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Carsales Staff31 Mar 2014
NEWS

Volkswagen Golf turns 40

Middle age shall not weary VW's iconic hatch

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Volkswagen's Golf – the car that succeeded the original air-cooled, rear-wheel drive Beetle.

Now in its seventh generation, the Golf remains true to its original remit – motoring that's affordable rather than cheap.

Since its inception in 1974, the Golf has sold over 30 million units worldwide, placing it well ahead of the 21.5 million sales record of the Beetle. It was the larger Passat that broke the long-standing VW tradition of boxer engines driving through swing axles to the rear wheels, but it is the Golf that retains a place in the hearts and minds of owners from every social stratum.

In its first incarnation, the Golf was styled jointly by Giorgio Giugiaro and Volkswagen. By October 1976 sales of the Golf had already passed the one-million mark. Before long the Golf was offered with diesel power and the sporty GTI variant, which became the benchmark for hot hatches in its time.

"The step from Beetle to Golf was truly revolutionary," says Klaus Bischoff, head of design at Volkswagen.

"The change from air-cooled rear engine to water-cooled front engine, and from rear to front wheel drive respectively, was a completely new vehicle layout at the time. Creatively, the Volkswagen designers changed from a round to an angular use of forms in those days, thanks to the legendary design by Giorgio Giugiaro. The main design elements of the Golf I, such as the silhouette of the upright, massive C-pillar, the prominent wheel arches and the typical horizontal front with slim grill and downwardly protruding headlights exist in every Golf to the present day."

An open top 'Cabriolet' version arrived in 1979. The first generation Golf became a victim of currency exchange rates in Australia, forcing Volkswagen's hand. With the Deutschmark beating the Aussie dollar into submission, Volkswagen ceased exporting passenger cars here.

In 1983 the first generation Golf gave way to its successor. Golf II wasn't sold in Australia until the launch of the GTI here in 1990, as part of the relaunch of the marque's passenger cars. Packaging was improved in the follow-up to the first Golf, placing extra distance between driver and front passenger for greater comfort. There was more room in the rear as well, thanks to a wheelbase stretch, and clever stying reduced the new car's drag coefficient from 0.42 to 0.34Cd.

For Aussie buyers, the wait for Golf III wasn't as excruciatingly long as it had been for its predecessor – but it was still a while. Released in other markets in 1991, the Golf III arrived here three years later, but at least there were volume-selling variants in showrooms alongside the GTI by then. And there was also a VR6 (V6-engined) high-performance variant.

For the first time the Cabriolet (assembled in Germany by Karmann) was no longer based on the original Golf, migrating to the Series III platform instead. Golf III ushered in significant crash safety gains from front airbags and stronger body construction, and saw the introduction of a wagon body style, which didn't come to Australia in that generation. The Golf hatch was larger once again, and more aerodynamic, now boasting a drag coefficient of 0.30Cd.

New from the ground up, the Golf IV followed in 1998. Volkswagen introduced the (V6-powered) R32 variant, which launched the DSG (dual-clutch) transmission. Syncro (all-wheel drive) versions of the Golf now featured a Haldex clutch and came to be known as Golf 4MOTION. Direct-injection engines and side curtain airbags were introduced in 2002. The Cabriolet version soldiered on in a third-generation body, albeit with frontal styling in the same vein as the Golf IV's. Within three years of going on sale in Australia, the Golf IV had more than doubled annual sales of its predecessor. In 2003, its last full year on sale here, the Golf IV sold 6457 units – versus 2472 in 1997 for the Golf III.

Increased safety was the primary focus of designers working on Golf V, which arrived here in 2005, with more airbag coverage (six) and a laser-welded body that offered a 35 per cent hike in torsional rigidity, the manufacturer claimed. Golf GTI was now powered by a turbocharged and direct-injected engine. And forced induction took another step forward with the Twincharge engine in 2006, although that combination of supercharging and turbocharging has been discredited since, following reports of reliability issues in service. According to VFACTS, Golf V sold 10,982 units in Australia for the calendar year 2007.

For the 2008 launch of the Golf VI, Volkswagen substantially reworked the previous model, reducing the design complexity so the production line could build the new car in a fraction of the time it took to build Golf V. There were more safety improvements introduced – among them a kneebag for the driver. Volkswagen expanded its direct-injection drivetrain offerings and made the shift to a common-rail induction system for the diesel engines in Golf VI. By the end of 2012, the Golf VI had posted 17,289 sales in Australia over its last full year.

The current Golf VII was unveiled near the end of 2012 and arrived in Australia last year. Lighter and more economical, the seventh generation Golf is also available – in foreign markets – in both plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicle form.

Sales in Australia show little sign of slowing, despite a high-profile media frenzy last year erupting around Volkswagen and its products – including the Golf. Volkswagen Australia has issued a recall notice to check and rectify an electronic fault in cars fitted with DSG transmissions. Yet the recall appears to have had little long-term effect on sales of the Golf. For the first two months of 2014 Golf VII sold 3337 units, a figure 53.7 per cent up on the sales tally of 2002 for the same period last year. Sales year on year from 2012 to 2013 grew by just 53 units, but VW blames that in part on the staggered launch of the latest GTI.

Now a Wheels Car of the Year winner, the Golf looks likely to rebound from its high-profile PR problems of last year – and with its reputation largely intact.

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Written byCarsales Staff
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