(Wed 06 Aug 08)

Volkswagen has issued the first official pictures of the sixth-generation Golf, which will go on sale in the UK in January next year.

So many styling cues have been carried over from the past 34 years of Golf production that you couldn't possibly mistake this for any other car, but the design team (led by Klaus Bischoff) has nevertheless made it look suitably modern, partly by making the "face" very similar to that of the new Scirocco.

Full details have not yet been announced, but Volkswagen is making a big thing of its efforts to reduce engine and wind noise, and promises that these will be lower than in any previous Golf.

The range will include four petrol and four diesel engines, ranging in power output from 79bhp (the 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol unit, unless we are very gravely mistaken) to 168bhp (the beefiest of the two-litre TDI diesels). Of particular note is the new 108bhp 2.0 TDI, which gives the Golf combined fuel economy of 62.7mpg and a tax-avoiding CO2 rating of 119g/km.

Volkswagen's Adaptive Chassis Control - standard on the Scirocco, optional on the Passat CC - will be fitted to the new Golf as an option, giving drivers the chance to choose from normal, comfort and sport modes for the suspension, steering and accelerator response. Another extra is Automatic Distance Control, which makes the car slow down or even stop when it senses an obstruction nearby.

More details, including UK prices, will be confirmed towards the end of the year.

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