RAY MASSEY: Volkswagen updates the Golf in the year of the 50th anniversary of the model

Kick off the holiday weekend with a refreshed Volkswagen Golf for the model’s 50th anniversary year.

You can choose between the classic five-door, five-seat hatchback and the extended five-door estate.

The first Golf was launched in 1974 as a successor to the original rear-engined Volkswagen Beetle and marked a radical change in VW’s styling.

It’s fascinating to consider that the first Golf was roughly the size of the current Polo supermini and has grown significantly since then. The latest model comes almost five years after the launch of the eighth-generation 2020 Golf and aims to address some of its shortcomings.

What frustrated everyone then was the replacement of dashboard buttons with smart technology and clunky software, plus intrusive safety features, a drop in interior quality and an over-reliance on voice control.

Fortunately, the new Golf, known as the “8.5 generation” or “improved Mk8”, has addressed most of these flaws and turned it into the car it should have been from the start.

I drove the 150bhp, 1.5-litre eTSI turbocharged mild-hybrid petrol Golf R-Line mated to a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The car is very fast, especially in Sport mode, and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds on to a top speed of 223 km/h.

The infotainment system has been redesigned and simplified, as has the interior.

Golfs aren’t cheap. Mine started at £30,785. It also came with nearly £10,000 worth of extras, including a panoramic sunroof, a Harmon Kardon sound system and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The hatchback range has six trim levels and there is a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission.

There is also a good selection of petrol, diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines.

A sporty, fully electric Golf GTI is also planned. Three versions of the spacious estate car are available.

This Golf adds to its legacy as one of the best-selling VWs, with more than 37 million units delivered to date, including 2.3 million sold in the UK.

Classic cars at the festival are powered by electronic fuels

Goodwood Revival (goodwood.com), taking place from 6-8 September, will be the first racing event where all classic cars will be powered by e-fuels.

The Duke of Richmond, who hosts the festival at his estate near Chichester, West Sussex, believes it is vital to the future of historic racing.

Competitor and actor Rowan Atkinson said: “I used synthetic fuel in my Jaguar racing car at Goodwood and found that it was not only as good as pump fuel… but in terms of performance it was superior.”

This comes as top auto industry bosses including Porsche and BMW are backing green synthetic fuels as a practical alternative to cut CO2 emissions amid sluggish consumer demand for purely electric cars.

Synthetic e-fuel is made using captured carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide, and hydrogen produced from sustainable electricity sources such as wind, solar and nuclear power.