IF ever there was a truly classless car, Volkswagen’s Golf is it.
Now in its seventh generation, this conservative, mainstream machine has evolved into a consumer product that appeals equally to salaried Joe Public and successful, entrepreneurial free thinkers. It’s no wonder then that Volkswagen finds it impossible to describe the buyer demographic; it truly is a car for everyone.
Right now, the Golf is just about the only vehicle that occupies this enviable position, but if Gunnar Herrmann, Ford of Europe’s newly appointed head of quality, is correct, there will soon be more.
Herrmann is of the opinion that the distinction between premium and mass-market brands is disappearing. The former are on a march into the heartland of the likes of Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota and Opel, while these marques in turn have dramatically upped the quality and appeal of their offerings. They’re on an irreversible collision course, and looking at our comprehensive new-model guide for 2013 (see page 14), that collision is set for next year.
Due in South Africa during 2013 is Toyota’s new Auris, a facelifted Opel Astra and, of course, the Golf. The premium marques will be even busier, with a new Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class joining the recently launched Volvo V40 (see our first road test on page 66) and BMW 1 Series. For the shopper in the upper reaches of the C-segment, the pickings have never been this good.
Which one deserves your money? We’ll have driving impressions and road tests of all these models within the next two issues of
CAR magazine, but judging by the brilliance of the latest Golf (see the driving impression on page 30), unseating the current people’s champion will take some doing, no matter which badge its rivals may throw into the ring.
