In 1974, when Volkswagen needed to replace the iconic Beetle, the original ‘people’s car’ (literally volks wagen), they could not have been more radical.

They moved the engine from the back to the front, made it water-cooled not air-cooled, and took the round sweeping forms of the Beetle and replaced them with chunky, square lines. And voila, the Golf Mark 1 was born. There have been seven generations of this new VW classic over the years and plans are already well under way for a fully updated eighth generation version in 2018.

It first appeared as a 3-door hatchback but soon other variants were put on the market. Over the years there has been a Cabriolet and even a pick-up version, but all of them show their roots in that original squared design. The initial petrol engine option was quickly expanded with a diesel version that gave such good performance that it was hard to tell the difference in performance. The most recent generation was launched back in 2012 but the fact that this car has proved to be VW’s best seller, means that both the company’s and the public’s love affair with this model is set to continue for many, many years to come.