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| It's all new and it's better than ever, the iconic VW Golf gets upgrades across the board. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press) |
Anyone who has driven a Volkswagen product knows that it's a cut above its entry-level competition in perceived quality, the touchy feely details that fall easily to hand, and driving dynamics. And each generation, like with most automakers' cars, gets better, keeping each VW model ahead of its rivals. The new 2010 Golf is no exception.
Like what you see? I certainly do. This is the new look of Volkswagen, a design also shown earlier this year on the global market (almost everywhere but North America) Polo and the Scirocco before that. It's a great new look that's fresh but doesn't stray too far from VW's roots, especially in hatchback form.
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| It's a profile that's stood the test of time... decades actually. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press) |
Yes, Volkswagen makes a Golf Wagon now for the first time, and being that it's an impressive vehicle all on its own and targets a unique buyer that's probably not interested in either the three- or five-door hatchback, I covered it in a separate review earlier. Today we're going to focus on the hatchback model excluding the Golf GTI, which once again is a unique model targeting a totally different buyer than the regular car, or at least a buyer with more means.
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| It's all new from the back, but the revised taillight design is the most noticeable change. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press) |
Due to cars like the new Polo and Scirocco mentioned earlier, and the new Golf, which has been available in other markets for a short while and incidentally replaces the Rabbit here in North America, VW's global sales have been strong despite an economic downturn than needs no introduction. During the car's introduction, John White, President of Volkswagen Group Canada Inc., said that Volkswagen's sales are up by 12% compared to a 14% worldwide downturn in the passenger car market, with the automaker's most profitable centers being three of the BRIC nations, Brazil, Russia and China, plus Germany, of course. And while sales are strong, profitability is up too with 1.2 billion Euros in the coffers for the first half of '09. This allowed VW AG to purchase its 10th brand, Porsche, the result of which will be full integration to VW group by the end of Q1 2011. Yes it's an exciting time for a carmaker that looked like it was in trouble a few years ago, and like rivals Fiat and Ford, took that opportunity to straighten out the ship before the really big tsunami force waves hit.
