-mile cheaper to run over three years and 60,000 miles.

And despite all the focus on reducing costs, the driver of an SE-specificaiton model will not feel short-changed. Standard equipment includes alloy wheels, radio/CD player with MP3 connectivity, automatic climate control, on-board servicing warning, leather steering wheel and gearbox, scratch-resistant paint and Bluetooth telephony.

Also reassuring is the high level of safety features fitted, with a host of systems helping the car to a five-star EuroNCAP test result, including adaptive braking, driver’s kneebag, crash-responsive Neck-Pro headrests to reduce whiplash and Pre-Safe – a series of devices which react if the vehicle senses a crash and takes action to reduce the likelihood of injury, such as tensing the seatbelts and closing the windows.

On the road the 1.6-litre supercharged engine feels surprisingly strong and revvy for such a small unit, while the six-speed manual gearbox has a much improved action, shifting betwen ratios smoothly.

Verdict

Mercedes-Benz has enjoyed huge success with the new C-Class, and the arrival of the new Blue-Efficiency version will enable it to adjust its model mix, which has been reliant on diesels. The C180 brings useful savings to both company and driver while offering a safe and stylish package.