VW Golf Wins European Car of the Year, New Golf Models to Come to U.S.

The Volkswagen Golf has been named European Car of The Year at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Detroit Bureau reports, "The seventh-generation VW hatchback soundly beat out its closest competitors in balloting by 58 automotive journalists from 22 European countries. The Golf scored 414 votes compared to 202 for the Subaru BRZ sports car, which took second place, and the 189 votes tallied by the Volvo V40."
Fox News adds, "But don't head to your VW showroom just yet. The all-new Golf isn't expected to replace the current version in the U.S. until next year."
When the new Golf comes stateside, it should have three variations for buyers to choose from: the Golf GTI, a high-performance version; the Golf GTD, a high-performance diesel model that VW is considering bringing to the U.S.; and the Golf Wagon. The Los Angeles Times writes, "In the U.S., this car [the Golf Wagon] effectively replaces the Jetta SportWagen, which was actually built on a Golf platform. VW hasn't decided what to actually call this wagon when it goes on sale in the U.S. at the end of 2014. Regardless of what it's called, the Golf wagon will come with either a gas or diesel engine."
According to The Wall Street Journal, "VW said the new wagon is about 232 pounds lighter than its predecessor. From outside, the new car’s rear end looks taller and less squished-down compared with the previous version. Inside, the reworked shape provides 20% more cargo space when the rear seats are up and 9% more with the rear seats folded. In the real world that means drivers will not have to chose so often between carrying their children or their baggage."