Loaded with important tech and wrapped in the usual suave yet understated style, it aces the job of being the benchmark hatch.

Price: $47,990

Powertrain and economy: 1.4-litre turbo-petrol inline four, 110kW/250Nm, 8-speed automatic, FWD, combined economy 5.8L/100km, CO2 133g/km.

Vital statistics: 4396mm long, 1789mm wide, 1491mm high, 1549mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 381 litres, 18-inch alloy wheels.

We like: Still a category leader, loaded with kit for the spend, genuine premium feel.

We don't like: CarPlay interface can occasionally be glitchy (maybe I need a new phone); engine is satisfactory, but no sizzler.

‘PATENT improvements in quality and refinement, premium car equipment; sharper to drive and neater inside and out, not a radical change over the outgoing model, but that's part of its appeal.’

That, in a nutshell, is a synopsis of not just the latest Volkswagen Golf but, realistically, every one of its forebears as well.

Among the valid reasons why a car that, since its introduction in 1974, has been an incredible success story for the company, and been one of its best-selling models is that every one has been created to a common formula in which ‘consistency’ is a core value.

Not all Golfs ultimately age well, but every fresh generation seems to start life in position of strength. Golf development is all about being extra careful not to make any mistakes and it shows.

Which is why none is ever a huge departure from the previous model, not least visually. The Golf's key design characteristics remain pretty much sacrosanct; the near vertical back end, thick C-pillar and well-proportioned body shape make it instantly recognisable. No surprise, then, why the Golf 8 is clearly still from the same school of design as the seven generations before it. There was never any chance of it not being.

The ‘same again’ stretches beyond generic shape. The overall dimensions are also the same as before and, yes, it’s based on similar underpinnings to the model it replaces. By now you might be wondering if it has enough changes to warrant it being properly ‘new’.

Don’t fret about that. It's always under the skin where Volkswagen makes its real advances. The latest generation of this benchmark hatch has leapt well ahead of the game in using a host of smart driver assists and a smart set of in-cabin displays. Basically, the interior is nothing less than a giant leap into the future. Quite literally so. The basic layout here is one also shared in VW’s new line of ID electric cars that are still unable to be officially secured for this market, more’s the pity.

It’s so loaded and the cockpit so advanced as to utterly deflate talk about this being Germany’s Corolla equivalent. Sure, this test is of the R-Line that’s the more affluent of the two editions running the base turbocharged 1.4 petrol. Yet fact is that even the $10,000 less pricey Life comes into the fray with kit and a presentation format that Toyota has yet to quite match for its Lexus models, let alone a car that is seen to be a far more direct challenger.

The lack of a traditional gearstick to activate the eight-speed direct shift auto that’s the sole choice in this market is a big change in itself. It’s replaced by a toggle-switch, which looks cool though the intent is to free up extra storage space on the centre console. But does it? Because the surrounding buttons for engine stop-start, parking brake, auto-hold and the P(ark) function of the gearbox are so large … well, there’s going to be debate about that. But it is easy to adjust to and, of course, if you don’t think the box works well enough - and that’s not likely to be subject to criticism, as it’s pretty smooth - you can just paddle shift through the gears anyway.

While the previous Golf had already sprouted big screens and gained digital dials, this one goes further still. Say goodbye to almost all buttons, knobs and dials. Say hello to a massive central touch-screen and a ‘virtual cockpit’ display.

The New Zealand spec delivers a 10-inch TFT screen in front of the driver, with a head-up display projecting onto the windscreen reserved for R-Line trim, into which a central infotainment screen - 8.25 inches on the Life, a more impressive 10 inches for R-Line – blends in, rather in the manner of the Touareg SUV’s.

Most functions are controlled via a central touch-screen, there are additional touch-sensitive switches for some functions, and at R-Line level there's also a voice assistant feature that controls everything from navigation settings to climate control.

It's all very swish and high-tech. Too much so?

Initially, you might wonder if VW's quest to seemingly eliminate every bit old-school functionality from the cabin has made operating some basics more awkward than needbe. When I first drove his car on launch, it did seem a bit much and I came home wondering if it could have at least retained a physical climate control operation, or at least a separate set of permanent switches for it (as occurs in the updated Tiguan, which we also drove that day).

However, as it transpired, any such jitters soon dissipated during this proper road test. A little bit of driveway time working through the basics of the big screen and menu system and the logics of what VW has done here all fell into place. Sure, I did make the occasional boo-boo – mainly inadvertent cabin temp alterations when my left hand brushed close enough to the glass to activate the haptics – but, within two of the seven days spent with this car, I’d fathomed how to get the best from it without mis-striking prompts and dead-ending down wrong information avenues.

The electronics are always set to wow any newcomer to the cabin, but even though the décor colours were a bit pedestrian, the car’s interior ambience in general also won positive comment.

The fittings and finish express high quality and tactility; it’s another VW that probably makes Audi feel really nervous.

Although the interior is no bigger than that of its predecessor, it feels airier. Rear seat space allows for two lanky occupants to travel comfortably, and while a 380-litre boot capacity is not class-leading, the space’s sensible shaping makes it decent enough.

As in common now, the driver is given plenty of safety assistance. As standard, it has a host of active systems that warn you if you’re about to collide with an object or person in front of you, and then activate the brakes autonomously to prevent a crash if you don't react in time.

As is inevitable, you’ll find some of the assistance systems a little overzealous at times, in terms of 'helping' with steering inputs, and if so will become peeved that the pathways to deactivation aren’t either more coherent or quicker. But there’s nothing here that upsets to the point of fury.

But there is a lot to consider. The starter-kit Life has front assist with pedestrian and cycle monitoring, side assist with rear cross traffic alert and lane assist, but the R-Line is really the better go-to, as it adds in voice control, travel assist – when running the active cruise control, you can activate, via a steering wheel button, automated driver assistance systems that can control the car on the motorway at speeds of up to 210kmh.

Both variants have keyless opening and start, rain-sensing wipers, a wireless phone charging pad and LED lights. R-Line ratchets up the comfort with comfier front seats and more upmarket trim, delivers on sports suspension, swaps from 17 inch alloys to 18s, upgrades from tethered Apple CarPlay/Android Auto to wireless, improves to climatronic air con, delivers native sat nav, has privacy glass and acts on spoken instruction.

Both models have a swish ambient lighting feature to make the interior seem just that little bit more special; the difference is that with R-Line you get 30 colour combo choices, against a mere 10 in the Life.

As much as it is by far the most technologically advanced Golf ever, the new model feels very familiar to drive. On that score, if sitting in its leaves impression that VW is simply very good at most things then that feel-good vibe is only enhanced by the driving.

It occasionally said that Golf was the first car that popularised the idea of a hatchback being the perfect middle-ground between a fun car and a practical car all at an affordable price point.

For sure, in this 1.4-litre presentation, it’s not the version to express outright dynamic verve or dynamite punch – that job is quite rightly left to the GTI and R models – but it doesn’t do too badly as an involving car.

Ultimately, though, you will find that what appeals most is its sense of solidity. There’s a reassuring element of the car’s demeanour that simply highlights that, even in an age when every maker uses the same robots and pretty much aims for common levels of quality, the ‘German’ influence still has some relevance.

With a relatively small engine doing the work, you’d expect to suffer some impact of oomph – and yes, it’s there in the initial kick-off and again when you venture into a passing lane – and also a fair degree of mechanical intrusion.

The second factor is not going to be a worry. Sure, it can get vocal when really rung out, but drive it with sensibility and, if anything, you'll notice how quiet and refined it is on the move, with barely a whisper of wind roar over the windscreen and roof, with road noise also kept at bay.

The driving controls are well-weighted, too, giving you a sense of connection to the car, whether you actively enjoy driving or not. Likewise, everyone will appreciate the Golf's rock-solid stability and body control, plus its damping over all kinds of surfaces. It manages to be comfortable as well as confident and reasonably engaging when you want it to be.

Under-bonnet downsizing is now a well-established practice and it’s almost a decade since we first drove a 1.4-litre Golf and judged it to be just as good as the larger capacity units also around at that time. This new unit is certainly a good one, not outright peppy but smoothly doling out its decent power and torque without making too much noise about it, while also being frugal in its fuel burning. VW claims a 15 percent improvement like-for-like and the on-test result of 6.7 litres per 100km, from a very broad mix of urban and open road running, including a brisk outing on country roads, seemed decent to me.

In some ways, the biggest threat to the new Golf comes from the old one, given it’s also running good powertrains and is basically the same when it comes to interior and boot space. Techno-phobes might find it a safer haven; as much as I came to terms with the new cabin and control sets, it’s highly likely that VW’s obsession with banishing physical controls from the cabin will alienate some past fans.

None of that takes from the fact that VW has delivered an exceptionally good car. Maybe not the greatest Golf ever, yet still a great Golf.