One of the most loved cars in automotive history celebrates its 40th birthday this year.
People have been looking at VW Golfs since March 1974 when the MKI rolled off the production line. Since then many different car deals have come and gone, with Volkswagen selling more than 30 million units of the Golf across its seven generations.
Early history
Even in its infancy, the VW Golf was destined to be special. The manufacturer had been famous for its rear-mounted engines and rear wheel drive Beetles before the MKI Golf started to turn heads. Such was the demand for a hot hatch that before 1976, VW had produced one million cars and designers were already busy thinking about how to take the range forward.
This drive for performance and innovation resulted in the now iconic Golf GTI – a model that would combine blistering acceleration, speed and practicality like few others. Diesel and Cabriolet versions followed – all eagerly snapped up by an impressed car buying public.
The creation of a classic
Given the success of the first iteration of the Golf, it wasn't until August 1983 that the MKII arrived. This generation saw the introduction of the regulated catalytic converter, the anti-lock braking system and power-steering. In 1991 it was the turn of the MK III and this heralded an era of safety enhancements the like of which had never been seen before. The Golf became the first to have front airbags and the MK III also brought major advances in the area of body construction, which made the car much safer should a crash occur.
Modern masterpiece in the making
In September 2012, Volkswagen launched the seventh iteration of the Golf, once again positioning the model at the cutting edge of automotive design. VW engineers managed to reduce the weight of the car by 100 kg and this helped improve fuel economy by 23 per cent. Better yet, the Golf TDI BlueMotion version consumes only 3.2 l/100 km to give a MPG of 88.3 mpg under standard NEDC conditions.
Pioneering design to continue
To keep the Golf ahead of the competition, VW designers were always willing to push the boundaries of what was previously thought possible in an affordable hatchback.
As such, the Golf has always been a pioneer of technological progress, giving drivers turbocharged and direct-injection engines, ABS, XDS or 4MOTION, emergency and post collision braking systems, and Adaptive Cruise Control. The newest generation of the Golf has cutting edge infotainment systems complete with touchscreen controls and revolutionary electric motors.
Already in its 40th year, Volkswagen has announced it will be electrifying the Golf – adding an all-electric model with a range of around 190 kilometres to the famous line-up. The e-Golf is now available for order and will be seen on the roads from autumn. With its plug-in hybrid drive system able to achieve a standard fuel consumption of 1.5 l/100 km in all-electric mode, it looks as though it could be one of the few green motoring alternatives that make it to the mainstream, ensuring the Golf will be one of the most successful cars for many years to come.
Posted by Bob Fletcher