GOLF

About the Golf

The Golf is the car that invented the hot hatch, defined the compact class, and has been the European default for fifty years. The Mk1, launched in 1974, replaced the Beetle and saved Volkswagen from obsolescence. The GTI version — 110 hp, a golf ball shift knob, and a red pinstripe on the grille — created an entire performance category overnight. Every generation since has been the benchmark that the Civic Type R, Focus ST, and i30 N aim to beat. The Mk4 had the R32 and its VR6 howl. The Mk5 brought the EA113 turbo that made 200 hp feel like 300. The Mk7 GTI was so complete that reviewers ran out of criticisms. The R variants added all-wheel drive and enough power to embarrass sports cars at traffic lights while carrying four adults and a week's groceries. Eight generations in, the Golf is still the car that does everything well — commute, carve corners, carry cargo — without excelling so dramatically at any one thing that it forgets the others. On Revnut, every Golf generation competes for the title of the most complete hatchback ever built.