In April this year the Volkswagen Golf was named World Car of the Year. Spekaing about this accolade, Professor Dr Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen, said: “To win this award again shows that the Golf is and remains in a class of its own all around the wrold. This car sets new benchmarks again and again, not least in terms of efficiency and environmental credentials. Soon, for instance, the Golf will also be launched as a plug-in hybrid and as a 100% electric car.”

In giving their reasons for the awards, the jury said: “The Golf is just the right size – it’s spacous, practical and comfortable.  It has a fresh, progressive design, a new range of engines, plus an impressive list of equipment and safety systems.  If there is a car for everyone, the Golf is it.”

In May Golf BlueMotion was launched.  No matter which engine you go for, it will come with BlueMotion technology that includes a stop-start system and brake energy recuperation as standard. This helps to keep emissions low and fuel economy high – especially with the full BlueMotion model, which returns hybrid-beating economy figures of 88.3mpg and emits just 88g/km of CO2. The entry-level 1.2 TSI manages 57.6mpg and emits 113g/km, while the 1.6 TDI does 74.3mpg and emits a road tax-free 99g/km of CO2. But even the performance models should be fairly cheap to run, as the Golf GTD claims fuel economy of 67.3mpg and CO2 emissions of 109g/km (that’s 12mpg and 20g/km better than the old car and almost exactly the same figures as the first-generation Golf BlueMotion), while the Golf GTI is said to return 47mpg with the standard six-speed manual gearbox, and CO2 emissions of 139g/km. Prices are competitive, too, while residual values should be very strong. While BlueMotion is setting new standards in terms of fuel consumption and environmental compatibility, all the Golf’s traditional attributes of practicality, comfort and safety are still there.