The story of the Golf is an interesting one that almost never happened.  The car that is now synonymous with hatchbacks was actually VW’s second choice for the replacement for the Beetle.  Volkswagen had an air-cooled, rear-engined small car ready for production codenamed EA 266.  This car would prove to be somewhat difficult to produce compared to the water-cooled compact cars that were being developed at their subsidiary Audi/NSU.  VW went back to the drawing board and had Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro create the simple but sporty Golf in 1974.

Since then the Golf has been a European favorite serving as everything from the family hauler to the most famous hot hatch.  In the USA the Golf/Rabbit has not been as successful as its Jetta sedan sibling, but it has persevered while other hatchback came and left these shores.

The Golf’s 30 million cars over seven generations has long ago surpassed its single-model Beetle predecessor, but it is still only good for the bronze metal.  The Toyota Corolla has about 8-year head start on the Golf and 8 million more in sales, and 65 years of Ford F-Series production puts it 5 million units ahead of the Golf.

The KdF-Wagen (Strength through Joy Car) as the Beetle was first known was only built in prototype form before the outbreak of World War II.  In peacetime, the Beetle was offered to just about every major auto company in the U.S. and the U.K., but no one wanted the odd looking car.  Without much initial hope for exporting, Volkswagen was struggling but surviving.  Automotive production was set up just to have cars to trade for other raw materials.  Then as the German economic miracle took hold, VW was in prime position to finally be the people’s car.

The small but rugged Beetle would give the company an opportunity to gain a foothold to the world.  Their sales organization was strict in making sure that foreign markets had ample spare parts at distributors to perpetuate the image of reliability.  This helped transform the once unwanted Beetle into long-standing best selling single model ever.

Volkswagen may have shaken its Nazi origins in the public’s eye a long time ago, but their track record has not been perfect since then.  The original Beetle had spent so much time nearly unchanged on the world market that it would eventually be crushed by more modern competition.  It had a good European strategy, but by the time it was celebrating its 55th anniversary in 1992, VW’s share of important foreign territories like the USA slid to less than 0.5%.  Ironically, it was cars like the New Beetle that helped the company recover in this market and sell 438,000 cars here in 2012. Today, Volkswagen is far from a struggling company as it vies for the title of the world’s largest automaker.

If you really want to know the whole history of Volkswagen, go buy a book or two on the subject (yes, a book…not Wikipedia or the VW website — one of those paper things that folds open to reveal words.)  The Volkswagen story has so many twists and turns from how one faulty WWII bomb saved the entire company to how the Beetle’s first replacement was produced and then crushed in favor of the now-famous Golf.  We don’t have the web space to go through all to company’s twists and turns.  So take some time this summer, find a comfy chair, and explore a corporate history that sometimes reads like a good saga.

Plus, the ASAP crew are making a few notable stops.  One of the more recent adventures of this PR stunt caught our eye as a person jumped out of a plane and landed in a moving Beetle :

Look familiar? Fans of Top Gear will remember a time when the still-clandestine Ben Collins tried to catch a free-falling friend.  While we’ll give credit to the VW blogging crew for accomplishing a difficult task, we have to yield full admiration to the guys who did it before and at a much higher speed:

Sure the only way his test drive could have been more VW commercial friendly was if Baumgartner ended his test drive saying, “Wow! That’s Das Auto!” But this still is a worthwhile watch.

The Volkswagen XL1 has been a long time in the making for the German company.  In 2002, then-Chairman Ferdinand Piech made a splash by tooling around in a car concept that could achieve 100 km per liter of fuel. Over a decade later they now finally have a version ready for production.  So if VW wants to pull a little star power to celebrate, we’ll just plug our ears and watch this 0.9-liter, 235 mpg diesel-electric wunderkind make its way on the Swiss mountain roads.

Volkswagen has taken the wraps off the new GTI before its debut next month at the Geneva Motor Show.  The new car still carries a 2.0-liter turbo, but now it gets a 20 hp bump to 220 hp total.  Even better is that VW is bringing a little of the street tuner attitude to its production line with a new performance pack option that boosts the motor to 230 hp.  The only bad news is that North America has not yet been confirmed for this final power upgrade.

The Golf GTI has been a long standing favorite for a die-hard group of fans because it has never strayed from the idea of a quick and nimble little car.  For those who want people to know your hatch is the hottest, the GTI comes with red-painted brake calipers, twin chrome tailpipes, and a lowered sport suspension.

Europe has already had the next-generation (MkVII) Golf on sale for a few months, so it is no surprise that the GTI will be hitting their streets over there while we’re still seventh-generation hatch to arrive in normal form.  The 2014 Golf GTI will retail for €28,350 when its at European dealers in May.  There’s no word yet on U.S. pricing, but since the cost is moving less than 3% in its homeland, we expect not too much difference from its $23,995 base price.

In fairness VW’s USA page did have one holiday photo, but oddly enough it was Malaysia (where Muslims have an outright majority) that offered the most pictures.  No matter your religion, these photos are just a little bit of fun to share this holiday season.

Source: VW’s Facebook page

At about twelve and a half feet long, the Taigun represents VW’s smallest crossover to date.  Still, it borrows design cues from its larger Tiguan and Touareg siblings like the dual chrome strip grille, exaggerated fender flares, and chrome skid plates.  There are also some nifty elements all its own such as roof rails with an integrated light bar and a split tailgate providing a place to sit during soccer games.

While VW seems to be adding plenty of new cars to its MQB platform, the Taigun is bringing the company closer to its small car roots by utilizing the New Small Family platform shared with the Up! city car.  One part that may be shared with the MQB is the EA211 engine.  The 1.0-liter, three-cylinder turbo motor makes 108 hp, and the company claims it returns around 50 mpg (European rating).  It represents what will likely be the base motor on future larger VWs like the Golf.

Inside the Taigun is sticking to a minimalist approach.  For example, instead of having HVAC controls, each front air nozzle not only controls the direction of the air flow, but also the blower speed and the temperature.  Most other main functions are controlled through a touchscreen system in the center of the dash panel that can also be paired with the owner’s smartphone.

Volkswagen has indicated that that the Taigun is currently just a concept, but it has production potential if the public reacts positively.  Unfortunately for those in the U.S., VW likely doesn’t want to hear from you.  As its Brazilian premiere suggests, the Taigun is intended for places like South America and Europe where small cars have a higher sales potential.  On the other hand, VW has been reluctant to sell the Up! here, but it might be able to score more American buyers if it packages the small car in a crossover body.

The Volkswagen Touareg was born when VW was aiming for Mercedes.  The idea was to create a premium SUV with a capacity for luxury and sport so that the platform could be adapted for its Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7 cousins.  Today, VW is no longer pointed at the tri-star, but the second generation Touareg still carries a first-class sticker price.  The question now becomes, is there value in the amenities, and in the case of our diesel test car, also at the pump?

Exterior

The Touareg is the flagship for the new face of Volkswagen.  The dual horizontal bar grille and raked back headlights are similar to the new Jetta and Passat. But as the most expensive car VW offers in North America, it is likely no mistake that the SUV carries some elements from upmarket parts of the VW corporate family.  The LED brow lights are similar to those made popular by Audi, and the exaggerated air intakes under the headlights look similar to the Cayenne.

Where its predecessor tried to be as squared off as possible to give the impression of bravado, this one shows more confidence by having new rounded curves.  It all ends in a husky rear design with a touch of sporty elements such as chrome exhaust tips inspired by the Porsche side of the family.

Interior

The Touareg seats five comfortably, including a capacious 37 inches of rear legroom.  The driver sits high, but the controls are also elevated so the ergonomics feel more like a sedan than an SUV.

Volkswagen did a good job of keeping a family resemblance inside the Touareg without polluting the water with too many VW familiar parts.  So drivers who spend time in a Passat will be feel at home with the gauges and the steering wheel, but items like the center LCD touch screen, climate controls, and dash trim all have a premium look and feel that go beyond VW’s budget sedan.

The standard rear liftgate opens and closes automatically via controls inside the car, on the tailgate, or from the key fob.  There is 32 cubic feet of cargo room back there (capacity is doubled with the rear seats folded.)  The Q7 is only about a foot longer, which gives it enough to fit a third passenger row.

The Drive

Having an emphasis on sport is a bit unusual for a tall SUV, but the Touareg hits many of its marks.  Steering is tight and the suspension is responsive on the pavement.  Thankfully the Touareg still has a hint of body roll so it doesn’t inspire drivers to be sports car confident in a machine that has eight inches of ground clearance.

For those more accustomed to gasoline engines, the Touareg TDI will not provide the same kind of quickness.  The 3.0-liter turbodiesel is rated at 240 hp — 15 hp more than what this motor produces in the diesel Audi Q7 but 40 fewer than what comes in the cheaper Touareg 3.6-liter gas V6.  The TDI is a premium engine in the lineup because these are made for torque.  This diesel is rated at 406 lb-ft, which 53% more than the gas-powered version.  Taking it up a mountain pass, the Touareg TDI felt like it was making a grocery run.  In fact, it was the only car in local traffic that had enough power left in reserve to perform passing maneuvers on a steep incline.

Towing capacity is rated at 7,700 lbs for all Touareg models.  The limit is set more by the chassis than the abilities of the drivetrain.  After all, our 3.0-liter TDI model has about as much torque as the 5.7-liter HEMI gas V8 that comes in the (Dodge) Ram.

The engine is not the only heart of the Touareg’s power.  The gas, diesel, and hybrid drivetrains are all mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission with a Tiptronic gate for manual control.  While it provides smooth shifting for all engines, this gearbox is essential for the TDI.  Having the ability to hold the gears into a higher rev range allows the turbodiesel to spool up enough force to rival a freight train.

Standard on all Touareg models is VW’s 4Motion all-wheel drive system that will split the power 60/40 between the front and rear wheels.  There is also an off-road setting that will engage an electronic brain to work an alphabet soup of assist controls such as ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation), EBA (Engine Braking Assist), EBD (Electronic Brake-pressure Distribution). ESC (Electronic Stability Control, HBA (Hydraulic Brake Assist), and HDA (Hill Descent Assist.)  Since all these systems are automatic, all drives need to know is that the Touareg can handle slick and rough terrains up to a point where a full 4×4 with locking hubs would be needed.

Interesting Features

The full panoramic roof is a major draw for those who like sightseeing.  A fabric cover can be electronically rolled back to reveal enough glass to give front and back seat occupants a clear view of the sky.  This feature that started out on the Porsche, quickly migrated to Audi, and now it is a standard on all Touareg trim levels except the base Sport.

The navigation unit can be displayed on the main 8-inch center console unit or on the screen between the speedometer and tachometer.  This allows occupants to explore the stereo and other features without interrupting essential driver information.  It is a handy piece for families with inquisitive kids but somewhat costly at $2,065.

The TDI diesel engine in our tester was made for the long haul.  All Touareg models come with a 26-gallon fuel tank.  While the gas and hybrid versions are rated at 23 and 24 mpg respectively, the TDI is listed at 29 mpg on the highway.  We were even able to get over 30 mpg during pure highway driving, which makes for a 700+ mile bladder-busting range.

Who Wants It?

There are many individuals and families that would like a SUV that could rival Mercedes or Audi at a lower price.  Of course, once the dust settles on adding premium features, a vehicle costing less than the competition still doesn’t come cheap.  The Touareg falls into this category where our $53,225 tester buys everything but snob appeal.

The 2012 Volkswagen Touareg won’t be the hottest car at the country club, but it won’t get kicked out either.  For those members who enjoy parking at the top of a mountain, the TDI will be worth the money.

Just like the standard Beetle, the convertible is trying to appeal to a broader market by utilizing an interior that aims more for premium and less for cute.  Also, just like the hardtop, there is a flatter profile when the electronically folding cloth roof is in place.

What we can tell from the pictures (when we try to look past the trying-too-hard-to-be-trendy models) is a roof that fits better behind the seats.  VW is still smart enough to leave a little bit of the roof sticking out from the back end so this retromobile can still hang onto a bit of Beetle tradition.

The rear of the new convertible offers very un-Beetle-like levels of comfort, including large headrests for the two occupants.  The purpose of this is to provide a barrier between passengers and two rollover hoops concealed behind the back of the rear bench seat.  These bars are activated by the computer that also deploys the airbags in the case of a crash.

The engine lineup will be the same that’s offered in the hardtop version.  That means the choice of a 2.5-liter 170 hp or 2.0-liter turbo 200 hp gas motor.  There is also a 2.0-liter turbodiesel available making 140 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque.

Pricing for the little droptop will not be announced until it gets closer to its full debut in LA.  Still, we can expect it not to stray too far from the previous car base price in the $26k range.

This generation may be just as much about getting in line with corporate as keeping the competition at bay.  The 2014 Golf rides on VW’s MQB platform, which standardizes production across the VW line.

So since this Golf will likely be cheaper to build, it seems that VW is throwing in a few extra goodies.  Standard on all cars is a 5.8-inch color display system (it can be upgraded to a sat nav) and a digital radio.  An interesting option is a universal phone holder that is located under the center armrest that includes an inductive aerial to increase phone signal strength.

The new car creeps up in size a bit more.  It is 2.2 inches longer with all of that going into the wheelbase for extra passenger room (rear legroom is up 0.6 inches.)  The Golf is over a foot longer than the first generation, and so although this is the smallest VW in the USA, there are at least two more VW size rungs to go down in most other parts of the world.  While more size usually means extra heft, the new Golf is promised to be 220 lbs lighter.

The worldwide engine lineup starts with a 1.2-liter 84 hp and a 1.4-liter 138 hp in gas engines.  The diesel range is 1.6-liter 104 hp and 2.0-liter 148 hp.

No word yet on the engine lineup for the USA, or when the seventh-generation Golf will reach these shores.  While the Golf is a worldwide best seller, thy only move a trickle of that amount here, so expect us to be one of the last to get the new hatch.