Volkswagen Golf vs Ferrari 296

What's the difference?

Like the generations that preceded it, the current VW Golf 8.5 is a high-quality, comfortable and efficient small car. Add in good looks, space-efficiency, thoughtful practicality as well as class-competitive safety and you have the makings of a compelling package. The potential sticking point is this entry-level 110TSI Life’s value proposition in terms of included features relative to its purchase price and ongoing cost of ownership.  

Anyone who says electrification somehow muddies the Ferrari formula is wrong. This plug-in Prancing Horse is among the most potent and direct vehicles I’ve ever driven, and the electric motor only adds to the experience.

The team at VW’s Design Centre in Wolfsburg grapples with the same challenge when it comes to evolving the Golf as their contemporaries down the autobahn at Porsche face with the 911.

Over successive generations it must remain instantly recognisable as a Golf but move on to a more contemporary look and feel.

And although it’s always a subjective call I’d argue the current ‘8.5’ generation Golf answers the brief nicely.

Its neat, tightly wrapped exterior aligns with the classic Golf profile while including enough detail elements like the angular tail-lights and broad C-pillar to pass the badge removal test. Take away the VW roundels and this car is still clearly a Golf.

Neat touches include illuminated door handle recesses and broad-spoke alloy wheels that lift the visual tone.

Inside, the same juggling act stands up with sizeable screens for instruments and media balanced by a typically teutonic dash, door and console layout (with soft-touch surfaces at key points). Conservative but ultra-functional and easy to live with.

One niggle is haptic slider controls for audio volume and ventilation adjustment below the media screen rather than physical dials (although a steering wheel volume rocker switch helps). 

It is hard not to swoon when you gaze upon the 296 GTS, and I say that with no bias - I don’t think all Ferraris have looked this good.

But this is Ferrari at its dreamy, sweeping best, from the tarmac-kissing front — which generates so much downforce and cooling it negates the need for active aero — to its swollen haunches and the glass-topped engine window.

So what’s the difference between this and the GTB? Largely it is the ability to drop the folding roof, meaning you can feel the wind in your hair and that exhaust in your soul. To be honest, though, I reckon it looks better top up...

It’s a cockpit-style driver’s set-up inside, and there’s lots I love and some things I don’t. But let’s start with the steering wheel, which might be one of the best in existence.

It feels magic under the touch, as do the giant flappy paddles which remain fixed in place as you turn the wheel.

It’s also surprisingly comfortable in the figure-hugging sports seats, though climbing in and out of them is not necessarily something you want to do in front of a crowd.

Downsides? There is plenty of tech in the 296 cabin, but it’s all controlled from the steering wheel, making it fiddly and annoying to use.

Also, there are F1-levels of complexity on the control-everything steering wheel, and if I’m being honest, there are some buttons or switches, the function of which I still don’t fully understand.

At close to 4.3 metres long, less than 1.8m wide and under 1.5m tall with a 2631mm wheelbase the Golf sits at the more compact end of the small-car spectrum.

But there’s plenty of head and shoulder room up front with relatively large doors making entry and egress easy.

Storage is plentiful with bins in the doors large enough to swallow large bottles, a decent glove box, an open tray in the dash for the front passenger and twin cupholders in the centre console (one able to hide away for extra general storage), a wireless device charging bay and a coin or pen slot next to the gear selector. 

Special mention goes to the padded lid on the storage box between the front seats, which in modern VW style, can ratchet up through three positions and extend out to make its side hustle as an armrest even more valuable.

Move to the back and, understandably, there’s adequate rather than copious amounts of space, roughly on a par with others in the class.

Sitting behind the driver’s seat set for my 183cm position I have decent leg and headroom and there’s enough width for three (friendly) full-size adults on a short journey but it’s best for two.

There are generous door bins, again with room for large bottles, map pockets on the front seatbacks, two (and a half) cupholders in the fold-down centre armrest and an oddments slot under twin adjustable vents at the rear of the front centre console.

Power and connectivity runs to dual USB-C jacks and a 12-volt socket up front, with another two USB-Cs in the back and a 12V in the boot.

Speaking of which, the boot measures 374 litres (VDA) with the 60/40 split-folding rear seat upright expanding to 1230L with it folded.   

Interestingly, the Golf’s Corolla nemesis offers only 217 litres of boot space with all seats up. But the flagship ZR grows to 333L because it ditches a physical spare tyre for a repair/inflator kit.

Something the Golf, to VW’s credit, doesn’t do, with a space-saver spare under the boot floor. Numerous load anchors and bag hooks in there are a big plus.

The fact you’re able to tow a 1.5-tonne braked trailer (690kg unbraked) rounds out a solid practicality package. 

What do you want to know around practicality? We’re talking two seats, about 200 litres of cargo space total and a couple of smallish storage spaces in the cabin. And… that’s about it.

Next question, please.

Okay, hold your breath for a moment. The 296 GTS lists at $668,146, which is a sizeable jump over the hard-top GTB, which is more like $551,800. But what price a little open-air freedom?

What you get for that investment is a two-part (solid) folding roof, of course, but also what might be Ferrari’s most high-tech offering to date, with a plug-in hybrid system delivering potent performance rather than a usable EV driving range, a mega-clever braking system and an almost telepathic six-way 'Chassis Dynamic Sensor' designed to link the car’s key functions to make the experience, and the driver, somehow better.

Elsewhere, there are sports seats, Matrix LED headlights, 20-inch alloys, keyless entry and a very cool engine start touch-button on the even cooler steering wheel.

Oh, and there's wireless charging and Apple CarPlay, both thankfully standard in Australia, the latter controlled through the steering wheel and digital driver display.

It's all beautifully finished and a joy to behold and sit in.

As its name implies the Golf 110TSI Life is powered by a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine sending 110kW (there it is) and 250Nm to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission with shift paddles on the steering wheel.

It’s an all-alloy unit featuring direct-injection and an air-to-water turbo intercooler with variations of it used in other VW models as well as numerous Audis, Cupras and Skodas.

VW doesn’t quote a zero to 100km/h time for the standard Golf but you can expect a number in the mid-eight second bracket.  

Now we're talking. The powertrain here is both tremendous and terrifying, pairing a 3.0-litre twin-turbo-petrol V6 with a rear mounted electric motor, and a 7.5kWh battery, to deliver a total 610kW and 740Nm. That power is fed through an eight-speed dual-clutch auto transmission.

Those are, frankly, scary numbers, and enough, Ferrari says, to dispatch 100km/h in just 2.9 seconds, and to push on to a top speed of 330km/h.

The Golf’s official fuel consumption figure for the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 6.3L/100km, the 1.4L turbo four emitting 143g/km of CO2 in the process.

Over a week of mainly city and suburban running with some freeway sections thrown in, we recorded an on-test average of 7.4L/100km. That’s still a respectable number in the context of the category.

Brim the 50-litre tank with minimum 95 RON premium fuel and using our real-world figure you can expect a driving range in excess of 670km.

As well as the ability to start up and slink away silently, the Ferrari 296 GTS’s little battery will deliver a 25km EV-only driving range, and contribute to the overall claimed fuel use of just 6.5L/100km.

Charging is AC only, and the the brand reckons it takes around 90mins to top up using an 11kW charger. The self-charging is on-point, though, with the Ferrari able to quickly recoup energy from braking and the like to top up the battery without needing to plug in.

The Golf is a comfortable, refined and dynamically capable small hatch.

Suspension is strut front, four-link rear and combined with the 17-inch rims shod with comfy 225/45 Nexen N Fera Sport rubber the 110TSI Life manages to soak up typical suburban and highway bumps and dips well. Especially impressive for a small car with such a short wheelbase.

And despite the fact they’re trimmed in humble cloth, the front seats are super comfy and supportive.

An impressively slick 0.275 drag coefficient makes sense when you experience the modest wind noise at highway speeds.

The steering is vehicle speed and input-sensitive and road feel is outstanding. Slipping into ‘Sport’ mode and pushing through some twisting corners it feels like this humble 110TSI is a hot hatch in hiding.

The eight-speed auto transmission is smooth and taking control for more urgent shifts via the steering wheel paddles adds to the enjoyment when you’re in the mood or the need arises.

You’d never know the engine is turbocharged, with the 1.4-litre four-cylinder delivering its power in satisfyingly linear fashion, even at slow speed from low revs.

You can expect zero to 100km/h acceleration in the mid-eight second bracket with 250Nm of pulling power easily enough for confident urban lane changes and 110kW of power on tap for secure highway overtaking.

No surprise brakes are discs all around, vented at the front, and given the car weighs in at a trim 1345kg stopping power is strong and consistent.

Under the heading of general observations, the media system is quick and intuitive to use, all around vision is good despite the characteristically chunky C-pillar and although an 11.1-metre turning circle is a bit above the class average, parking is easy.  

The engine is undoubtedly a highlight, and we’ll get to that in a moment, but I first want to talk about the steering in this car.

It might sound like a weird point to get hung up on, but it is sensational, and maybe the best I’ve ever experienced. Generally speaking, super-responsive steering can risk feeling overly sharp and uncomfortable when cruising, but somehow the 296 manages to feel super natural, super responsive, and super engaging, without every feeling sharp or darty. It’s just predictable, responsive, and spectacular. 

Honestly, it is a highlight of a drive experience filled with highlights, with another being the dual-nature of this drop-top supercar. Long before I got anywhere near a twisting road I needed to navigate the usual nightmare that is Sydney, tackling traffic, suburbia, freeways, tunnels and expansion joints galore, and the 296 never felt uncomfortable.

Instead, the 296 slipped into a comfortable kind of lope, never jarring or rough, and eminently easy to get along with. And yet, when you arrive on the right road that veil of sensibility drops, and the Ferrari quickly reminds you of its potential.

For a start, the acceleration is properly, startlingly aggressive. Engage the 'Qualification' drive mode (which unlocks the full might of the Ferrari's electrified powertrain) and flatten your right foot, and you'll find the world suddenly hurtling past your windows, and your knuckles will no doubt whiten as you feel the rear tyres fighting for traction against the onslaught should you try it on anything but the straightest of roads. 

It's addictive, but it's just one element of a near-perfect combination on offer here, with the 296 GTS the stiffest Ferrari drop-top to date, which becomes immediately clear as you start to attack corners with ever-growing confidence.

Grip, stability and stiffness in spades, the GTS delivers. And all accompanied by an exhaust howl so angry and evil it’s hard to believe it’s being generated by a V6.

It’s a thing of very near perfection.

Not much chance of the 296 GTS being crash-tested in Australia — you’d be able to hear the Italians weeping across the ocean.

You do get front and side airbags  parking sensors, a reversing camera, auto high beam and tyre pressure monitoring.

Volkswagen Australia covers the Golf with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is on par with other mainstream brands like Ford, Mazda and Toyota, but behind a dozen others including Hyundai, Kia and Skoda at seven years/unlimited km with the likes of Honda at eight and MG, Mitsubishi and Nissan at 10 years conditional.

Servicing is recommended every 12 months/15,000km and three-, four- and five-year pre-paid service ‘Care Plans’ are available, with the latter for the Golf 110TSI Life locked in at $2940, which splits out to a relatively steep $588 per workshop visit. Pay-as-you-go ‘Assured Service Pricing’ works out at $621 per service.

For reference, a comparably priced Toyota Corolla ZR hatch will set you back a flat $250 per service for each of the first five years. 

There are more than 100 Volkswagen dealers across the country covering all states and territories including main rural and regional areas.

Standard is a three year warranty, but you can extend that for up to five years. Then, if your car has less than 90,000km on the clock, you can opt into the 'New Power15', which gives you up to 15 years total warranty coverage and is fully transferable.

The first seven years scheduled maintenance is free-of-charge.