Golf is crowned ‘Best Car of the Half Century’

The Volkswagen Golf has been voted as ‘Best Car of the Half Century’ as part of the Best Cars of the Year – The New Car World Championships. It was celebrated at last weekend’s British Motor Show, where the latest, significantly improved version of the iconic model was displayed and enthusiastically pored over by crowds of visitors who also had some say in the overall vote.

The judging panel for the awards comprises independent world-renowned car designers, engineers, auto industry figureheads, famous motorsport personalities, journalists, broadcasters, media professionals, vehicle retailers, automotive consultants, motor club chiefs plus motoring events organisers.

One of the Best Cars of the Year judges who voted for the Golf was John Oates – car enthusiast, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and one-half of Hall and Oates, the best-selling music duo of all time. 

Another was automotive journalist Mike Rutherford, who founded the awards. 

Said Mike: “Some manufacturers are barely able to keep their ‘most important’ models in production for five years. The fact that Volkswagen has been successfully building and selling petrol, diesel, pure-electric and hybrid versions of the Golf around the world for 50 years really does say it all.

“Since the very early 1980s, when I bought my first brand new Mk I version, I’ve purchased countless Golfs or run them as company cars. With some justification, it was often described as all the car you’ll ever need. And that’s as true today as it ever was.

“The Golf has, since it was born in 1974, been the car for the people.”

With over 37 million sales to date, the Golf is Volkswagen’s most successful car to date, outselling even the legendary Beetle. During its 50 years of production ‘Golf’ has become shorthand for the entire class in which the car sits, while it has also expanded its appeal still further through highly-revered versions such as the Cabriolet, R, and the GTI.