It’s not just fast and sporty cars that reveal the advantages of dual clutch transmissions: VW’s Golf Plus, the taller and roomier variant of the regular Golf hatchback, becomes easy and entertaining to drive thanks to its seven-speed DQ200 transmission and a diesel engine giving just 105 horsepower.

Volkswagen brands its dual clutch transmissions DSG, for direct shift gearbox. The design team who shaped the exterior of the Golf Plus did a skilful job in providing extra headroom, a higher seating position and added versatility while maintaining the Golf design cues that have become so familiar over the years. The Plus needs to tread a careful path between the ubiquitous Golf hatch and the boxy but cavernous Touran minivan – and this is precisely what it does.

The benefit of the increased height is felt in better trunk space and more legroom for the passengers thanks to a more upright seating position. The rear seat has a fore and aft adjustment, too, and the higher driving position gives better all-round visibility. These differences aside, all the other cues – from instruments and controls to the dashboard and seats – all spell pure Golf; no bad thing, considering that model’s excellent reputation.

Engine

Three gasoline and three diesel engines make up the choices offered on the Golf Plus; the new seven-speed DSG dual clutch transmission is only available with two of these – the 1.4 liter turbo gasoline, giving 122 hp, and the 1.9 liter, 105 hp TDI turbo diesel.

This is one of the VW group’s older diesel engines, still using the high-pressure unit injectors but brought up to EU5 emissions standards by several updates including a standard diesel particulate filter.

The newer two-liter has 16 valves – as opposed to the 1.9’s eight – and will soon make the switch to common rail fuel injection and piezo injectors. Both engines are equipped with a variable geometry turbocharger to improve low-speed torque.

Transmission

The seven-speed DSG dual clutch transmission differs from the original six-speed in many more ways than just the obvious contrast between wet and dry clutch. While the dry clutch system allows the engineers to dispense with the energy-absorbing high-pressure oil supply required to cool a wet-clutch system, the air-cooled dry clutch needs to be larger – despite its lower torque handling requirement – to have sufficient thermal capacity for durability.

The larger clutch in turn means that Volkswagen has had to rethink the gearbox shaft layout in order to package the unit into a car as small as a Polo. The transmission is thus a three layshaft design, with the extra shaft carrying the selector gear and the parking lock gear.

The design of the transmission allows for a short first gear and a tall seventh, making it suitable for a broad range of vehicle types. In the Golf Plus the lower ratios are more closely spaced in order to make best use of the lower-spec diesel engine’s relatively narrow spread of power.

On the road

First impressions of this Golf Plus are dominated by the engine, which by the standards of the most modern diesels is lacking in smoothness and refinement. Gradually, however, that impression fades and the Golf becomes pleasant, if not super-sophisticated to drive.

The central transmission lever looks like a conventional auto shifter and is marked with the familiar PRND positions, plus S for Sport. Paddle shifters behind the steering wheel spokes allow the driver to override the automatic modes or shift gears manually. These are precise and pleasing in their action: the same cannot be said for the selector lever, where there is no clear detent indicating the D position.

In the Drive setting the Golf is quite clearly programmed for extreme economy. It can feel slow in its responses, and the transmission changes up at very low revs on a light throttle. The kickdown, however, works well, and sometimes shifts down two or more ratios. The shifts are invariably smooth and quick.

In Sport mode the transmission is just the opposite, allowing the engine to hold on to the lower gears and rev high as a result. It seems a long time before the car reaches the relative tranquility of seventh gear: there are large gaps between the higher gears. The paddle shifts, however, provide an excellent override, allowing the driver to control the transmission effectively. The temporary dip into manual mode can be easily cancelled by pulling and holding the upshift paddle on the right hand side of the steering wheel.

The transmission’s behavior in traffic and at low speed is easy and amenable. There is no juddering (as on some CVTs) when pulling off from rest or coming to a halt, and the system’s logic never seems to get caught out. It is never as truly smooth as a good torque converter automatic, though.

The faults of the car are really those of an engine which lacks modern units’ refinement on idle and under hard acceleration. Under cruising conditions it is more acceptable – and is able to produce highly impressive out-of-town instantaneous consumption figures of better than 4.6 liters per 100 km (49 US mpg).

Overall, fuel consumption worked out at 5.38 lit/100 km, a shade better than the homologation value of 5.50 and again a good performance for a roomy and relatively heavy five-seater with a substantial compliment of passengers and equipment. Indeed, Volkswagen’s own figures give a CO2 emissions figure of 144 grams per kilometer for this car – a useful 2 grams less than the value for the standard six-speed manual version and an eloquent testimony to the capabilities of the dual clutch transmission. While the programming of the transmission’s S mode could be usefully improved, in overall terms the DSG installation in the Golf Plus shows how an everyday vehicle can be made smoother and more entertaining thanks to DCT technology – even if that does come at the high price of  about €1800, or almost a tenth of the car’s basic price.

Specification: Volkswagen Golf Plus SE 7-speed DS
Vehicle type:	five-door hatchback
Engine:	1.9 liter direct-injection turbodiesel
Power:	105 hp at 4000 rev/min
Torque:	250 Nm at 1900 rev/min
Transmission:	seven-speed dry clutch DCT
Max Speed:	180 km/h
0-100 km/h:	12.1 sec
Fuel Economy:	5.5 lit/100 km
CO2 Emissions:	144 g/km
Price on the Road:	€23,500