KEY POINTS:
You don't mess around with an icon: the sixth generation Golf might look very similar to the car it replaces, but the best-selling hatchback has been completely redesigned.
All key body elements have been changed. "We have cast the Golf's core components in a precise, new mould," says Walter de Silva, design chief for Volkswagen.
The intention was to retain the core styling values but make the mainstream family car look a little bit more sporty, with many design details carried over from the just-launched Scirocco coupe.
"[The Golf] is more accentuated, more three-dimensional than its predecessor - with precisely defined lines and edges and with finely proportioned flared surfaces and recesses," says de Silva.
Inside, the Golf borrows from the upmarket Passat CC, with chrome highlights and a new automatic climate-control system.
VW claims this is also the quietest Golf yet. The diesel engines feature new balancer shafts for added refinement.
A special damping film in the windshield also reduces driving noises, as does the newly developed seal concept for the doors and side window guides.
The new shape of the outside mirrors also significantly reduces wind noise.
Modifications were made to acoustically isolate the engine and passenger compartments from one another better.
Low-rolling resistance tyres and new engine bearings round out the noise reduction package.
A new stability control system will be introduced and seven airbags, including knee airbag, are standard.
Innovative engines and transmission technologies lower fuel consumption by up to 28 per cent.
All gasoline and diesel engines satisfy limits of the future EU-5 standard.
VW's innovative TSI petrol engines - with turbo and supercharging - will continue to feature prominently in Golf.
The dual-clutch DSG transmission will be the exclusive automatic, with six or seven ratios depending on model.
The sixth-generation Golf will be launched in New Zealand next year.
