I celebrated Volkswagen Golf’s 50th by driving the new Life – it moves effortlessly and is full of excellent touches

EVERY birthday party needs cake, obviously, and balloons.

Lots of balloons.

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So Volkswagen went big for Golf’s 50th by heading to Cappadocia in Turkey where a sky-full of really big balloons take flight every morning.

That’s the original 1974 Golf you can see on the left and the latest Golf 8.5 on the right.

But I’m sure you know that.

Just like you know Golf has always been the go-to family car. Hatch or estate.

Sensible or spicy. Petrol, diesel or plug-in hybrid. 2WD or 4WD. There’s a Golf for everyone.

We tried the new Golf “Life” for a week, 1.5-litre petrol with a six-speed manual, and every mile was a pleasure.

We like the way it drives. We like the way it changes gear. We like the way it steers. Everything effortless. Everything on point.

You can tell 50 years of engineering excellence has been poured into this car. As for the cabin, the infotainment screen is slicker.

There’s a new 360-degree camera system. They’ve gone back to proper buttons on the steering wheel.

The door pockets are still carpeted. All things that please.

Finance from £272 a month. Just watch out for the big balloon payment at the end.