The Volkswagen Golf has become a benchmark in the world of hatchbacks. It has continuously evolved over the years, making it one of the most capable and versatile cars on the market. Despite all the changes, it still retains its original character.

The first generation of the Golf, known as the Mk1, was introduced in 1974. At that time, the hatchback genre was still in its early stages. The Golf played a significant role in shaping the hatchback market into what it is today.

Now, 46 years later, we have reached the eighth-generation model. Let’s take a look at how Volkswagen transformed a humble hatchback into an iconic car.

The Golf was designed as a front-engined, front-wheel drive replacement for the Beetle. Its sleek lines were created by renowned designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. The Golf’s instant success can be seen in the fact that one million units had already been produced by October 1976.

While the Golf started as a practical family car, a group of passionate VW engineers turned it into a performance car. This led to the creation of the Golf GTI in the late 1970s, igniting the hot hatch trend that continues today.

VW’s in-house design team updated Giugiaro’s design for the longer and wider Mk2 Golf, which debuted in 1983. It sold an impressive 6.3 million units before being replaced by the all-new Mk3 in 1991.

The Mk3 Golf won the 1992 European Car of the Year award, succeeding the Mk2 Golf which lost to the Peugeot 205 and Fiat Uno. The more luxurious and expensive Mk4 was introduced in 1997, featuring a softer and rounder design. It was followed by the larger and faster Mk5 in 2003, which received subtle updates for the Mk6 in 2008.

In addition to the standard hatchback, there have also been estate and convertible versions of the Golf. The Golf Cabriolet, with its distinctive basket-handle rollover bar (later removed in the Mk6 Cabrio), was originally produced by Karmann on a dedicated assembly line.